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Participating Restaurants Unveil Reusable
Drive-Thru Drink Caddy
Feb. 07, 2025
The innovation is the brainchild of two local Owner-Operators
Chick-fil-A® is rolling into 2025 with the rollout of new, reusable drink caddies, greenlighting an innovative suggestion from Chris Walker, a multi-Restaurant Owner-Operator in Charleston, S.C. The optional two-drink caddy, made from Polypropylene, is designed to be used as a tool by Team Members and aims to save paper costs while cutting down on paper waste for Restaurants choosing to purchase the smallware.
“We’ve seen a 300% increase in the use of paper drink carriers due to the need for speed and accuracy in the Drive-Thu,” says Lori Barnett, a senior project lead with Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s Packaging Team. “But we’ve also observed in many cases that once drinks are in the hands of our Guests, the paper carriers quickly get tossed aside.”
Great minds think alike
Chris observed this trend at his own Restaurant and was inspired to take action. “I noticed that paper costs were too high and began investigating where there was an opportunity to make improvements,” he says. Chris contacted Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s Packaging Team to explore options for collaboration. “This started as a basic idea, but the end result represents a profound impact,” he says.
A similar idea occurred at about the same time to local Owner-Operator John Spenst of Little Rock’s Chick-fil-A at Chenal & Markham. In John’s case, he began evaluating alternative options when his financial consultant pointed out how much waste was tied up with paper drink carriers. John shared his thoughts with the Packaging Team and learned that Chris already had proposed the same idea, with Lindsay Horne, the director of strategic initiatives for Chris’ Restaurants, testing potential solutions.
Both Restaurants demonstrated Chick-fil-A’s commitment to pursuing what’s next and were instrumental in developing the final innovation. Cross-functional teams from Chick-fil-A, Inc. made on-site visits to observe the process and gather Team Members’ insights. This included feedback about off-the-shelf products they had tried. Based on those learnings, several versions were prototyped for use and reaction.
Chris’ and John’s Teams documented what was working and what needed improvement for each version. Through the Restaurants’ assessments and inputs, the team selected a simple version that’s easy to use, clean and store.
“After I started trying the reusable caddy, I saw the impact firsthand from both a cost-saving and waste-prevention standpoint,” Chris says. “Knowing that one of Chick-fil-A’s priorities is to care for our planet, it just seems like a win-win for the system.”
Chick-fil-A creates another “first”
During the research phase for this more sustainable solution, the project team studied other quick-service restaurants, and many were using disposable four-cup carriers developed before drive-thru service became so universal. None had a reusable caddy.
“We like that this new option provides stability and also gives our Team Members an additional opportunity to engage with Guests when they deliver the order—whether it’s to a car or a table,” says Lori.
She forecasts that Restaurants will keep six to 12 of the reusable caddies in rotation, and if the durable cup carrier displaces 50% of single-use cup carriers, it is estimated to save 91,000 lbs. of paperboard per year. Beginning late February 2025, all Chick-fil-A restaurants will have access to the new caddies.
To learn more about other sustainability practices at Chick-fil-A, visit chick-fil-a.com/corporate-social-responsability/planet.
The innovation is the brainchild of two local Owner-Operators
Chick-fil-A® is rolling into 2025 with the rollout of new, reusable drink caddies, greenlighting an innovative suggestion from Chris Walker, a multi-Restaurant Owner-Operator in Charleston, S.C. The optional two-drink caddy, made from Polypropylene, is designed to be used as a tool by Team Members and aims to save paper costs while cutting down on paper waste for Restaurants choosing to purchase the smallware.
“We’ve seen a 300% increase in the use of paper drink carriers due to the need for speed and accuracy in the Drive-Thu,” says Lori Barnett, a senior project lead with Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s Packaging Team. “But we’ve also observed in many cases that once drinks are in the hands of our Guests, the paper carriers quickly get tossed aside.”
Great minds think alike
Chris observed this trend at his own Restaurant and was inspired to take action. “I noticed that paper costs were too high and began investigating where there was an opportunity to make improvements,” he says. Chris contacted Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s Packaging Team to explore options for collaboration. “This started as a basic idea, but the end result represents a profound impact,” he says.
A similar idea occurred at about the same time to local Owner-Operator John Spenst of Little Rock’s Chick-fil-A at Chenal & Markham. In John’s case, he began evaluating alternative options when his financial consultant pointed out how much waste was tied up with paper drink carriers. John shared his thoughts with the Packaging Team and learned that Chris already had proposed the same idea, with Lindsay Horne, the director of strategic initiatives for Chris’ Restaurants, testing potential solutions.
Both Restaurants demonstrated Chick-fil-A’s commitment to pursuing what’s next and were instrumental in developing the final innovation. Cross-functional teams from Chick-fil-A, Inc. made on-site visits to observe the process and gather Team Members’ insights. This included feedback about off-the-shelf products they had tried. Based on those learnings, several versions were prototyped for use and reaction.
Chris’ and John’s Teams documented what was working and what needed improvement for each version. Through the Restaurants’ assessments and inputs, the team selected a simple version that’s easy to use, clean and store.
“After I started trying the reusable caddy, I saw the impact firsthand from both a cost-saving and waste-prevention standpoint,” Chris says. “Knowing that one of Chick-fil-A’s priorities is to care for our planet, it just seems like a win-win for the system.”
Chick-fil-A creates another “first”
During the research phase for this more sustainable solution, the project team studied other quick-service restaurants, and many were using disposable four-cup carriers developed before drive-thru service became so universal. None had a reusable caddy.
“We like that this new option provides stability and also gives our Team Members an additional opportunity to engage with Guests when they deliver the order—whether it’s to a car or a table,” says Lori.
She forecasts that Restaurants will keep six to 12 of the reusable caddies in rotation, and if the durable cup carrier displaces 50% of single-use cup carriers, it is estimated to save 91,000 lbs. of paperboard per year. Beginning late February 2025, all Chick-fil-A restaurants will have access to the new caddies.
To learn more about other sustainability practices at Chick-fil-A, visit chick-fil-a.com/corporate-social-responsability/planet.
