Starbucks, which has an audience segment that is affluent as well as environmentally active, started as a coffee roaster and retailer in Seattle in 1971, and became more like the coffeehouse we know today in 1987. Starbucks prides itself on serving the best coffee in the world, while maintaining its ecologically conscious roots.

Starbucks takes Earth Day (and the Earth Month of April) seriously. The website has links to Earth Day activities, as well as a Planet Green Game online. Consumers can also win a trip to Costa Rica with Starbucks and the Earthwatch Institute in support of sustainable farming.

In 1999, Starbucks moved beyond refreshments when it purchased Hear Music, which started out as a catalog company in 1990. The Hear Music brand includes movies ("Akeelah & the Bee"), books (Mitch Album's "For One More Day") and music (albums, satellite, iTunes). In March, Starbucks announced the launch of the Hear Music record label, for which they will partner with Concord Music Group. Paul McCartney was the label's first musician to release an album.

By expanding its product into the artistic areas that a niche of high-end coffee drinkers appreciate, Starbucks has given its customer base more of what they are willing to buy. And its website gives additional information -- music samples, podcasts about the books, message boards, et cetera -- and promotes an active environment with a coffeehouse feel.