From the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we drift off to sleep at night, packaging plays a vital role in our daily lives. It’s the carton that holds your favorite breakfast cereal, the container that holds your vitamins, and the to-go cup of coffee you grab on your way to work. Packaging is always there, seamlessly integrated into our routines, providing convenience and reliability when we need it most. 

Paper cups have been there for us for over a hundred years. They’ve held warm drinks on cold winter nights and refreshing drinks on hot summer days. Paper cups are the unsung heroes in the day-to-day lives of millions of busy consumers.  

And for on-the-go operators in quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and convenience stores, the benefits of paper cups are growing ever more relevant to their business and their consumers. 

Not all cups are created equal 

Paper cups aren’t the only options available for beverages on the go. There are plastic, foam, and reusable cups, too. Each cup has its own sustainability narrative, but not all are telling the full story, and consumers are becoming aware of this.  

For example, plastic is accepted in many residential recycling streams. However, the reality is that only nine percent of plastic waste is actually recovered, while the rest is incinerated or sent to a landfill. In 2024, around 220 million tons of plastic waste was created in the U.S., highlighting the importance of having strong end markets to reprocess materials into new products. 

Leaving out this part of the story is becoming an issue for legislators. In the State of California vs ExxonMobil lawsuit, California’s Attorney General accused the petrochemical giant of “misleading the public on plastic’s recyclability”. This lawsuit explicitly references statistics that show that, even with the advent of chemical recycling, 92% of plastic waste is not successfully recycled into usable plastic material.  

The recycling access rate for paper cups is relatively low, but the recovery rate is high, with strong end markets for recovered cups that can turn them into new paperboard packaging and other paper products. We’re seeing states try to address access to recycling shortfalls through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiatives and industry advocates at the local level, but the process is slow. Paper cups are designed to be recycled, it’s a matter of getting local municipalities to accept the material into their recycling stream, then educating the consumer to put it in the right bin. 

Once a paper cup makes it into the recycling bin, it has a high chance of being recovered. Why? With the advancement of technology at paperboard manufacturing facilities and the desire to collect the cup and turn it into something else, the end markets are very strong and willing to process this material. Over 40 facilities across North America now accept paper cups for recycling, but the industry needs more of this material to enter the stream if consumers continue to demand and appreciate products made from recycled materials. 

What do consumers REALLY think about cups? 

A recent study conducted for Graphic Packaging by the Shelton Group found that 78% of consumers are either extremely or somewhat concerned about the environmental impact of plastic cups compared to paper. And three quarters view paper packaging as “more eco-friendly”.  A separate study found that overall, consumers view the paper industry as “more trustworthy” than its plastic counterpart. 

In addition to concerns around environmental impact, consumers expect their beverage packaging to perform. Market research from intelligence firm Technomic reveals that 84% of consumers rate insulation performance of a cup as extremely or moderately important for cold beverages, compared to 43% who value the ability to see the beverage through the cup. Paper cups deliver here, too – take our Cold&Go innovation as an example. We’ve leveraged 15 years of experience refining insulated cup technology to create it, prioritizing performance by preserving the quality of the beverage and reducing condensation. 

Paper cups show you care  

Being thoughtful about the packaging you choose is key. It needs to be functional for the consumer, convey the right brand message and work easily in foodservice operations. When you achieve all three, you get a package that seamlessly complements our everyday lives. It gives consumers a satisfying sensory experience when they sip and enjoy their favorite beverage. 

Choosing paper cups distinguishes QSRs that care about our planet and everything that lives on it. Stronger demand for paper encourages landowners to invest in nurturing our precious forests, preserving vital ecosystems, and supporting rural economies. Take a look at this video to hear just one landowner story. 

The message to QSRs is loud and clear – choose paper cups and show you care about your consumers, your business, and the planet. 

Discover more benefits of paper cups. 

2025 will be a year defined by the continuing consumer preference for more functional, convenient, and circular products. And this will have a big impact on packaging. Here, we’ll unpack what these key trends mean for your business. 

The Conscious Consumer 2.0 – Focused on ‘EcoLogical’ Mindsets, Wellness, and Wallets 

We’ve broken down what the conscious consumer trend means for beverage brands in detail before. But the impact of this dynamic trend is not limited to beverage brands – it affects nearly every industry. 

Economic uncertainty means consumers are becoming more discerning about where they spend their money – and they’re increasingly choosing to support brands that make truthful environmental claims. 

Just as the consumers of 2025 care about the health of the planet, they also care about their personal health. Many manufacturers are incorporating clear labeling to position products as more nutritious as a point of difference. 

However, with consumers facing inflation, high average debt, and a cooling labor market, they expect brands to meet these demands affordably. And they’re more willing than ever to switch to private label alternatives that they perceive as being of equal quality for a lower price. 

Convenience is King 

Packaging offers a clear and concise method of communicating directly with consumers. Brands that leverage this will see their messaging resonate and incorporating elements such as QR codes to provide quick and easy access to nutrition information for example, can significantly enhance the consumer experience at a time when the average shopper is faced with an overwhelming number of options on-shelf. 

The growth of e-commerce also presents new options for consumers. LEK Consulting found that e-commerce grocery sales in the U.S. more than doubled during the pandemic, and it’s predicted that 20.5 percent, or $263 billion, of retail grocery sales, will be through online channels by 2026, with convenient innovations like click-and-collect being key to this growth.  

