Innovation

Initially, the application was designed to remind users to bring their reusable drinkware with them, as “a lot of people want to do the right thing, they just forget.” The soon-launched update was launched to take Cupanion’s contribution to global needs to the next level.

There were two main contributors to the creation of this innovation - Matt Wittek, the Founder of Cupanion and the Director of Marketing and Sales, and Tara Zimmerman. Matt was responsible for the initial creation of the app, while Tara was involved with connecting Cupanion Rewards with Fill It Forward.

Cupanion Rewards was initially created in alignment with the compnay's mission, “ to inspire the world to reuse,” but since partnering with Fill It Forward, has now moved further to provide aid worldwide.

Inspiration

The motivation of the innovation really stemmed from the drive to delve deeper into acting on the company’s mission. In alignment with their mission statement, Cupanion embodies the drive to motivate society to reuse as opposed to solely recycle, which caused the desire to find a way to keep people engaged and inspired. Cupanion is dedicated to making an impact by pushing forth this mission in the business decisions they make, as “[they] don’t really care if you’re using our products. [They’d] love you to, but the whole basis of it is getting people to reuse.”

Overall impact

The application technology allows Cupanion to build more long-term relationships with its affiliated partners. The company is able to further develop their pre-existing relationships, for example, with post-secondary institutions, turning them from one-time customers into regular buyers. The business has benefited from these deeper connections, in both tangible or monetary and intangible aspects. Furthermore, Cupanion Rewards is proprietary. There’s no other drinkware company out there that has an application like this. This allows Cupanion to stand out in a saturated drinkware market with this innovative technology. The results of this technological advancement is not only the company's competitive advantage, as it also creates top-of-mind awareness for consumers, driving sales and ultimately, driving global impact.

Generally speaking, Cupanion has benefited society in countless ways. To begin, they ensure that all employees, either through suppliers or directly, are treated fairly and are paid a fair wage. Furthermore, Cupanion strives to show customers that “sustainability is more than just solar panels and huge projects.” The Cupanion Rewards innovation has the potential to allow everyone to make a difference, big or small. The choice to use reusable drinkware has a further impact than meets the eye. Thus, Cupanion Rewards enables consumers to visualize their contribution. Furthermore, reusable cups are much simpler and more affordable for an individual than installing solar panels.

Small innovating projects like Cupanion rewards, allow everyone to contribute to reducing waste and reusing and not only those who can afford to. The company believes that “with… our innovation, it’s a really simple task that really can create monumental change around the world. Plastic pollution, disposable cup pollution, is everywhere and just getting people to talk about it and it being the forefront of [Cupanion] has, we think, a really big impact on society, and changing those behaviours.”

Cupanion has also had a great environmental impact, as the company has various programs in place to increase their positive footprint. For example, in partnership with The Carbon Farmer, Coupanion has developed a system where each custom drinkware purchase results in one tree being planted. This not only helps improve the environment in a variety of ways, but also incentivizes consumers to make a custom purchase, giving them a sense of ownership for a positive environmental impact.

Furthermore, Cupanion is driven to reduce the use of plastic in the shipping process, which eliminates waste and helps combat the landfill crises. Finally, each scan results in a cup of water being given to a person in need which helps the alleviation of the current global water crisis. Cupanion's research shows that “reusing one cup saves approximately 0.17 pounds of CO2 emissions. This means that if you reuse a cup just 10 times, you will be saving one whole pound of CO2 emissions.”

The environmental impact of the Cupanion Rewards innovation and other current initiatives is colossal.

Business benefit

The application has resulted in extensive competitive advantage for Cupanion as there is currently no other tracking application for water usage on the market that also provides donation to a person in need. Cupanion is able to appeal to those consumers who want to have a larger impact with their purchase and like to know the extent of this impact. These consumers are able to see just how far their responsible choices go, all through the application.

Social and environmental benefit

Cupanion has seen the social benefit of introducing the application to consumers. The success of the app on an individual and business level is in showing the true impact of using reusable products in each person’s daily life. Cupanion aims to put forth their company message and wants customers to associate “the whole idea of changing behaviour with such a simple task versus people thinking that living a sustainable lifestyle is unattainable.” The application makes things much simpler. It not only has benefits for those in need by providing them a cup of water, but also reminds consumers to take their reusable drinkware with them, which results in visible environmental benefits. When avoiding the use of disposable drinkware, “there is less convenience involved... so we want to reward those people that are making a change and making a difference.” In addition, Tara mentions that “it also gives [them] a really great story to tell.”

Interview

Tara Zimmerman, Marketing and Engagement Manager