The Donation
Wild Turkey, the Campari Group-owned Kentucky bourbon label, is committing $101,000 to The Farmlink Project as the anchor of a new annual holiday platform called Thanksgiving Traditions, launching November 1. The contribution — calibrated to mirror the brand's flagship Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon — is projected to help redirect enough surplus food to provide approximately 1.2 million meals nationwide.
The Farmlink Project, a national nonprofit founded in 2020, connects farms and food distributors with food banks and community organizations by coordinating logistics for surplus produce. Since inception, the organization has delivered more than 500 million pounds of fresh food through its recovery network. For Wild Turkey, the partnership represents a continuation of holiday-season charitable activity that Campari America says it intends to sustain annually.
On-Premise and Retail Activation
Beyond the direct donation, the program carries a meaningful on-premise component for the food and beverage trade. Participating bars and restaurants will feature seasonal Wild Turkey 101 cocktail specials throughout November, with accounts given the option to add a voluntary $20 consumer contribution to The Farmlink Project at point of sale — a mechanism that could incrementally expand the brand's total giving if widely adopted across its distribution footprint.
"Thanksgiving is about coming together, and giving back has always been part of Wild Turkey's tradition," said Allison Varone, Head of Marketing at Campari America. "This year, we're proud to carry that forward by bringing people together over Wild Turkey while supporting The Farmlink Project's mission to fight food insecurity."
Kate Nelson, Founding Team Member and Head of Brand Partnerships at The Farmlink Project, framed the need in sharper relief: "As a holiday centered around food and gathering, Thanksgiving is a time of abundance for many, but for too many families, putting enough food on the table remains a challenge. We're incredibly grateful for Wild Turkey's continued support, which will help us move more surplus food to those who need it this holiday season."
The At-Home Kit
To capture at-home entertaining occasions — a segment that has remained structurally elevated for premium spirits since 2020 — Wild Turkey is also offering a Holiday Hosting Edition kit through Cocktail Courier, priced at $115. The kit includes a 375ml bottle of Wild Turkey 101, pear-citrus syrup, apple cinnamon tea, Cran-Apple juice, lemon, aromatic bitters, and dehydrated apple slices, along with a limited-edition 1.75-liter Wild Turkey can, funnel, and recipe card — configured to produce a batch Wild Turkey Holiday Punch.
The multi-channel structure of the program — charitable giving, on-premise activation, and direct-to-consumer gifting — mirrors a broader industry pattern in which premium spirits brands seek to consolidate holiday relevance across the full purchase funnel. For operators in the bar and restaurant sector, programs like this offer incremental traffic drivers and a cause-marketing hook at a seasonally competitive moment.
Campari Group (CPRI.MI), Wild Turkey's Milan-headquartered parent, operates across more than 190 countries with a portfolio that includes Aperol, Campari, Espolòn tequila, Appleton Estate rum, Courvoisier, and Grand Marnier. The group employs approximately 4,800 people and runs 24 production sites globally. For spirits buyers and supply-chain operators evaluating cause-aligned brand partnerships heading into the 2026 holiday season, Wild Turkey's Farmlink commitment offers a data point on how heritage bourbon labels are allocating marketing dollars beyond traditional advertising.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
