McDonald’s and Starbucks are testing pilot programs to introduce two types of reusable cups in independent coffee shops in San Francisco and Palo Alto, Calif. — the result of a two-year project, the NextGen Cup Challenge, led by Starbucks and McDonald’s.
The NextGen Cup Challenge invited entrepreneurs to develop materials and designs that can replace today’s cups. It was launched by Starbucks in 2018 with investment firm Closed Loop Partners. McDonald’s later joined the initiative.
Closed Loop, with help from collaborative design platform OpenIdeo, collected 500 submissions from 50 countries. Representatives from the food companies involved have picked the best ideas to move on.
The model on trial in San Francisco, from the startup Muuse, is printed with a distinct QR code on each cup, which consumers can scan when they pick up and drop off cups.
The model from a startup called CupClub, which will debut in Palo Alto, Calif., was designed by London-based architect Safia Qureshi in 2015. The cups, which are embedded with RFID tags, are meant to be stacked at drop-off points throughout the city, then collected and sent for cleaning.
According to CupClub, reusing its cups can reduce landfill waste by as much as 40%.
Qureshi said people didn’t like the experience of drinking out of reusable metal cups, so the company decided on recyclable white plastic.
“Consumers need a product that isn’t going to be so much of a step change,” she said.