Specialty Marketing: The Denver Fika Coffee Passport

Passport Program photo

The Passport Program has enlisted a who’s who of Denver specialty coffee retailers for its latest project, the Denver Fika Coffee Passport.

Remember three years ago when coffee shops in a number of large U.S. cities were joining together for disloyalty programs — involving punchcard systems honoring free or discounted drinks at each participating location with the goal of introducing more people to more local shops?

Around the same time in 2013, a small group of experiential marketers in Denver were applying the same concept to the local craft beer and cocktails industries, partnering with bars, breweries and distilleries. The Passport Program — an offshoot of the Denver marketing firm Two Parts — has since been recruiting dozens of craft cocktail bars annually in Denver, while launching similar passport programs in 10 additional markets, including Boulder, Fort Collins, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

The core concept is not necessarily new — in many ways, it is a more narrowly focused version of the kinds of low-cost coupon books that can be found in virtually any U.S. consumer market — but its focused application to upscale specialty coffee is a notable step forward.

The Denver coffee passport — in form, a pocket-sized booklet — represents the group’s first coffee-centric venture. Available for $20 purchase and running April 1 through October 1, it offers customers two-for-one coffee-based specials. The group says the participating shops were “selected for atmosphere and quality of coffee.”

Here’s who’s on the list of destinations: Allegro Coffee Roasters, Amethyst Coffee Co., Bellwether, Black Black Coffee, Black Eye Coffee, Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Coda Coffee Co., Copper Door Coffee Roasters, Corvus Coffee Roasters, Crema, Denver Bicycle Cafe, Hooked on Colfax, Huckleberry Roasters, Little Owl Coffee, Lula Rose General Store, Luna Gourmet Coffee & Tea Co., Metropolis Coffee, Novo Coffee, Pablo’s Coffee, Purple Door Coffee, Stowaway Coffee + Kitchen, Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, Two Rivers Coffee, Weathervane Cafe.