Benjamin Young was a boy when he realised the impact plastic bottles and takeaway coffee cups had on the environment. Inspired by the litter he saw on the streets of overflowing coffee cups, he knew something had to change.
“As a young kid I spent a lot of time outside, and I found a lot of cups, you know, water bottles and that kind of thing on the ground and overflowing out of bins.”
He decided to create Frank Green, a business that’s well-suited to its name. It aims to decrease water bottle and coffee cup litter by providing a stylish alternative – BPA free non-disposable cups.
“38 per cent of Australia's landfill is either single use water bottles, or coffee cups, and up to 90 per cent of office bins is those two products as well. That's not good enough and something's got to change.”
By encouraging customers to use these spill-proof, dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe cups, cafes have the potential to save a few cents per coffee cup. While this sounds like a minor saving, this can quickly add up over a year.
These smartcups are BPA-free, microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe. Source: Supplied
“Each time a consumer uses their smart cup at a cafe, that saves the cafe anywhere between 20 to 50 cents,” says Ben. “Over a year, a cafe can save anywhere between 100 and 150 dollars per customer that they've converted from paper cups.”
However, Frank Green’s creation isn’t just a regular non-disposable coffee cup. It’s also embedded with a chip that allows coffee–lovers to tap-and-go through a CafePay partnership.
Users can load money through the CafePay app, or link their credit card to the chip. Not only does the app track regular orders, but users can gift coffees to friends.
Benjamin Young founded Frank Green after noticing all the coffee cups and water bottles overflowing in bins. Source: Supplied
This is a part of the ‘cash-less’ movement, with more and more businesses looking to make card exchanges rather than physical cash. This certainly helps with cashflow and is more efficient in servicing customers.
One of the first cafés in Melbourne using the CafePay system is Tom Thumb.
Owner James says, “Between our rush of about 9 o'clock to 11, we've got at least an hour where it's Frank Green territory.”
“It makes us more efficient, the CafePay system is really quick and easy. Knowing our customers orders helps us to be efficient too.”
20 other cafes in Australia have also come on board, with plans for hundreds by next year. Frank Green will expand beyond cafes and into outlets such as 7/11 as well. The business has seen triple digit growth and has expanded to UK and the US, and looks towards world domination.
The CafePay chip is embedded in the lid of the smartcup. Source: Supplied
“In the not too distant future, you're going to be able to use your smartcup anywhere around the world, where eftpos or visa or mastercard is accepted, and that's something that we're really looking forward to, that ubiquity of payments, that will be a game changer for us.”
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