2023 Bloom Fund Recipient

St. Elmo’s is committed to lowering their environmental impact and implementing eco-friendly practices that reach beyond their store front. With help from a Counter Culture Coffee Bloom fund, St. Elmo’s will be purchasing stainless steel tumblers to reduce the need for single-use plastics.

At St. Elmo’s Del Ray location alone, 13,000-14,000 beverages in disposable cups with lids are sold per month. Of those beverages, approximately 8,500 are hot drinks, meaning they may also require a sleeve. By selling RTIC coffee tumblers and offering customers who use the tumbler a discount, they will ultimately reduce waste, while also increasing brand awareness, strengthening their quality image, and building loyalty.

By tracking how many customers use a reusable cup with their point-of-sale system, they hope to reduce their disposable beverage product use by 15% within the first three months, and 50% by the end of the first year. After a three-month trial-run at their Del Ray location, they will roll out the program at their other two storefronts. This will provide them with enough time to train staff, evaluate the effectiveness of the program, and solicit feedback from customers before expanding on the program.

Bloom Fund

Counter Culture Coffee collects $0.01 from every pound of coffee sold to fund our Bloom program. Annually, $1 per pound of our spring coffee blend, Perennial, goes to further increase our contribution. Bloom provides grants to support sustainability initiatives at Counter Culture Coffee partner cafes. Rooted in the belief that everyone’s path toward sustainability looks a little different, this program supports projects of all shapes and sizes our partners identify as impactful.