Finland-based packaging company Huhtamaki is helping Starbucks launch new fiber-based, compostable cups for cold beverages in select locations.
The compostable cups and lids initially will roll out in 24 stores, based on local mandates, and more markets are likely to be added in the future, a Starbucks spokesperson said via email. Starbucks confirmed that Huhtamaki is a partner on this project. Huhtamaki, which has more than a dozen U.S. locations, declined to comment on specific customer partnerships.
Both the fiber-based lids and cups will be opaque, said the Starbucks spokesperson. The cup is manufactured from double-walled paperboard with a bioplastic liner, and the lids are made from molded fiber.
Ann O’Hara, Huhtamaki’s president of North America, announced the company’s partnership on the molded fiber lids on LinkedIn last week, citing increased demand for the material. Creating this product “is not as easy as it looks,” the post said, describing how lids need to have a snug fit on cups. Huhtamaki reports using some postconsumer recycled fiber, including from old newspapers, in its new molded fiber products, such as egg cartons, fruit packaging and food service cup carriers.
O’Hara’s post said the first stores in the compostable packaging pilot will be in California and Minnesota. Both of those states are in the process of implementing extended producer responsibility for packaging laws, as are Colorado, Maine and Oregon. USA Today first reported initial details of the pilot, including that 21 participating locations are in California and three are in Minnesota.The pilot comes on the heels of Starbucks’ April launch of single-use cold cups that are made with 10% to 20% less plastic, depending on size, compared with its previous versions. The coffee giant continues to roll out those cups in stores across the U.S. and Canada, according to the spokesperson.
In a different cups initiative, last month Starbucks joined more than 30 other food service providers — including KFC, Taco Bell, Dunkin’ and Peet’s Coffee — in announcing a large-scale reusable cups program in Petaluma, California, that’s set to begin today. Last year, Starbucks launched its own reusable cups pilot in Petaluma in partnership with Turn Systems.
