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SEATTLE, USA – A new iteration of Starbucks iconic white cup has been launched in Europe. An extensive R&D effort and significant innovations in the cup manufacturing process have culminated in the replacement of the cup’s plastic lining with a mineral-based coating. The single-use plastic lids have also been replaced with fibre alternatives, coated with the same mineral-based material.
It’s the same familiar Starbucks design, but your hot cup is now certified home compostable and widely recyclable. The new hot cup delivers the same premium experience for customers, without creating extra work or difficulties for store partners (employees).
A common challenge with plastic-lined coffee cups is that they may be difficult to recycle, with the plastic lining needing to be separated from the paper cup. Many mainstream recycling and waste management facilities lack the technology to separate the materials, often requiring investment in dedicated coffee cup deposit and recycling schemes. This new cup and lid can be recycled in recycling bins or composted at home, leaving no harmful residue to people or nature behind.
A pan-European effort, the new cup is created using traceable wood fibre from Northern European forests together with a mineral-based coating developed in Brescia, Italy. The cup was designed and constructed at Transcend’s factory, located in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, Wales.
Through a phased approach, the new hot cup and lid solution will gradually now be rolled out in stores across select European markets this year; beginning in ten initial countries including Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria this month, and already live in Spain and Hungary, before coming to the UK and Ireland later this year.
Starbucks continues to operate a reusables-first approach across its stores, which includes rewarding customers who bring their own reusable cup with discounts and providing in-store ceramic offerings for hot drinks in the majority of its European locations. Starbucks EMEA has been offering a discount on beverages served in a reusable cup since first entering the region over 25 years ago. This European rollout of the new hot cup is another step on that journey, providing a compostable and recyclable packaging solution that is compliant with EU and UK packaging legislation.
Starbucks continues to innovate and test packaging solutions to meet a range of local government requirements and waste infrastructure in communities around the world, and the new hot paper cups and lids are an example of this. Since the introduction of Starbucks first branded paper cups in the 1980s the coffee company has continually reimagined the cup to elevate the customer experience whilst defining the brand’s identity. Over the decades, this iconic symbol has evolved in celebration of the brand’s milestones. Each iteration tells a story of progress and possibility, and this latest cup is no different.
