Cup styles - opinion

[kimbica]

Hey everyone,

I am the process of getting my shop built out and trying to finalize choices for syrups, cups, napkins, misc. paper goods. I am considering using the Insulair cups, the paper ones that have a built-in sleeve, and am wondering if anyone else uses them, what you think of them, how they price out compared to other options, etc. I cannot do foam cups here; I would be instantly uncool in the community. I personally dislike the clutches/sleeves, but I know they would be cheaper by at least a few cents a drink. Any insights, opinions welcome! So many decisions to make....

Kimbica
Crave Espresso Bar :-D

 

[kimbica]

cups

My question has been viewed 34 times, and nobody responded? Can anyone offer any advice on the Insulair cups? Pros, cons, personal experience? Maybe these are less common than I thought.

Thanks everyone for at least reading my post!

Kim

 

[Jackson]

Insular cups

I have not tried Insular cups myself, although the brand is expensive. They brag that insular cups keep coffee hot longer than other paper cups, but I think only 15 minutes longer. That does not justify the price in my opinion.
If you buy a basic paper cup, lid and jacket, the packaging already costs more than the coffee inside. Why spend even more? Good luck!

 

[Comfy Place]

Insulair Cups

I'm in the same camp as Jackson, I haven't tried the Insulair cups either. They do seem a bit pricey, in my opinion. I currently use a double-walled cup that is produced locally in my area, and I don't need to use a clutch/wrap; they are less expensive than the Insulair.

If you can get your hands on a sample, I would do so. Otherwise, have you thought about partnering with another business or 2 on the cup wraps? They could have their brand/logo/etc. on one side of the wrap, and you can have you're name on the other. You could have them cover the costs of the wraps, which isn't very much, and it hopefully would help both of your businesses.

As I mentioned, we don't use them in our shop, and I'm not aware of any other independants in my area that are using them. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I'm interested to hear what others that are using them think of them.

 

[equus007]

insular

I have used the insular cups. They work very nicely and in my opinion are the best disposable cus around for coffee....and they cost an arm and a leg. If you want to brand the cups be ready for a very large bill. Is it worth it? That really depends on what you are going after. Customers apprectiate them but their minimum order on branded cups is large and you will probably have to rent a storage garage to keep them i for the first year you are open.

 

[kimbica]

insulair cups

Thanks for responding! Equus, do you know how much more the insulair/insular (sp?) cups add up to than the cost of a regular paper cup + sleeve, with nothing personalized at all? I am considering the Insulair plain white cups and stamping my name on them. I think I saw a cost somewhere of 18 or 19 cents a cup - is this right? It seems steep, but what are the costs typically of regular solos or similar brand plus a basic generic sleeve?

I really appreciate everyone who is responding to this - it is one of the decisions I am really having trouble with!

Kim Sciabica
Crave Espresso Bar, AZ

 

[nentony]

We are currently switching back to plain cups after using insulair. The insulair cups were fine. The issues I had were, A. The lids are different for 20 oz, B. the cases are 600 cups instead of 1000 so we were ordering more often and of course, the money. Still, we wrestled with the decision.

Tony

 

[sketchy]

Hi
We were using ripple cups by detpac but are changing to corogated cups by enviro-pac because there cheaper and you don't have to order as many to get a logo printed on them.

www.enviro-pac.com.au

LE

 

[dhvd79a]

Customer resistance

A friends coffe shop switched to those cups. After a couple months he had to switch back due to customer pressure. Customers wanted double cups because there were no sleeves. Completely psycholgical conditioning but he gave up eventually.

dave