Brands can take advantage of this trend with packaging that complements this demand for greater convenience, such as beverage multipacks that are easy to carry, store, and dispense. 

Experiential Technology 

In addition to simplifying the consumer experience, brands can also choose to enhance it. Technologies like QR codes and virtual reality can be leveraged to deliver personalized, interactive smart packaging experiences that immerse, engage, and inspire consumers. This not only captures attention but can also convey the brand’s values and product benefits more effectively – and brands that leverage this are seeing boosted sales, ROI, and consumer loyalty. 

Technology is also transforming the packaging design process, being used to create next-generation packaging designs informed by in-depth consumer data. This data can also be used to provide personalized product recommendations to bolster customer engagement. 

Brands and retailers face a retail landscape transformed by evolving consumer demands. By taking advantage of packaging innovations designed to deliver the sustainability, convenience, and functionality that consumers expect, they can cater to these diverse preferences, ultimately driving brand loyalty and satisfaction. 

At Graphic Packaging, we have a long and distinguished history of adapting to market and consumer trends. Our innovative paperboard packaging solutions are designed to strike a perfect balance between delivering for today and innovating for tomorrow.  

Many consumers today are more environmentally aware, price-sensitive, and health-conscious. These consumers care about the impact their purchases have on themselves and on the planet. Today’s “conscious consumers” are driving change in every sector, and the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector is no exception.  

QSRs understand that, for many consumers, a commitment to sustainability is non-negotiable. They know that being unwilling or unable to meet consumer demand is a risk if they don’t show progress towards being more sustainable. Prominent QSRs have unveiled ambitious goals, such as a net-zero emissions target or a commitment to using 100% sustainable materials for customer-facing food packaging. Embedding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals in QSRs is becoming increasingly important as these goals drive sustainability, consumer trust, and resilience. 

Transparency lets a brand tell its story 

The conscious consumer responds positively to brands that are transparent. For QSRs, that can mean being open about everything they serve to their customers, from the ingredients that make up their food to the packaging that protects it.  

Consumers want to know where and how the ingredients in food products, and the materials that make up its packaging, are sourced. They also crave the security that comes with the knowledge their packaging is free from potentially harmful chemicals. That’s not always easy to deliver, but for some packaging formats, it is. Take paper cups for example. Graphic Packaging’s paper cups are made with Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified fibers that come from trees, which are a renewable resource. 

End-of-life transparency is just as important. Plastic has a high access rate as it’s widely collected for recycling, yet only 9% of plastic is actually recovered. The vast majority of plastics end up in incinerators and landfills because there aren’t mature end markets to accept and reprocess the recovered plastics into new products.

Paper cups are designed to be recycled, even with the polyethylene (PE) lining. Recent technological advancements at paperboard manufacturing facilities mean a high fiber recovery rate can now be achieved. Plus, there are great strides being made in the industry to improve access to recycling. More than 40 paperboard manufacturing facilities across North America are now accepting paper cups for recycling. This demonstrates we have strong end markets for recovered cups that can turn them into new paperboard packaging and other paper products.

 Complementing sustainability stories 

There’s a great story in that journey from the forest to the service counter. Sustainably managed forests support rural economies, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. America’s forests sequester 800 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, offsetting around 13% of greenhouse gas emissions produced across the U.S., helping to shape a better future for our planet.  

It gives QSRs an opportunity to help their consumers connect with the positive aspects of their brand personality. Paper cups have a unique ability to not just tell this story, but to show it, creating a sense of positivity around every sip. That kind of connection goes much deeper than any advertising campaign. It complements QSR ESG activity in a tangible way that consumers can experience for themselves. 

Developing a sustainability narrative is important. But how that narrative is told is just as key. Whether paper or plastic, the cups served to each consumer are a consequence of a series of intentional packaging choices. It’s up to QSRs to make sure those choices are positive ones. 

Positive stories cut through 

That positive story is one that consumers can really engage in. This engagement is particularly strong among Millennials, 75 percent of whom say they would change their buying habits in order to reduce their impact on the environment. Younger generations feel just as strongly, as 75 percent of Gen Z consumers believe that when purchasing products, the fact that they are more environmentally responsible is more important than the brand name. Specifically in relation to foodservice, according to a KerryDigest study, 58% of consumers in North America are strongly influenced by sustainability when making a food or beverage purchase at a restaurant. 

Consumers perceive paper and paperboard packaging to be the most sustainable and the material that causes the least harm to the environment. So, when an environmentally aware consumer orders a cold drink from a QSR, serving it in a paper cup aligns with their values and shows them that the QSR cares about the same things they do. It creates a positive feeling around their purchase, and that feeling is what strong brand loyalty is made of. 

Healthy people, healthy planet: It just makes sense 

The rise of the conscious consumer presents a significant opportunity for QSR brands to differentiate themselves with menus and packaging that promote both health and environmental responsibility.  

Products that boast sustainable and socially responsible attributes witnessed an average growth of 28 percent over the past five years compared to those that didn’t. To capitalize on this trend, QSRs should prioritize both health and sustainability across their menu and packaging portfolios.  

These consumers want businesses to do better. They want QSR businesses to show they care. And paper cups and paperboard packaging is one way QSRs can meaningfully connect with consumers who expect their fast-food purchases to come with a side order of positivity for themselves and our planet.