Norway’s Coffee cup #1 is 15 years old

Circle K Amara Coffee CupThe Circle K cups are filled up a total of 20 million times a year at our Norwegian stations, says Jeanette Amara, who is the category manager for food and coffee in Circle K. Photo: Johnny Syversen / Circle K

Norway’s most sold Coffee cup is 15 years old

Every year, it is sold in around 400,000 of them and they are filled up with hot drinks 20 million times. This year, the Circle K-cup turns 15 years old. Loved and hated through those years. Now it gets a total makeover.

 

– According to our calculations, the Circle K cups are filled up a total of 20 million times a year at our Norwegian petrol stations. Therefore, I think can safely call this Norway’s most sold and used coffee-cup, says Category Manager for Food and Coffee in Circle K, Jeanette Amara.

Two out of three Norwegians over 18 years of age drink coffee every day, according to Norwegian Coffe information. This makes Norway the world’s most coffee drinking nation in the world, per capita, after Finland.

Popular innovation

The Circle K-cup appeared for the first time in 2003, then dubbed the Breakfast Club Cup. Fø The first vintage of the cup was reserved for the Statoil station’s gold customers, who could fill it with free drinks every time they were at a petrol station. From 2004 the cup was available to everyone, and eventually, it was renamed the Statoil Cup.

– It was a novelty in the market and quickly became very popular. remember

Flames, Ski World Championships and storm of complaints

In 2009 it was decided that the cup should undergo a total revamp. The IDÉ profile agency was hired in, and the result was a more modern, multicoloured cup series with a sliding lid. It eventually came in several special versions, including flames, traffic signs, to him and her, in a ski World Championships version and with the call to use a seat belt while driving.

The various cup designs created both involvement and in some cases irritation. In 2014, the handle was removed, which led to a storm of complaints and protest groups on Facebook against the easily breakable «fashion cup from Stelton». The concept survived both this as well as the change of ownership and the subsequent reprofiling from Statoil Norway to Circle K.

Lockable lid

Now Amara is ready to write a new chapter in the story of the resilient cup.

– We’ve got IDÉ back on the team in conjunction with the traditional American manufacturer PMI, which is behind brands like Aladdin and Stanley. Together we have made a 2019 series with brand new design and more functionalities. Among other things, the cups have a lockable lid that is a clear improvement from previous editions, she elaborates.

Popular Christmas present

The improved Circle K cups are now available in the Circle K stations across Norway. According to Jeanette Amara, the stations experience a fairly high demand in the period before Christmas.

– Yes, this is a popular and affordable gift for anyone who already has everything, and it can’t be swept under the carpet that it also works well as a last-minute gift. I’ve even given away a few of these myself over the years, she smiles.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today