Concept by Aaron

Levine 2010
 PART 1:
THE VISION

Concept by Aaron
Levine 2010
 The Vision

What if instead of cutting

down 20 million trees per
year….
 The Vision

You didn’t cut down any?

 The Vision

What if the coffee cup could

be a source of carbon
conservation…
 The Vision

…instead of carbon
consumption?
 The Vision

What if the concept of

recycling didn’t matter…

…because you never

disrupted the natural cycle?
 The Vision

This is not only an alternative

to the paper cup….
 The Vision

it is better than the paper

cup….
 The Vision

….as robust as the flavors

inside…
 The Vision

…insulating enough to say

goodbye to the sleeve…
 The Vision

…and available in abundance

as a natural by-product of
existing plantations

….so the infrastructure is

already in place.
 The Vision

It helps to develop those

countries less fortunate than
ours....
 The Vision

…. without degrading their

resources.
 The Vision

That regular cup of java….

just got exotic again.
 …”I’ll have a grande
cappuccino to go friendly
please”…
 The Vision

…”I’ll have a grande

cappuccino to go friendly
please”…
 PART 2:
THE PROCESS
The fronds fall naturally to the ground as the
tree grows
The fronds are gathered,
rinsed and dried…with
minimal water used in the
process…
 The Process

A heat press will shape the

upper part of the cup….

…and the rest of the leaf is

used as the circular base.
 The Process

then the heat sterilizes the

cup…

…and a biodegradable
polymer glue is applied to
seal the pieces…
 The Process

The finished product is

capped with a new
‘biodegradable plastic’, called
PLA, made from corn starch…
like this one from Vegware….
The product will be created
The Process
using both existing cup
manufacturing
technologies…..
 The Process
…and the expertise
constantly being gained
in India where the
material is already used
for plates and bowls…
 So what’s the The Process

estimated cost?

USD 0.01 per cup

More details on this in the ideas brief…

Data source: dhriiti.org

 The Process

…The Third Cup Summit can

be held in 2011 in the
heartland of areca leaf
processing, and the innovation
capital of India: Bangalore…

…to exchange ideas, innovate,

network and dream…
 The Process

Just as the material can

already hold hot soup in a
bowl…

the areca leaf can hold a cup

of coffee ‘til the last sip and
beyond….
 The Process

And an alternative is born…

 PART 3:
SCALING UP
 Scaling Up

If the US consumes around 2

billion Starbucks coffee cups a
year, how can this new
material help meet demand?
 Scaling Up

Let’s do the sums…

If each frond produces about

2 coffee cups
 Scaling Up

Each tree produces

ten fronds per year….
And in each hectare
there are 1,500
trees…
 Scaling Up

Then one hectare can

produce up to 30,000 coffee
cups..
 Scaling Up

So are there enough hectares

of trees in existence?
 Areca Palm Production in Asia
India
290,000 China
hectares = 50,700
8.7 billion hectares =
coffee cups 760.5
million
coffee cups

Indonesia
88,000
hectares =
Banglades 2.64 billion
Thailand coffee cups
h
17,000
77,296
hectares =
hectares =
255 million
1.16 billion
coffee cups
coffee cups
Source: www.crnindia.com
 Scaling Up

Around 13.5 billion coffee

cups per year could be
created, from already existing
trees….
 Scaling Up

In India alone, Starbucks

would only need to tap into
25% of the supply to meet it’s
US demand…all of which
could be made…

…from a neutral resource.

 Scaling Up

Imagine if Starbucks then

went global with it….
 PART 4:
TAKING IT
TO MARKET
 Taking it to market

So the product is there for the

making…..but is it the
Starbucks cup?
 Taking it to market

Starbucks has done the research

already….

What the customers liked about

Starbucks’ last revolution, they’ll love
about this one….
 Innovative and
distinctive… Environmentally
Friendly…

Stylish…
f
Textural…

Natural colours,
not bleached
white…
Source: Report of the
Starbucks Coffee Company/
Alliance for Environmental
Innovation
 Taking it to market

The cup not only brings the exotic

back into the cup of Joe….

It makes your coffee a status

symbol.
 Taking it to market

It’s more effective than a white

recycled cup, because it actually looks
like an environmentally friendly cup…
 Taking it to market

And if the coffee can be ethically

sourced ….

…then why shouldn’t the coffee cup

be ethically sourced too?
 Taking it to market

But unlike ethically sourced coffee…

customers can show the world their

ethical choice…
 Taking it to market

The cup will also be integrated into

the famous Starbucks ordering
jargon….

“…..to go friendly please….”

 Taking it to market

So the customers can head on their

way….

with a little bit more exotic in their

day.
 Taking it to market

But not all customers are driven by

saving the
environment, so how can we motivate
the rest?
 Taking it to market
The My Starbucks rewards
programme….

For early conversions, offer a free

coffee after 10 purchases instead of
15 when they choose to ‘go friendly’…
 Taking it to market

A contribution by Starbucks to
kiva.org to grant loans to small
businesses once a certain level of
adoption is reached…

..and those loans can support coffee

growers and producers of the leaves…
 Taking it to market

For the Starbucks Gift Card…

Starbucks will co-sponsor a child with

World Vision or a similar NGO in an
area where the leaves are
harvested….
 Taking it to market

For the green thumb…

Starbucks has always struggled to get

the support of recyclers…but the
pressure is off, because this never
disrupted the cycle…
 Taking it to market

And if customers
want to re-use it,
it’s a great nursery
container, that can
be planted in the
earth…
 Taking it to market

and it will degrade

away, allowing the
roots to expand…
supplementing the
“grounds for your
garden
campaign”…
 Taking it to market

Doesn’t that make it worth looking

into a little bit further?
 Vision Process Scaling Up Taking it
to Market
See more details on the ideas page….

Concept by Aaron Levine 2010