TORONTO, Canada — Tim Hortons is announcing the introduction of its’ custom Tims FreshBrewerTM Technology to optimize coffee consistency, a new and improved lid that reduces spills and a commitment to transforming consumer behaviour to decrease the use of single-use paper cups.
Coffee
In 1964, Tim Hortons created a signature coffee recipe with premium beans that Canadians fell in love with. In 2019, Tim Hortons still serves that same great signature coffee using the same premium beans to millions of Canadians every day.
But since that day in Hamilton when the first Tim Hortons restaurant opened its doors, more advanced brewing technologies have been developed and perfected that help drive guest experience.
Tim Hortons in-house coffee experts conducted market tests with restaurant owners and guests and worked closely with engineers to develop a better and more consistent brewing technology, while maintaining the original secret recipe and our always 20 minutes fresh promise.
After three years of testing and developing our custom brewing technology, Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada have started to roll out Tims FreshBrewerTM Technology. The FreshBrewerTM ensures our coffee remains uniquely Tims while improving consistency from cup to cup at every restaurant from coast-to-coast.
“Extensive research shows guests love Tim Hortons coffee, but it needs to be served more consistently. We’re excited to evolve our coffee brewing technology keeping our always brewed fresh every 20 minutes promise to guests and delivering our iconic taste in every cup,” says Kevin West, Head of Coffee Excellence for 20 years, Tim Hortons. “From the coffee in a guest’s cup, to the cup and lid itself, we are working to ensure that every single element of the coffee experience at Tim Hortons is superior across our almost 4,000 restaurants in Canada.”
Packaging
There are three dimensions to coffee packaging: design, function and sustainability. Tim Hortons brand teams have designed a beautiful, modern and instantly recognizable new cup to align to our updated visual identity. The lids, too, have been completely redesigned in both function and design with a raised dome, tabbed closure, an improved flow of coffee from the cup and an iconic maple leaf embossed in the lid.
“We took more than two years to develop the new lid – conducting 12 research studies, serving over 30 million beverages and working with thousands of guests to help us design it,” says Alex Macedo, President, Tim Hortons. “Our guests have been asking for a better lid for years and we took the time to research and develop an improved lid that not just reduces spills but has a reduced carbon footprint. Guest feedback on our new lid is overwhelmingly positive with a nine-to-one preference over our old lid.”
Our new lid is made from polypropylene, a material that is 100% recyclable. Polypropylene will be accepted in all of our restaurants and a material type accepted in 95% of curbside recycling programs across Canada.
Sustainability
In 1978, Tim Hortons pioneered the reusable cup program with the Tim-Mug and guests who bring in a reusable cup today continue to enjoy a discount on their coffee.
As the leader in coffee in Canada, Tim Hortons is taking a firm position on single-use paper cups and will execute a substantial marketing effort to support this stance. This decade-long commitment to sustained marketing and advertising will help transform consumer behavior in more ways than one. Tims will help to educate a new generation of guests who could never imagine using a cup just once, as well as introduce a new reusable cup that will be available for purchase at a low price point in restaurants this summer, starting at $1.99.
“Coffee is the very DNA of the Tim Hortons brand – we have taken our time to ensure that we have gotten these initiatives right for our loyal guests,” continues Macedo. “This will be a long journey, but it is the right journey to take. As Canada’s coffee leader, we are proud to spearhead this behavior change toward using reusable cups.”
Other coffee packaging sustainability initiatives in 2019 include testing a more environmentally friendly paper cup, testing a new strawless lid for iced coffee and rolling out wooden stir sticks.
