BUSINESS
Air New Zealand is trialling edible coffee cups in a bid to reduce waste on board its aircraft. The airline serves more than eight million cups of coffee a year and is testing the new cups “in the air and on the ground”.
The cups are made by NZ company ‘twiice’ from vanilla-flavoured biscotti and are said to be leakproof.
“The cups have been a big hit with the customers who have used them, and we’ve also been using the cups as dessert bowls,” said Air New Zealand's customer experience manager Niki Chave.
The trial follows a recent switch to compostable cups made of paper and corn, which are currently used in all Air New Zealand planes and lounges. Switching to plant-based coffee cups is expected to prevent around 15 million cups going to landfill annually. The airline is also encouraging customers to bring their own reusable cups onboard aircraft and into its lounges.
“It's terrific that Air New Zealand has partnered with us to showcase to its customers and the world that a little bit of Kiwi ingenuity and innovation could have a really positive impact on the environment while at the same time delivering a really cool and tasty customer experience,” said twiice co-founder Jamie Cashmore, who is working on extending the cups to an entire edible range of crockery.
Air New Zealand is also dealing with concerns from those with dietary requirements, as the cups contain egg, gluten and might contain traces of nut and dairy. Plant-based cups will continue to be available on all flights during the trial.