Starbucks has allowed customers to order with their own personal reusable cup at store counters since 1985, but the extension of this to drive-thru and mobile ordering is a much bigger deal.
Starbucks
Since 1985, Starbucks has allowed customers to order with their own personal reusable cups at a store counter, offering a 10-cent discount for customers that chose this sustainable option. But if you never knew the option existed, lost your reusable cup a decade or more ago, or simply gave up after forgetting to bring it with you and allowed mildew to grow, the biggest change in reusable coffee cups is still on the way from the coffee chain, which uses an estimated 7 billion disposable cups every year, comprising (along with lids) roughly 40% of the company’s packaging waste.
By the end of this year, Starbucks has committed to having all U.S. store locations allow customers to use reusable cups — which it first unveiled in March 2022 — for all store visits, whether it’s a counter, drive-thru or mobile order. That is a big shift for a company that as of last quarter said mobile ordering, drive-thru and delivery made up 74% of sales. To date, the reusable cup option has only been offered to customers who order in-store.
Business has improved for Starbucks — the stock is up 27% in the past year, though its stock market performance has softened this spring. The company says it is now serving more customers during peak hours than it did pre-pandemic. But most important to the reusable cup goal are trends of increasing sales from cold drinks, increasing customization, and an increased correlation to its Rewards program. The company says that over the past few years, the number of cold beverages ordered — beverages served in plastic rather than paper — has surpassed the number of hot drinks year-round. Meanwhile, two in three drinks ordered have requested customizations such as extra espresso shots and flavorings, and 57% of all sales are from its loyalty program members.
The move to mobile and drive-thru came after struggling for years with long wait times in stores that led the chain to lose many sales. There’s the risk of added wait time to store visits as customers have to hand baristas their reusable cups at drive-thru windows, and mobile orders will no longer be ready for immediate pickup when customers get to stores if they choose to bring their own cup. The experience of on-the-go coffee may be reshaped if Starbucks achieves its reusable cup…
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