How Are Reusable Cups Changing the Coffee Beverage Filter Paper Market?

FamilyMart announced it will roll out reusable cups to 400 stores in Taiwan, roughly one-tenth of its more than 15,789 locations, making it the first chain convenience store in East Asia to do so on a large scale, according to Greenpeace. Starbucks ran a borrowed-cup pilot in Seattle, and McDonald's tested reusable cups with the Loop platform. These pilots aim to cut the disposable cups generated by takeout coffee culture.

Taiwan FamilyMart stores alone consume about 118 million disposable cups a year, which shows the scale of the problem these programs target. Reducing single-use cups also affects related categories, including the beverage filter paper market and packaging materials. Similar pressure applies across the supply chain regardless of coffee beans origin, since the environmental cost of serving coffee travels with the cup, not the bean.

The normalization of coffee consumption and the popularity of takeout culture have made disposable cups a pollution source that cannot be ignored. Environmental issues have long been nothing new in the coffee world—packaging innovation, reuse of coffee grounds, paper straw substitution, as well as bring-your-own-cup discounts and in-store reusable cup pilots, are all being continuously explored. Recently, FamilyMart announced that it will massively roll out reusable cups to 400 stores in Taiwan, becoming the first chain convenience store in East Asia to introduce reusable cups on a large scale. Previously, Starbucks launched a "borrowed cup" pilot in Seattle, and McDonald's also partnered with the Loop platform to test reusable cups. Can these measures truly change consumer habits and drive the industry to reduce plastic? This article will walk you through the practical paths of these pioneers and the real challenges they face.

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Coffee consumption is increasingly integrated into daily life, takeout platforms continue to expand, and the user base keeps rising. What follows is the proliferation of takeout cups, which has become another major source of pollution added to the planet. Environmental topics have long been familiar in the coffee industry. From innovation in packaging materials and reuse of coffee grounds, to the promotion of paper straws, to many cafés offering bring-your-own-cup discounts and stores gradually piloting reusable cups, plastic-reduction actions have been ongoing.

Recently, FamilyMart, which has more than 15,789 stores, announced that it will introduce reusable cups on a large scale to 400 stores in Taiwan, China, before the end of 2022, accounting for about one-tenth of its total stores. The environmental organization Greenpeace pointed out that FamilyMart thus became the first chain convenience store in East Asia to promote reusable cups on a large scale.

For consumers who neither bring their own cups nor want to use disposable cups, they can rent reusable "reusable cups" at stores. According to statistics, FamilyMart stores in Taiwan, China consume about 118 million disposable beverage cups a year. If it is estimated that 1% of consumers in 10% of stores use reusable cups, 100,000 disposable beverage cups can be reduced in a year; if the usage rate rises to 10%, then 1 million disposable cups can be saved in a year, making the waste-reduction effect quite significant. If the scale effect can be used to gradually expand to all stores, the plastic-reduction effect will be even more considerable.

FamilyMart is a chain convenience store originating in Japan, founded in 1972. On August 18, 1988, FamilyMart officially entered Taiwan, China, establishing itself in Zhongshan District, Taipei City, as a joint venture between Japan's FamilyMart and Taiwan's Hefeng Enterprise Group. At present, the number of stores across Taiwan has exceeded 4,000.

In recent years, many food and beverage companies have launched cup rental services to reduce the use of disposable cups. In 2021, Starbucks launched a "borrowed cup" campaign in its birthplace of Seattle, carrying out a two-month pilot program. If the results are ideal, it will consider implementing it globally. The specific approach is: if consumers want to take away a Starbucks paper takeout cup, they need to pay a $1 deposit first, and afterward they can return it through in-store kiosks or pickup service. After the paper cup is returned, consumers can get the deposit back and receive 10 Starbucks Rewards Stars.

The collected cups will be cleaned and disinfected by Starbucks using commercial dishwashers, and then returned to stores for customers to use. Of course, if you do not want to return the cup, it is equivalent to directly buying it, and the deposit will not be refunded.

In March of this year, Starbucks said it would gradually phase out disposable paper cups and plastic cups over the next three years and instead provide customers with reusable cups. The company is striving to achieve its self-set 2030 waste-reduction goal and respond to consumers' concerns about sustainability.

In 2021, McDonald's also announced a partnership with the circular packaging service platform Loop to pilot reusable coffee cups in some restaurants in the UK. The program started in 2021, and at the same time McDonald's will continue to reduce the use of traditional disposable paper coffee cups.

Similar to Starbucks' approach, if customers want to use this kind of cup, they need to pay a deposit first and also pay for a reusable cup. After finishing the drink, return the cup to get the deposit back. The return point can be either in-store or directly at a recycling point set up by Loop. Loop will be responsible for cleaning and disinfecting these cups and arranging their subsequent deployment and use.

Because the cups used are still paper, and secondary use may involve health and hygiene issues, market acceptance is still unclear. Many people may still find it psychologically difficult to accept "sharing cups with strangers." However, if cleanliness and hygiene can be ensured, this method can indeed help environmental protection.

Similar plastic-reduction solutions have repeatedly been rejected, but people devoted to environmental protection have not given up and have always persisted in pushing forward. Although the global plastic pollution problem will not be completely solved because of this, a influential step taken by large companies can absolutely change consumer behavior and drive a shift in industry thinking.

Starting from one reusable cup, cultivating consumers' habits and concepts is the only way in the future to further demand that more companies provide plastic-free options, thereby accelerating the realization of a plastic-free future.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.