Negative sentiments brew over Starbucks Malaysia and Tourism Malaysia collab

Last week, Tourism Malaysia and Starbucks Malaysia announced that they would be entering a strategic partnership for Visit Malaysia 2026, at a launch event in Starbucks Reserve Shoppes, Four Seasons Place. The tie-up, which centres around exclusive merchandise and handcrafted beverages.

However, things did not go as planned, as the collaboration faced backlash from the Malaysian public, who are still in the thick of their boycott against the brand due to its alleged support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

According to data from CARMA, sentiments of conversations towards the "Jom Brew-Cuti Bersama!" ("Let's holiday together!") collaboration are 54.5% negative, and 6.9% positive.

Don't miss: Tourism Malaysia unveils 'Echoes of harmony' campaign for VM2026

The media intelligence firm shared with A+M, that a significant number of netizens expressed disapproval towards the strategic partnership between Tourism Malaysia and Starbucks, with many questioning the rationale behind the choice. There's also significant criticism focused on the selection of Starbucks as a partner, arguing that it overlooks and potentially harms local Malaysian brands.

Several social media users advocated for supporting local Malaysian brands such as ZUS Coffee, BOH Tea, and Spritzer, suggesting that partnering with a foreign brand such as Starbucks undermines the promotion of local businesses.

According to checks by A+M, previous postings by Starbucks about the collaboration on their social media pages such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, have since been removed.

However, videos shared online by content creators and travel influencers who were invited to the launch event, are still available online.

Based on @livelifelah's video sighted by A+M on Instagram, the event unveiled a set of collaborative merchandise, such as mini plushies of VM2026's mascots Wira and Manja holding the iconic white Starbucks cups, and tumblers with traditional motifs and images of the two sun bears. 

_{Screenshot credits: @livelifelah (IG), @dixonthum (IG), @jiuzyong (TikTok).} 

Meanwhile, news reports by Bernama, The Sun, Berita Harian and Stoly, say the collaboration was aimed at "celebrating Malaysia's rich cultural heritage and putting the VM2026 campaign on the global map". The "Jom Brew-Cuti Bersama!" collaboration is also said to carry the official VM2026 theme, "Surreal experiences", and was set to feature quarterly refreshes throughout 2026 through partnerships with local artists and communities. 

A+M has reached out to Berjaya Food to confirm if Starbucks Malaysia’s partnership with Tourism Malaysia is still ongoing.

In March 2024, after months of ongoing boycotts as a result of its alleged support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Starbucks released a statement to clear up misinformation and to let consumers know that it "stands for humanity".

"Truth matters. In response to misinformation, we’re sharing the facts on what Starbucks believes and stands for," said Starbucks.

"At Starbucks, truth and transparency are essential to fulfilling our mission, upholding our promises and living our values. So, when misinformation about our company spreads at lightning speed in an increasingly polarised world, we believe it’s critical to respond with facts and to reiterate our position," it added, saying that due to ongoing false and misleading information it was consolidating some of the most frequently asked questions about the brand – and responding with facts.

That same month, founder and advisor for Berjaya Corporation, Vincent Tan, appealed to Malaysians to stop the boycott of Starbucks Malaysia. Speaking at a press conference then, Tan reportedly told media that Starbucks Malaysia is owned by BFood, a Malaysian company, and is a franchise. Therefore, it is not owned by Americans or Starbucks America.

He reportedly added that 85% of the staff at Starbucks Malaysia stores are Muslim workers and called the boycott unnecessary. "This boycott does not benefit anyone. Whatever you do is not going to change Israel and what Israel wants to do," said Tan. "[Benjamin] Netanyahu has his own agenda."

Based on a separate analysis by CARMA carried out in August 2025, despite its recent promotional pushes such as the "Green vibes Thursday" and "Voyage blend" campaigns, Starbucks Malaysia's social media conversations continued to be overshadowed by boycott-linked backlash, with mentions spiking following reports of Berjaya Food's significant financial losses. 

The firm also found that the brand experienced a sharp deterioration in online conversation sentiment following 20 August, with negative conversations more than doubling to nearly 60%. 

With Malaysians closely following news of the detention of citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla by Israeli forces in early October, the timing of the Starbucks-Tourism Malaysia collaboration was far from ideal.

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