The original designer and manufacturer of the GIANT coffee cup.
We know you’ve seen the giant coffee cups that are a staple at most motorway services and petrol stations, but did you know, WE DID THAT! They’re part of our heritage, and we’ve been creating them for brands, retailers, and hospitality venues across Europe for well over a decade.
An idea was born
A simple request for a new, innovative and standout permanent point of sale display from the Costa Coffee retail marketing team has since transformed into an iconic, recognised landmark retail display mechanic that is the visual hospitality benchmark for takeaway coffee companies.
Costa Coffee wanted to launch the GIANT coffee cups nationwide as part of a rebrand from Coffee Nation to Costa Express. As a result, we designed, manufactured, and installed around 3000 GIANT Costa Coffee cups.
GIANT coffee cups for point of sale retail displays
There’s no doubt that you’ve seen the GIANT coffee cup somewhere around the UK. That’s because they are not only an iconic symbol of takeaway coffee, but they also make super successful permanent retail point-of-sale displays.
GIANT coffee cups are great for:
- Raising brand awareness
- Acting as a physical store marker
- Drawing shopper attention
- Offering a standout branding opportunity.
In fact, you can read more about why our GIANT coffee cups are so fantastic for retail promotion in our article ‘5 Reasons our GIANT Coffee Cups are smashing the retail POS market’.
GIANT Coffee Cups to support waste recycling initiatives
Our GIANT coffee cups are not only great for retail point of sale, but they can be practical too!
By adapting the design with a hole in the lid for posting recyclables such as used coffee cups and a chamber to capture them inside, the GIANT coffee cups can also make great waste recycling points for coffee shops, adventure parks and hospitality venues.
Giant Coffee Cups are probably the most iconic pieces of POS that have ever been created, we see them wherever we go and we instantly know what they signify. They have been instrumental in supporting the takeaway coffee industry on these shores and overseas and we are incredibly proud that our MD Adam Gillott came up with the original design that laid the foundation for what they now represent to so many brands and retailers.
Costa Express led the way in the take-away coffee sector which has also led to the formation of many other coffee brands over the years, as retailers within the food and drinks sector have added this vital commodity to their product offering. Just take a moment to try and think of a few brands/retailers that offer and feature coffee prominently within their everyday campaigns? I’ll be surprised if you haven’t named at least 5 or 6 within the first 30 seconds.
When Costa Express decided to implement the first batch of giant cups the information they needed in order to make the decision on what to do next was simple, “Are we selling more coffee as a result of people seeing the Giant Cups?”. The answer was a resounding yes, hence these displays have grown in considerable and constant numbers over the years.
Ever since Three Point produced the first giant coffee cups for Coffee Nation, later to become Costa Express, back in 2009 we have prided ourselves on making them from the very best quality materials so that clients can get the best possible return on investment.
By identifying the most suitable and robust materials that work perfectly with the required design of the cups Three Point now produce giant cups for many retailers and brands who have recognised the rewards that these displays can bring knowing that the cups will provide many years of use.
The body wrap of the cups are made from clear polycarbonate with the branding printed on the reverse to ensure that all artwork is protected from stone chippings and adverse weather conditions. Acrylic capped ABS provides incredibly strong lids and the optional double-sided header panel allows for promotional messages and offers. For clients who want the cup to be sited in a consistent position, such as forecourts / drive throughs, the cup is supplied with a flat base and ballast inside to ensure that they don’t move, approximate weight of these cups is around 60 to 70kg. Alternatively, if the cup is to be positioned in a more pedestrian retail environment, we offer a cup with 4 castor wheels and no ballast inside, so that the cups can be moved back inside overnight.
The number of cups out there with the Costa Express branding is now in the thousands, however it’s not just the large corporates that utilise the benefits of these displays. We regularly provide small businesses with 1 or 2 cups to help raise their brand awareness in a competitive market.
So how much do our giant cups cost? As mentioned above we supply them in whatever quantity you require and the number of cups you order obviously has an impact on the price you pay for each one. A single cup is priced at £875 with a minimum artwork charge of £55 on top of that, the only other charge is for delivery to your required location. We deliver all cups on a dedicated same day delivery service to ensure that they get there safely. As the order quantity increases the price comes down, for example, 4 cups have a unit price of £695 and if you order 10 the price drops to £595 each. With cups generally delivered within 3 weeks of artwork approval the solution to your branding requirement is a lot closer than you think.
As a company we are aware that other giant cups are available elsewhere at lower price points however we are confident that our cups are produced from higher quality and more robust materials and will provide you with many years’ service and as a result, a great return on investment.
Sustainability in today’s world is a significant requirement and this is why we won’t compromise on the materials we use to build our giant cups. There are far too many retail displays that have a short life expectancy and are continually having to be replaced, that issue simply doesn’t come into play with our giant cups. A large number of our cups have been in-situ for 6, 7 and 8 years+ with no requirement for any maintenance during that time. With all cups produced in our Leicestershire factory every cup we produce has a small a carbon footprint as possible, particularly when you consider the amount of usage you get out of them.
For those who want to go to that extra mile when it comes to sustainability, we also produce a bin version of our giant cups. With a lockable lid these units provide the perfect place for customers to recycle their coffee cups whilst still offering all of the advertising benefits of the standard giant cups. The Indian street food brand Chaiiwala have been using our giant cup bins for many years and place them outside the vast majority of their stores.
To learn more about the history of our giant cups and to see the range of cups that we have produced over the years please click on the video link below. You can even see the cups going through our stringent strength test which involves a company director armed with a large hammer and the company van!
If after reading this article you still have questions that need answering about our giant cups please do not hesitate, contact our sales team on 01530 839777 or email us at info@threepd.co.uk. Just like the brands you see in the video your company can benefit from using our giant cups in exactly the same way, contact us now to start increasing your brand awareness and sales.
https://youtu.be/6geqqavMkUY
To find out all you need to know about our Giant Cups and how you can get one for your own brand please click on the video link above or contact info@threepd.co.uk
