Canada’s favorite coffee chain is working hard to develop more sustainable packaging methods. Tim Hortons begun a 12 week trial of plastic-free hot beverage lids that are easier to recycle and compost. The new lids will be tested in 23 Prince Edward Island locations. The company plans to continue introducing more environmentally friendly packaging over the next five years.
This new development builds upon work the company has been doing to redesign and rebrand its packaging since 2018, after a spike in customer complaints about leaky lids and thin cups. In 2023 they strove to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics by switching to wooden and fiber cutlery, and beverage and bowl lids in Vancouver.
The Vancouver trials were a success and reportedly helped reduce the use of more than 3.3 million plastic lids. The company also switched to more efficiently designed breakfast and lunch wrappers that use 75% less material than the former wrap box. Which saves an estimated 1,400 tonnes of material each year. In 2022, Tim Hortons partnered with the non-profit organization Return-It, to test-run a reusable and returnable cup scheme in Vancouver as well.
Senior director of procurement sustainability and packaging for Tim Hortons, Paul Yang commented: “We’ve worked hard on developing a fiber lid that feels like our current lids but is plastic-free.” The Prince Edward Island lids reflect improvements made after the Vancouver trial and can be recycled or composted. Yang continues “We're excited to ask Islanders to help us test this new, plastic-free, and recyclable lid for Tim Hortons hot beverage cups. We’re known for serving Canada’s favorite coffee, so it's important that we develop a best-in-class solution for our guests”.
Tim Hortons currently operates 3,894 stores across Canada and nearly 2,000 locations in 17 international markets. The chain entered three new markets in 2023, Singapore, Pakistan, and South Korea with new locations planned for Panama in 2024. The company’s international footprint grew by 21%. However, 2023 also saw more annual net store closures in Canada for the second year in a row. While growth in the US has slowed.
By the end of 2023, international sales reached $600 million. In North America, Tim Hortons achieved a 7.6% year-on-year sales growth to reach $7.2 billion with like-for-like sales improving by 11%. $6.5 billion out of the $7.2 billion came from Canadian revenue.