Circular economy Reusable cup start-up Kooky tries its luck in the corporate business

The Zurich-based reusable cup start-up Kooky has given up its locations at SBB train stations and is now focusing on offices and universities. According to the Kooky boss, the time is not yet ripe for a public reusable cup system.

"If customers have the choice, 99 percent of them will choose disposable," said Kooky co-founder and CEO Maximilian Zott in an interview with the news agency AWP on Wednesday. This is also due to the fact that the entire infrastructure is geared towards disposable packaging - with widely distributed waste garbage cans and a state waste collection service. "If people had to return their disposable cups to certain places, things would be different," he is convinced.

The concept of the start-up, which was founded in May 2021, was simple: commuters could order their coffee in a reusable cup and pay an extra franc for it. As soon as they put the cup in a return box, they received the deposit back. All in the spirit of the circular economy, which aims to conserve resources and minimize waste.

The deal with the former partner businesses, such as bakeries and kiosks, was that Kooky would collect, clean and redistribute the cups. The problem: disposable cups are still cheaper for businesses and customers are often too slow to change their behavior. According to Zott, the necessary volumes have not been achieved at the stations.

New partnerships with Dallmayr and Selecta

The start-up is therefore now focusing on partners who want to convert their entire business to reusable packaging, such as offices and universities. The return rate there is over 98% - even without a depot.

Since this year, Kooky has been working with the vending machine operators Dallmayr Switzerland and Selecta. Their customers then place Kooky return boxes at various locations on their premises. The young company takes care of cleaning and distribution, but hires external service providers for this.

Kooky cups are also used by the ZFV-Unternehmungen cooperative, which operates university canteens and staff restaurants, among other things. However, the start-up Recircle is also active in this area, offering reusable tableware as well as cups.

Partnership with SBB and Valora ended

The partnerships with SBB and kiosk operator Valora, which include Brezelkönig, Avec and Caffè Spettacolo, are thus coming to an end. Two years ago, Kooky wanted to distribute its delivery boxes to 30 train stations - but by the end of last year, only Zurich HB, Basel and Bern had done so. Confiserie Sprüngli and coffee roaster Vicafe also had the cups on offer.

In fall 2022, the city of Bern also launched a pilot project with Kooky, involving local bakeries and others. This partnership is continuing and is working because the city and the restaurants are supporting the start-up with communication. "That's how we achieved the necessary volumes," says Zott.

Expansion abroad continues

Kooky is also continuing to look abroad. The start-up recently carried out a pilot project with the German cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden. According to Kooky CEO Zott, this went very well, as the cities provided their infrastructure for collecting and cleaning the cups. "The concept works wherever people work together and don't have to manage the effort alone."

Kooky is also currently looking for partner businesses in the Benelux countries. Although there is also more competition there, the market is big enough: "If only 40 percent of businesses switch to reusable cups, there is still plenty to do," says Zott.

SDA