Digital Marketing Becomes Central to Coffee Brand Competition
Indonesia’s coffee industry has expanded alongside rising internet and social media use. For local coffee brands such as Kopi Tuku, competing in this environment involves more than product quality. Digital communication, brand reputation, consumer experience, emotional attachment, and environmental positioning increasingly influence how younger consumers perceive a brand.
The researchers highlighted the growing importance of social media platforms in connecting brands with consumers. Instagram and TikTok, for example, allow coffee businesses to communicate product information, promotions, cultural narratives, and brand identity directly to their target audiences.
Brand image also plays an important role. A recognizable and credible identity can influence consumers’ perceptions of a company and contribute to stronger relationships with the brand.
At the same time, environmental awareness has created greater interest in green marketing. Environmentally friendly packaging, sustainable business practices, and transparent environmental commitments can influence how consumers evaluate a brand.
The study focused on these three factors simultaneously to examine their relationships with brand love—the emotional attachment consumers develop toward a brand—and consumer loyalty.
Survey of 110 Kopi Tuku Consumers
The research used a quantitative causal design and collected data from 110 Kopi Tuku Simprug consumers in South Jakarta.
Participants were selected through purposive sampling. They were between 18 and 30 years old and had previously purchased products from Kopi Tuku Simprug.
Data were collected using structured questionnaires with a five-point Likert scale. The researchers then analyzed the responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.
Among the respondents, 58.18% were female, while 41.82% were male. The largest age group was 21–23 years, representing 42.73% of the sample. More than half of the respondents, 55.45%, held a bachelor’s degree.
The statistical model showed that the variables included in the research explained 90.9% of the variation in Brand Love and 89.7% of the variation in Consumer Loyalty.
Social Media Marketing Has a Strong Relationship With Loyalty
One of the clearest findings concerned social media marketing.
The analysis found that social media marketing had a positive and statistically significant relationship with Brand Love, with a path coefficient of 0.434 and a p-value below 0.001.
Social media marketing also had a positive and significant relationship with Consumer Loyalty, with a path coefficient of 0.463 and a p-value below 0.001.
The findings indicate that digital communication can play an important role in strengthening both consumers’ emotional connections with Kopi Tuku and their loyalty to the brand.
The researchers associated this relationship with factors such as engaging content, digital promotions, influencer collaborations, and interactive communication between the company and consumers.
Brand Image Strengthens Both Emotional Attachment and Loyalty
Brand image also demonstrated significant relationships with both outcomes.
The study found that brand image had a positive and significant relationship with Brand Love, with a path coefficient of 0.140 and a p-value of 0.034.
Its relationship with Consumer Loyalty was also statistically significant, with a path coefficient of 0.192 and a p-value of 0.009.
The results suggest that consumers’ perceptions of Kopi Tuku’s reputation, information credibility, and distinctive characteristics can contribute to emotional attachment and continued preference for the brand.
Among the brand image indicators discussed by the researchers, consumer confidence in the information they knew about Kopi Tuku recorded a particularly strong average response.
Green Marketing Builds Brand Love but Does Not Directly Increase Loyalty
Green marketing produced one of the most notable differences in the findings.
The research found a positive and significant relationship between Green Marketing and Brand Love, with a path coefficient of 0.412 and a p-value below 0.001.
However, its direct relationship with Consumer Loyalty was not statistically significant. The path coefficient was only 0.037, with a p-value of 0.656.
This distinction suggests that environmental initiatives may help create positive emotional associations with a brand without necessarily translating directly into repeat purchases or recommendations.
The researchers noted that consumers may consider other factors—such as product quality, price, purchasing experience, and brand reputation—when deciding whether to remain loyal to a coffee brand.
Brand Love Connects Emotional Attachment With Loyalty
Brand Love itself had a significant relationship with Consumer Loyalty.
The analysis produced a path coefficient of 0.283, a t-statistic of 2.987, and a p-value of 0.003.
Consumers who develop stronger emotional attachment to a brand may be more inclined to continue purchasing its products, recommend them to others, and maintain their preference despite competing alternatives.
Arifin Ilham and Eri Marlapa, researchers from Mercu Buana University, therefore emphasize the importance of combining functional marketing strategies with efforts to establish meaningful emotional relationships with consumers.
The findings are particularly relevant to local coffee businesses seeking to compete in an increasingly digital and environmentally conscious consumer market.
Implications for Coffee Businesses
The results provide several practical considerations for coffee brands.
First, maintaining an active and engaging social media presence can help businesses establish stronger relationships with young consumers. Digital content should not only promote products but also create opportunities for interaction and reinforce the brand’s identity.
Second, consistent brand positioning can help build consumer trust and loyalty. Clear information, recognizable characteristics, and positive consumer experiences can contribute to a stronger brand image.
Third, green marketing can contribute to emotional brand attachment, but environmental initiatives alone may not be sufficient to create customer loyalty. Sustainable practices may therefore need to be integrated with product quality, pricing, service, and overall customer experience.
The study also recommends future research involving variables such as customer satisfaction, brand trust, customer experience, product quality, service quality, and customer engagement. Researchers could also examine whether Brand Love functions as a mediating variable between marketing strategies and consumer loyalty.
About the Researchers
Arifin Ilham and Eri Marlapa are affiliated with the Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Mercu Buana University. Their research focuses on management and consumer behavior, including social media marketing, brand image, green marketing, brand love, and consumer loyalty.
Source
Article: The Influence of Social Media Marketing, Brand Image, and Green Marketing on Brand Love and Consumer Loyalty of Kopi Tuku Simprug: A Study on Young Consumers in South Jakarta
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Applied Sciences (IJSAS)
Volume: 4, Issue 9, 2026, pp. 1167–1186
Authors: Arifin Ilham and Eri Marlapa
Affiliation: Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Mercu Buana University
DOI: 10.59890/ijsas.v4i9.57
URL: http://ijsasjournal.my.id/index.php/ijsas
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