Starbucks announced customers at all company-operated and participating licensed Starbucks Stores across the U.S. and Canada can now use their clean personal cup when ordering in café, in the drive-thru or when ordering ahead with the Starbucks app.
With the majority of Starbucks beverages enjoyed on-the-go, this milestone unlocks a big opportunity for customers to choose reusables and supports Starbucks commitment to reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030, the company said.
“At Starbucks, we envision a future where every beverage can be served in a reusable cup,” says Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “Offering customers more options to use a personal cup when they visit Starbucks marks tangible progress towards the future. We know our customers are passionate about the planet, and now, they can join us in our efforts to give more than we take, no matter how they order.”
Starbucks said it’s the first national coffeehouse in the U.S. to offer customers the option to use their personal cup when mobile ordering. In Canada, Starbucks was the first to offer customers the option to use their personal cup in mobile order for all drinks and all sizes. This is part of a larger cultural movement the company is leading to shift toward reusables and away from single-use plastics.
“As we know, the most sustainable cup is likely the one you already own. Bringing your own cup to stores is a critical step toward reducing single-use packaging waste. Starbucks is a leader in this work, as the first national retailer of scale to offer personal cup ordering in every channel, including mobile order,” adds Kate Daly, managing director and Head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “The NextGen Consortium is proud to have Starbucks as a founding member of the Consortium to reduce packaging waste and looks forward to supporting Starbucks in their work to advance a waste-free world.”
Customers at participating stores in the U.S. and Canada who bring any clean, personal cup will receive a 10-cent discount on their beverage, and in the U.S., Starbucks Rewards members will receive 25 Bonus Stars.
In café, customers tell the barista when they order that they brought their own personal cup and hand over their personal cup to the barista. Customers choosing to sit and stay in café can also request a reusable ceramic or glass cup at most stores.
In drive-thru, while ordering, customers order their beverage as usual, and let the barista know they brought their own cup. At the pickup window, baristas will collect customers’ personal cup without the lid using a contactless vessel to ensure hygiene and safety. The beverage will be returned the same way.
When customers order via the Starbucks app, first they will hit the “Customization” button and then select “Personal Cup” in the customization menu and continue ordering as normal. When they get to the store, customers connect with their barista at the pickup area, and hand over their clean personal cup without the lid. The barista will hand the beverage back in a contactless vessel.
Building off a successful personal cup test at 200 drive-thru stores across Colorado last spring, Starbucks store partners informed and helped co-design the custom reusable cup smallware all stores will now use to transfer orders to personal cups.
“As long as we are following all our procedures and steps, it doesn’t add any more time, and it is actually making customers happier,” says Brook, a partner who worked at a store that participated in the Colorado test. “This has been a really big hit.”
Starbucks has been championing reusable cup options for 30 years, and in recent years Starbucks has conducted more than 20 reusables tests in stores around the world with more planned in the year ahead.
