Community Organizing

Austin and Denver Brew up Trouble for Starbucks Liqueur

Residents of Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado were outraged when Jim Beam and Starbucks started test marketing the new Starbucks Coffee Liqueur in their cities last fall. Activists in both cities feel the new product—sold only in liquor stores—will promote underage drinking by extending Starbucks’ youth-friendly brand to a product that is supposed to be “off limits” to youth. The way local activists raised awareness and involved others in the protest is a great example of grassroots resistance to irresponsible alcohol marketing.

Austin activist Elizabeth James was stunned when she found a Starbucks Liqueur display in a local liquor store, which implied that the product’s target age-range is “18-49 year-olds.” With the help of the Marin Institute, she filed a formal complaint with both the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. James and her allies also sent a letter to the CEO of Starbucks asking the company to remove the new product from store shelves; solicited signatures from parents and students at high school football games; and distributed fliers directing people to the Starbucks Web site to register their complaint. Meanwhile, protesters outside of Denver, led by Zach Mann, created www.stardrunks.com and installed rows of crosses in a vacant lot to represent the more than 2,400 youth-ages 15-20 killed every year in underage drinking crashes. The grassroots resistance in Denver and Austin earned coverage in The Rocky Mountain News, The Daily Texan and The New York Times and on local TV. Despite the outcry, Starbucks recently went ahead with the nationwide launch of its coffee liqueur.

Though activists could not stop the product from going national, they’re hoping the backlash will gain more momentum as this liqueur with built-in youth appeal pops up in more communities.

If you want help using media advocacy and other strategies to combat irresponsible alcohol marketing in your community, contact the Marin Institute at 415-456-5692.