Abigail Forsyth and KeepCup: riding a green wave to profits
KeepCup’s sustainable branding captured the public mood about the environmental costs of disposable cups.


Abigail Forsyth struggled to get a hearing when she first came up with the idea of starting a business making reusable cups. “This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever seen,” said one designer she approached. “This is just a cup,” said a confused potential manufacturer. That was in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008, says Michelle Meehan on the BBC. Now, total worldwide sales at KeepCup have hit ten million.
KeepCup’s sustainable branding turned out to be cleverer than it seemed and it was able to ride a wave when concern spread about the environmental costs of disposable cups. The company produces and distributes reusable plastic and glass cups for sale around the world, and eventually aims to replace the single-use cardboard receptacles we had until recently taken for granted. But sustainability was never going to be enough – the product had “got to be sexy” if it was going to appeal to customers. From the beginning, it was “all about the design”, she says. “People were saying, ‘I don’t even know what it is, but I want one’.”
Sales have grown steadily over the years, thanks to word of mouth, and the firm’s annual revenues are now reported to be more than A$8m (£4m). The growth has been organic, not needing any outside investors, and in keeping with the firm’s green credentials, manufacturing is completed locally in the firm’s two main markets, Australia and the UK. The business has been hit by the coronavirus crisis, but Forsyth is confident she can bounce back. KeepCup will one day, she says, be seen as the business “that kick-started the demise of the disposable cup”.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Nic studied for a BA in journalism at Cardiff University, and has an MA in magazine journalism from City University. She has previously worked for MoneyWeek.
-
Families suffer £20,000 lost income growth – are you feeling the pinch?
Average incomes for working age families have increased by just 7% in the past two decades, research suggests
-
How to achieve a secure retirement, as more retirees admit to struggling with debt
Twenty-six percent of retirees now have unsecured debt – a sharp rise compared to two years ago – with many underestimating how much a typical retirement costs
-
Giorgio Armani: the irreplaceable Il Signore
Giorgio Armani started his fashion business in 1975 and built it into the world’s largest private luxury brand. Where can it go without him?
-
Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud
South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon, who used to call critics cockroaches, faces a long spell in jail after pleading guilty to fraud relating to the collapse of two digital coins
-
The rise of Robin Zeng: China’s billionaire battery king
Robin Zeng, a pioneer in EV batteries, is vying with Li Ka-shing for the title of Hong Kong’s richest person. He is typical of a new kind of tycoon in China
-
Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon leaves behind a toxic legacy
On the left, Nicola Sturgeon is seen as something of a political hero. That makes sense… but only if you exclude her actual record in office
-
Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai – the first big bust of the AI boom
Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai start-up claimed it could use artificial intelligence to build apps. Its revenues turned out to be equally artificial
-
Alex Karp: can Batman save America?
The US governing elite needs to take on the bad guys, says Alex Karp, who sees himself as the caped crusader to lead the battle
-
In defence of Donald Trump
Opinion Doom-mongers thought the world would end with the election of Donald Trump. Think again, says Max King
-
Mira Murati: a trailblazer in AI goes it alone
Mira Murati fled OpenAI to set up her start-up, Thinking Machines Lab. The firm just raised a record $2bn in a seed funding round and has grand ambitions