When Dunkin’ said it was ending its long-term union with the foam cup, it hoped the split would be amicable. Dunkin’ diehards in New England are refusing to let go.
The company plans to phase out polystyrene foam cups in New England in December, and nationwide by the end of 2020. Dunkin’ fans are stockpiling foam cups to prepare.
Driving their obsession is a local tradition called double-cupping, in which iced-coffee drinkers request an empty foam cup to act as an outer sleeve to a plastic cup, creating an ad hoc thermos.
The coffee chain launched a #DoubleCupBreakup campaign with the slogans “Consciously Un-cup-ling,” and “Iced, Delicious and Single.” A video on the company’s website shows the two cups parting ways, with sad guitar strumming in the background.
“I will be cup-ling all I want. Let the hoarding commence,” said Katie Bunten, a double-cupper who owns Kate’s Homemade Pies and Treats in Monmouth, Maine.
Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. spent 10 years of experimenting with alternatives —including hashing out prototypes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology “cup summits” and creating a biodegradable concept cup made of mushrooms—before it found a replacement.
The company didn’t count on how long some customers would hang on to old cups.
Ms. Bunten reuses the cups for up to eight months. “It’s not like I don’t care for the environment. I save them until they are very broken. I have gone as far as duct-taping them,” Ms. Bunten said.
Steve Morgan, a youth detention-center guard who lives in Weymouth, Mass., has been hoarding cups for two years and has collected 124, and counting.
“It may have just become a habit knowing that one day they would phase them out. So, when they are gone, I will have a bunch to use for whenever I get another medium iced coffee,” said the 33-year-old, who starts his early-morning routine each work day with a drive to Dunkin’.
“Every time I go to Dunkies, I ask for a hot cup,” Mr. Morgan said, referring to the foam cups. They are usually free, but some shops charge up to 50 cents for the extra cup. He gladly pays.
“Could I buy a reusable one? Yup, but there’s just something about the hot cup,” Mr. Morgan said.
Share Your Thoughts
One cup or two? Join the conversation below.
When Chris Harrington moved from New England to Texas, he took his collection of foam cups, bracing for what was to come.
“When I said that we moved with about 20 Dunkin’ Donuts hot cups, well, this is why,” he said, posting on Facebook a photo of his neat stash of cups. He pulls one out every day for his 45-minute commute to work. “It’s my treat.”
Anastasia Quinn, 41, of Biddeford, Maine, said she has been stockpiling for the past year: “I knew this change was coming,” she said. “It’s better for the environment, but change is always difficult to get used to.” She has a dozen in her cupboard.
Seizing the entrepreneurial moment, Ms. Quinn’s daughter, Sierra Howe, 21, said she’s saving hers and will part with them for a price: $10 a cup.
“I ask for a hot cup every single time I get iced coffee and never regret it,” Ms. Howe said. “When the lady told me they aren’t doing it anymore, my heart dropped as she handed me my last hot cup. I’m sad to see it go.”
Kelli Akers, a 52-year-old teacher from Easton, Mass., has her cups stashed in her car, home and at work. “I’m ready,” she says.
Danielle Smith, who works at Dunkin’ in Weymouth, Mass., has been warning her regulars. “We’re switching in the next week or two,” she said. “If you like your hot cups, get them now and hold onto to them.”
The new cups are just as good as the old beloved ones, said Scott Murphy, Dunkin’ U.S. operating chief. “We all know that breakups can be hard, but our relationship with foam just isn’t sustainable,” he said.
Dunkin’ fans already objected when Dunkin’ Donuts last year decided to drop the “Donuts” from its name to become just Dunkin’.
The foam decision is another change some find tough to swallow.
“It’s the end of an era,” said Angela Christoforos, 29, who works in public relations in Boston and who has been drinking Dunkin’ since she was 15. “The double cup was always standard, something that is implied and automatic.”
“I’m in mourning—a very sad day,” said Patty Donovan, 57, an investigator with the Boston Fire Department. “I guess all good things must come to an end.”
Ms. Donovan’s fellow firefighters in Boston feel the same way, she said. “The work I do, you can’t always carry something that’s reusable—we don’t have that option,” she said. “We need something affordable and disposable.”
Ms. Donovan tries to recycle her Dunkin’ cups, or repurpose them to use at home.
Some double-cuppers have made the switch to alternatives like reusable insulating cup sleeves, also known as koozies. Ms. Christoforos said she settled for one sold by Dunkin’ because “New Englanders are obsessed” with the coffee chain.
Dunkin’ is introducing the new cups this month in New England, and New York and California by the spring. Retiring foam will remove approximately 19 million pounds of polystyrene from the waste stream annually, according to the company. The new choice is a double-walled paper cup, also lined with plastic.
They can’t be easily recycled.
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
"cup" - Google News
November 25, 2019 at 05:37AM
https://ift.tt/2qH3nTY
Dunkin’ Breaks Up with Foam Cup—And Fans Start Hoarding Foam - The Wall Street Journal
"cup" - Google News
https://ift.tt/33Fi2Nf
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment