Case study: re-building reusable use post-COVID

Around 80% of Wolf & Honeybee customers are regulars who come to the café every day for a take-away. The struggle to return to BYO reusable habits pre-COVID was real, even among the sustainability-aware community of Newtown, and owner Leigh Holman was driven to step in. “I was hating how much disposables we were using,” she said.

• Leigh introduced a reuse loyalty card – a simple idea that rewarded customers for doing the right thing – and created a small mug library in a bid to reduce single-use plastic waste.

In Randwick, Cat & Cow Coffee’s very existence was based on a bold vision: no single-use cups at all. But Covid temporarily upended that model, and owners Lenka and Jacob Kriz are determined to make their vision a reality again.

• They introduced a 50-cent surcharge for anyone still choosing a disposable cup (with the proceeds going to charity) and promoted reuse in every possible way.

Rather than offer a reward system just for coffee purchases, when most of the café’s customers are already loyal to Wolf & Honeybee, Leigh decided to link the program to orders filled in BYO cups. An unexpected advantage was that customers then began to really notice the mug library she’d set up long before, too.

The new signage provided by The Reusable Café Project made the mug library more visible and the concept easier to grasp. Meanwhile a promotional campaign that highlighted incentives for BYO reusables helped show customers how to take advantage of the reuse loyalty card when they borrowed a cup.

At Cat & Cow, where reuse has defined the café’s brand identity since day one, regular customers realise single-use plastics are off the menu. If they forget to BYO a reusable, the mug library is ready and waiting for take-away tea/coffee orders and smoothie drinkers can borrow a glass jar and return it next time they pop in.

New customers and visitors to the area are told all about the 50c single-use surcharge and offered a reusable alternative. Those who really want a disposable cup are always happy to pay it, and the interactions between customers and staff are positive. “It is a great conversation starter,” Lenka said. “And it makes people stop and think about their impact.”

The Wolf & Honeybee loyalty program was a success, with reusables increasing from 10% to 25% of sales over 6 months. “In the first month we gave out the whole deck of 500 reuse loyalty cards and got 50 completed cards back. That’s 500 coffees served in reusable cups that people have brought in.”

Cat & Cow’s surcharge was well received even by those who paid it and the café continues to lead the way in the reuse revolution. “Few people have been upset, as we offer them many free reusable options to drink from first, so they understand our point of view.”

Observational data showed a steady increase in reusable use and greater awareness of the Wolf & Honeybee mug library over time. The loyalty card program saved an estimated $60 per week in packaging costs, due to customers bringing their own reusable.

Meanwhile, Cat & Cow managed to convert at least 50% of take-away customers from single-use to reusable options, while regular customers continued to be committed to sustainability. The single-use surcharge prompted reflection, not resentment.

Both cafés acknowledge that maintaining momentum is an ongoing challenge. Leigh noted that more employers are limiting hybrid working, and people who work in officers are getting too busy to choose reuse. “They just want their takeaway,” she said, adding that she would happily do more washing if it meant people slowed down and dined in, rather than ordering a take-away in single-use cup.

Although Lenka believes many people don’t have sustainability front of mind at the moment, given the challenging times, she is optimistic that the future may bring legislation to restrict our reliance on single-use plastic items, and financial support for small businesses that commit to reusables. “This would lead to a systemic change and mean less pollution and less waste.”