"Discounts and Rewards"... Coffee Shops Encourage Voluntary Participation in Using Reusable Cups

Increased Consumer Interest Leads to Higher Participation

On April 1, when the restriction on the use of disposable items in stores under the Resource Recycling Act resumed, a customer was choosing a tumbler at a franchise coffee shop in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The disposable cup deposit system, originally scheduled to be implemented from the 10th, has been postponed to December due to opposition from franchise store owners. However, voluntary campaigns encouraging the use of reusable cups are actively underway, mainly among major coffee franchises. As consumer interest in environmental protection grows, customer participation is rapidly increasing, creating an encouraging atmosphere in the industry.

According to the coffee franchise industry on the 10th, Ediya Coffee, which has offered discounts for personal cups since July 2018, has recorded a cumulative total of 5.2 million personal cup orders to date. The total discount amount customers have received through this is approximately 1.1 billion KRW.

Coffee Bean Korea has been offering a 300 KRW discount to customers carrying personal tumblers since May 2015, resulting in a cumulative participation count of about 1,254,471 orders as of this day.

Additionally, the campaign launched in April 2020, which rewards one stamp on the company app for customers carrying personal tumblers, has seen cumulative participation exceed 448,200 orders as of this day.

Starbucks Korea, which was the first in the industry to encourage personal cup use since 2007, has a cumulative total of 97.65 million personal cup uses as of this day. When converted into monetary benefits, the accumulated amount reaches up to approximately 51.3 billion KRW.

Customer participation has been high this year alone, with over 10 million orders. From January to May this year, personal cup orders totaled 11.4 million, a 34% increase compared to the same period last year. Starbucks expanded the discount for personal cup use from 300 KRW to 400 KRW starting January this year, which is considered one of the factors contributing to the increase in personal cup orders.

Starbucks also holds a "No Disposable Cup Day" campaign on the 10th of every month to encourage the use of reusable cups instead of disposable ones. On this day, Starbucks Rewards members who use personal reusable cups at Starbucks stores and receive personal cup discounts or eco-star rewards are entered into a draw to win two tall-size free drink coupons.

Additionally, Paul Bassett offers a 500 KRW discount when customers bring their own cups to purchase brewed beverages or set menus including brewed beverages. This means an Americano priced at 4,700 KRW can be purchased for 4,200 KRW. Angel-in-us, operated by Lotte GRS, offers a 400 KRW discount similar to Starbucks. Twosome Place and Pascucci provide a 300 KRW discount benefit.

An industry official stated, "Although government guidelines have been relaxed, such as the postponement of the disposable cup deposit system, the industry is proactively conducting voluntary campaigns to encourage participation, leading to increasing customer interest and involvement," adding, "This is a very encouraging atmosphere for the industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.