Abigail’s cup runneth over

Abigail Forsyth is proof that many small acts make a phenomenal difference.

Abigail is the co-founder and chief executive of KeepCup, an Australian design and eco-sustainability company that has gone global.  Her reusable coffee cups contain a fraction of the plastic found in a disposable cup, and KeepCup users have helped divert billions of disposable cups from landfill.

The idea for KeepCups came after she and her brother grew increasingly concerned at the amount of waste their Bluebag café in Melbourne was generating.  “We looked to purchase and sell reusable cups as an alternative to disposables, but observed that not only were existing options unsuitable for specialty coffee, they hadn’t won the hearts of consumers.  We had the notion to make our own but were daunted by the enormous costs of set-up and manufacture.

“My moment of clarity was when I was heating the milk in my daughter’s sippy cup one morning. Imagine if I gave her milk in a disposable cup and then discarded it.  That idea seemed so wasteful, yet I did it with coffee twice a day.  This moment was the call to action.

“We took a huge gamble that usability and aesthetics were the key reasons for poor take-up of reusables. Our café experience was invaluable in providing input to make the KeepCup work behind the coffee machine as well as for the user.”

KeepCups are now sold in more than 30 countries. 

“We think of ourselves as a campaign supported by a product, where the best reusable is the one you use,” Abigail says.  “Ours just happens to be pretty awesome.”

Abigail will speak at the FMP Business Breakfast on Thursday, August 25, from 7-9am at the Frankston Arts Centre, cnr Davey and Young streets. Bookings: trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=190590 or phone 9781 1422.