Tim Hortons has taken another step in asserting itself as a heavyweight in the coffee industry battle against its rivals. Following in the footsteps of other chains like Starbucks and Second Cup, Tim Hortons has introduced a cardboard coffee cup sleeve for hot beverages that will protect customers against burns in lieu of the traditional double-cup method.
As outlined by official policy, the sleeves will accompany beverages that are hot to the touch, such as tea, but can be requested for use with other hot beverages. The recent switch to sleeves satisfies a demand customers have been making for some time.
Alexandra Cygal, a Tim Hortons representative, explains the length delay saying, “We’ve considered [introducing the sleeves] before… but the one we’ve chosen now uses less material and has tested better than ones we’ve tried before.”
The sleeve endured rigorous testing in focus groups before finally making its debut last week.
To create buzz, Tim Hortons is taking unique measures to introduce the new coffee sleeves. In the United Arab Emirates, Tim Hortons has partnered with regional newspaper Gulf News to create the “Headline News Cup Sleeve”. The sleeve will be adorned with news-related tweets from the Gulf News Twitter account and updated hourly to feature important events from across the country. This innovative use of sleeves lends added value to a cup of coffee, but is only available in fourteen stores across the UAE.
The cup sleeves have since made their way to McMaster where they will be protecting students’ hands from their scalding hot drinks. While they won’t play host to news headlines, the sleeves will be a more environmentally conscious option than the conventional double-cup method many have become used to. There are two sides to the coin, as Macleans reports, with one poster on an online discussion thread suggesting that, “A Real Canadian would simply drink their Timmies wearing their hockey gloves.” Without going to that extent, Tim Hortons could encourage customers to bring their own reusable mugs to cut down on waste.
Photo credit: Tomi Milos / Features Editor
