Starbucks launches personal cup option at stores

Customers can now use their own personal cups in Starbucks stores — and get a discount in the process.

Starbucks Corp. has launched a new customer-friendly sustainability initiative across all company-operated and participating licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada.

The Seattle-based coffee giant is now the first national chain to allow customers to bring their own personal cups when ordering in-store or in the drive-thru at all company-operated and participating licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada. Customers who bring any clean, personal cup will receive a $0.10 discount on their beverage, and in the U.S., Starbucks Rewards members will receive 25 Bonus Stars.

“At Starbucks, we envision a future where every beverage can be served in a reusable cup,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks' chief sustainability officer. “Offering customers more options to use a personal cup when they visit Starbucks marks tangible progress towards the future. We know our customers are passionate about the planet, and now, they can join us in our efforts to give more than we take, no matter how they order.”

In café, customers will tell the barista when they order that they brought their own personal cup. Customers choosing to sit and stay in café can also request a reusable ceramic or glass cup at most stores. In the drive-thru, while ordering, customers order their beverage as usual, and let the barista know they brought their own cup. At the pickup window, baristas will collect customers’ personal cup without the lid using a contactless vessel to ensure hygiene and safety. The beverage will be returned the same way.

When customers order via the Starbucks app, first they will hit the “Customization” button and then select “Personal Cup” in the customization menu and continue ordering as normal. When they get to the store, customers meet the barista at the pickup area, and hand over their clean personal cup without the lid. The barista will hand the beverage back in a contactless vessel.

All Starbucks standard size options (Short, Tall, Grande and Venti) and beverage formats (hot, iced and blended) are eligible to be ordered in a personal cup. The new personal cup program was tested at 200 drive-thru Starbucks locations in Colorado last spring.

In November, Starbucks announced plans to reach 55,000 locations by 2030 following better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales.