Irish firm Cup Print has installed a new packaging machine at its facility in Ennis, Co Clare to produce the Frugalpac paper coffee cup.
The facility currently produces 150m cups per year for customers including Mars, Kraft and Bunzl.
UK-based packaging firm Frugalpac developed a new recyclable coffee cup to meet the needs of world’s major coffee brands in August 2016.
Entrepreneur Martin Myerscough and his UK team at Frugalpac have partnered with Intertek to establish the viability of new proposed recyclable cup.
The new machine for Cup Print is expected to help Frugalpac meet its increasing demand for trials and testing from customers, including Starbucks, reported FoodBev.com.
Frugalpac founder Martin Myerscough said: “We’re delighted that Cup Print have taken our first Frugalpac machine and will now be able to deliver our cups for trials and testing.
“We have received interest from around the world for the Frugalpac cup, including from Starbucks. Our new facility at Cup Print will allow us to start to meet this demand.
“Ultimately we will build even larger Frugalpac machines for cup producers by licensing the technology to them. But we’re really pleased that Cup Print is our first partner.”
Frugalpac plans to license the technology on a non-exclusive basis to other cup manufacturers.
Made from recycled paper, the Frugalpac cup is said to be competitively priced and can be recycled in normal paper mills.
Cup Print managing director Terry Fox said: “We already supply independent cafés and marketing companies all over Europe and we look forward to being able to offer the Frugalpac cup to them, following the forthcoming tests and trials with several potential customers.”
In the next nine months, Frugalpac plans to unveil three other products based on the same technology.
