How to Influence Consumer Behaviour
Fast-food eating places have a single-use waste downside. Three million tonnes of plastic find yourself in Canada’s landfills annually, and half of that’s packaging, in response to Statistics Canada. In reality, Canadians use 1.5 billion disposable cups alone annually. A&W Canada thinks that’s far too many.
Over the previous few years, many fast-food corporations have tried to crack the cup downside. In 2021, some Toronto-area Burger King and Tim Hortons eating places examined out reusable cups by TerraCycle’s Loop pilot program, which collects, cleans and redistributes reusable packaging. But techniques like these require prospects to place in effort: pay a deposit, Scan a QR code, obtain an app and return objects to a particular assortment spot. Sustainability advisers say any friction might deter prospects from committing.
A&W Canada took a special strategy. “We came up with the simplest option to get people to start changing their behaviour,” says Angela Griffiths, technique supervisor and vice-president of meals security, animal welfare and atmosphere at A&W Canada. In the burger chain’s newest eco-friendly effort, it zeroed in on diverting cups from landfills with the introduction of its One Cup program: Pay $3 for a reusable cup and change it for a clear one in your subsequent go to—no fussy guidelines or inconvenient caveats.
The problem was designing a reusable cup that folks would really use. The model first examined 650-mL cups, however prospects stated they have been too huge. Meanwhile, employees advised the cups ought to match beneath all of the machines and embrace markings to indicate completely different serving sizes.
A&W Canada had initially tried to deal with the difficulty in 2022 with its Zero Cup, a completely compostable and recyclable cup and not using a lid or plastic liner. But prospects didn’t just like the “papery” style, so this system wasn’t expanded.
After 18 months of ideation, sourcing and testing, the chain created a brand new reusable 590-mL cup, and in October 2023, A&W Canada launched its One Cup program. The cup is manufactured from recyclable polypropylene and might maintain any drink on the menu—from a sizzling espresso to a root-beer cream freeze. Upon change, the cups are cleaned in a high-temperature sanitizing dishwasher alongside A&W’s iconic glass root-beer mugs after which put again into circulation.
So far, this system has diverted 200,000 cups from landfills, and the corporate goals to hit the one-million mark this 12 months. To encourage visitors to change up their habits, A&W Canada arrange a sales space close to a Toronto college campus and had the “A&W Guy” from its advertisements hand out free One Cups to college students, which resulted in a viral TikTook with a million views. To get employees to advocate the One Cup to prospects, the model held an official contest: Stores that offered probably the most cups have been rewarded with reward playing cards and pizza events.
Related: 10 Smart Eco-Friendly Swaps for Items You Use Every Day
For different eating places aiming to advertise a change in shopper habits, Griffiths suggests investing time in testing to make a product folks really wish to use. “Think about the design, the feel and the look,” she says. “It has to be something that’s appealing to your target audience.”
