Why La Colombe is Making Coffee the Heart of Valentine’s Day Connections

The coffee roaster company La Colombe Coffee, founded in 1994 in Philadelphia and now with stores nationwide, is aiming to appeal to millennials and Gen Z singles with its multi-mix campaign ahead of Valentine’s Day.

The brand has launched a limited-time product, La Colombe® Draft Latte® Strawberry Mocha, and partnered with OkCupid to bring its initiative to life through “Love Over Lattes” happy hours, available at select cafés in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago on Tuesday, February 11. The collaboration includes an exclusive NYC event hosted by “NYC’s Cupid” Tiff Baira at the NoHo café.

Additionally, the campaign extends to the brand’s Instagram page and features curated mailers sent to media and influencers to encourage them to share the love on their channels.

A recent OKCupid survey of 1.5M users found that 84% of singles love coffee dates (83% Gen Z, 85% Millennials) with coffee shops tops the list for ideal first-date locations. This campaign aims to match singles with “Love Over Lattes,” the perfect way to fall in love. In order to win free coffee dates with an at-home date kit and Draft Latte drinks for a year, sign up online. The financial agreement between the parties was not disclosed.

Kathryn O’Connor, Chief Marketing Officer of La Colombe, stated that while the primary goal is to drive trials of the new Draft Latte® Strawberry Mocha and increase foot traffic to La Colombe cafés, the broader aim is to build brand affinity and reinforce La Colombe as a space that fosters meaningful connections.

“Coffee has the unique power to bring people together,” she said. “We’ve seen this first-hand over the years in our cafés and in the letters we receive from customers who have made La Colombe part of their love story. That means our craft is more than coffee – it’s creating connections.” 

Just like Shake Shack did last year with its Valentine’s Day campaign, La Colombe aims to break away from traditional holiday marketing by offering something unique and out of the ordinary. The goal is to resonate with the Gen Z audience, a generation that craves authenticity and meaningful experiences.

The strategy began with grassroots marketing efforts, such as posting flyers for events in local gyms and sharing them on community Instagram pages to encourage sign-ups. The campaign is being promoted through earned media and owned channels, including Instagram, direct-to-consumer email, and in-café signage. 

Additionally, the brand enlisted consumer- and brand-relevant influencers, such as Tiff Baira (280,000 followers on TikTok, 80,000 followers on Instagram), a personality known for her dating advice and matchmaking platform. Baira will host the New York Happy Hour and share content to spotlight the campaign.

O’Connor explained that when planning the Love Over Lattes campaign, the team immediately recognized Tiff Baira as the ideal collaborator, given her reputation as “NYC’s Cupid.” The pitch to Baira highlighted her natural alignment with the campaign’s theme, drawing parallels between her social media content, which enhances connections and celebrates the excitement of new relationships, and the role coffee plays in bringing people together, particularly on first dates. This synergy made her a seamless fit for the initiative.

“It was only natural that she would be a national ambassador for the campaign and invite her community of NYC single followers to the event in our NoHo café,” said O’Connor.