Abigail Forsyth
CEO of KeepCup
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Abigail Forsyth, CEO of KeepCup, credits her passion for the environment and desire to create a company to give back to the world as the reasons for the success of her family business. KeepCup was the culmination of Forsyth identifying a need in the market and wanting to reduce the disposable coffee cup waste. Since its launch in 2009, KeepCup has experienced exponential growth of 300 per cent year on year. |  | A key part of Forsyth’s business strategy was buy-in from the corporate sector. During the prototype phase, she contacted NAB and Energy Australia, who were very enthusiastic about the KeepCup and purchased them to help engage staff in their sustainability campaigns. “I call corporate sales the ‘triple threat’ because it goes onto someone’s desk and their colleagues ask: What’s that?” said Forsyth. “They look up our website and tell their friends. They take it to a café and the staff say: What’s that? It’s a KeepCup.” Forsyth believes the KeepCup can help companies make their corporate responsibility and sustainability messaging more consistent. Employees will find it harder to believe corporate messages about having a green supply chain and using less electricity if they continue to use polystyrene cups. “Employees are demanding their organisation become green and corporate customers are requiring us to show evidence that our business practices are green,” she said. Since launching the product in 2009, the company has sold over 800,000 KeepCups worldwide. Although it has exports to Europe, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and a distributor in Taiwan, KeepCup’s international business strategy is still evolving. “We’re still finding our feet; we have been getting enquiries from all over the world and we try to respond to them,” said Forsyth. “The product will be most successful where there is a vibrant espresso culture and where people are concerned about sustainability.” Forsyth’s growth strategy for the business is to expand through a combination of direct sales, distribution and agency. In the United States and Canada, it is setting up third-party warehousing to try to gain access to the market. It has started to approach new geographic markets to get a feel for the local market and the extent to which it would adopt KeepCup. |
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| “We’ve never engaged a public relations firm to assist us locally, as the take up has been viral, but I think we’ll engage PR on the West Coast of the United States to get some momentum behind the product,” she said. Finding a balance between work and family life is something Forsyth constantly works at, “If you’re a passionate person, who’s got the drive to start something up then your approach is very rarely balanced,” she said. When she has family time, Forsyth ensures she is always present and involved, not preoccupied replying to emails. “The jobs keep coming; you’ve got to take the time to do them but you’ve also got to be present when it’s not about work,” she explained. As a new business, with expanding employee numbers, the culture at KeepCup is constantly evolving. Most join the business because they’re attracted to being part of a local company that is doing something positive and worthwhile. Since starting, the business has grown from two to twenty staff. Like many start-up private businesses in Australia, KeepCup’s growth has brought with it some people challenges. Forsyth agrees with many respondents in this edition of the PwC Private Business Barometer, that finding people who have the right fit and skills is a challenge. “We’re in sales, which is a dirty word for the next generation in a lot of respects,” she said. “To me, whatever you’re doing you’re selling – even if you’re an accountant. You have to sell what you do and do it well.” | | Forsyth’s vision is for KeepCup to be the reusable cup of choice for people who regularly drink espresso coffee. What excites Forsyth about her business is the positive changes she has seen in consumers’ behaviour. “A product that is well designed, conceived and marketed can change the way people behave without top-down legislation, without being forced to do it,” she said. “People are just doing the right thing through word of mouth and following by example.” Forsyth estimates that if 80 per cent of her users drink eight takeaway coffees per week, in one year KeepCup users will have diverted 300,000 million cups or 4,000 tonnes from landfill, and saved enough energy sufficient to power 5,000 homes for a year. And with that, there will be more than 50,000 trees left standing in a forest somewhere. “That’s a lovely thought,” she mused. After seeing a gap in the market, Forsyth’s passion for finding a creative sustainable solution has resulted in a product that is changing the way consumers think about their impact on the planet. Growth to Forsyth is about doing things more efficiently and what you think is right but also “having a business that is viable with your lifestyle and that people are enjoying the journey”. |