VANCOUVER, B.C.—G-Kup, a Vancouver based start-up focused on sustainable packaging, announces the closing of its initial seed round comprised of several well-known U.S. and Canadian investors including The Charles Edison Fund (The Edison Fund invested as part of their new mandate of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship), Arlene Dickinson (CEO of Venture Communications and District Ventures, and formerly Dragons’ Den), and Lance Tracey (Co-Founder of Peer 1 and Sutton Group Realty).The initial funding will fuel G-Kup’s commercialization of its 100 percent compostable single serve coffee pod.
The G-Kup, which has a rigid design similar to licensed Keurig brands, will work in all Keurig compatible machines including Keurig 2.0. As well, because it has a rigid base, it is compatible with “auto-eject” Keurig commercial office brewers that will not recognize soft bottom pods.
The design of the G-Kup allows for more volume of coffee than conventional rigid or soft bottom single serve pods (15 percent more coffee per pod) and can be conveniently disposed of in a green bin or home composter. G-Kup’s fiber construction allows consumers to see and feel the difference when comparing it to plastic or plastic-like coffee pods and assures that it will be accepted in most municipal green bin programs in Canada and the United States unlike material that can be confused with plastic. The rigid design of the G-Kup extends well to other beverage offerings in the single serve category including teas, hot chocolate and a fast growing segment, shelf stable dairy mixtures of flavored coffee. G-Kup will also be positioned well for the cold beverage segment that is expected to see explosive growth.
“Globally, single serve has become the fastest growing segment within consumer coffee,” said Darren Footz, CEO of G-Kup. “We all know the widespread adoption of single serve is generating significant amounts of waste as a byproduct, with more than 60 billion K-Cups being consumed and disposed of globally. Both consumers and roasters have told us that compostability and taste (which is tied directly to the amount of coffee per pod) are key factors for acceptance in the single serve market. Our goal at G-Kup is to provide our customers with a premium brand experience when it comes to sustainability, taste and product design, something larger manufacturers are not offering in the market right now.” Footz continued, “We are excited to have closed our first round of funding. We now have the team, capital and production facility in place to execute on our next phase of plans, which includes the commercial production of the G-Kup later this year. As a contract manufacturer, we believe we can meet the demand from major brands and independent roasters interested in utilizing the G-Kup for their coffee.”
Go to G-Kup.
