TORONTO — New York Fries (NYF) has announced an evolution in its commitment to sustainability with the introduction of a new and unique drink cup that is 100-per-cent compostable and biodegradable. Partnering with SOFi Products, the premium French fry brand is departing from traditional fountain drink cups that require a plastic lid. With this change, NYF is the first national brand in North America to offer an eco-friendly, yet durable, cold cup that will naturally decompose completely in soil, landfills or marine environments in under 180 days.
Made from 100-per-cent plastic-free and bioplastic-free paper, these new cups further advance NYF’s commitment to reduce and remove single-use plastic waste wherever possible. What sets the new NYF cup apart is SOFi’s innovative design, featuring four folds that combine to create a spill-proof, built-in lid, ensuring a hassle-free, enjoyable drinking experience that doesn’t even require a straw.
“At New York Fries, we have a strong commitment to sustainability and the introduction of our new drink cups across all our Canadian stores aligns with our promise to environmental stewardship and reducing unnecessary waste,” says Alyssa Berenstein, Marketing director, New York Fries. “We’re excited to be at the forefront of rolling out this brand-new biodegradable packaging and have enjoyed seeing our customers’ reactions to it both in-store and online as they discover our new, funky cup. The organic social response has been overwhelmingly positive during our 10-month test, and we’re proud to roll this new cup out to all our Canadian stores this spring.”
Throughout last year, the new environmentally friendly NYF cups underwent testing at NYF locations in B.C. and Southwestern Ontario, working with SOFi products to refine the design for food-court use. The success of the trials has resulted in a nationwide rollout of the 100-per-cent compostable cups across all NYF stores by the start of May 2024. Three 60-second NYF-branded radio spots are planned to announce the launch.
The new NYF SOFi drink cup springboards off past environmental initiatives from the brand and will result in the elimination of 3.6 million plastic lids from Canadian waste bins each year. In 2018, the brand eliminated the use of all plastic straws, in favour of paper and 2019 saw the introduction of new fry and poutine packaging, stepping away from the iconic fry cups, making way for a 100-per-cent recyclable and compostable formulation. This change equated to the elimination of 6.7 million poutine cups and 1.5 million plastic poutine lids from Canadian waste bins each year. In 2020, the brand announced an ongoing partnership with Tree Canada that has resulted in thousands of trees planted and nurtured across Canadian communities through Tree Canada’s National Greening Program.
