"My Coffee, Our Planet" competition has ended – the winning designs will soon be displayed on millions of paper cups in Coca-Cola HBC Hungary’s vending machines

The "My Coffee, Our Planet" design competition, which was organized by Coca-Cola HBC Hungary and Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) for students of the university, has ended. The winning designs are to be used on the 100 percent recyclable paper cups that will gradually replace single-use plastic cups in the company's hot drink vending machines during the first half of 2022. More than 1,000 hot drink vending machines across the country will offer tea, coffee, or hot chocolate in fully recyclable paper cups with a design that promotes consumer awareness.

The surface of the 100 percent recyclable paper cups will be used for educational purposes. The beverage company aims to raise consumer awareness about sustainability and the importance of a circular economy by promoting selective waste collection and the recycling of paper cups so that packaging can remain part of the cycle after its primary use. The new look of the paper cups was designed by MOME students in a competition organised jointly with the university. Following the preliminary discussions and mentoring sessions, entries were evaluated on the 5^th of November by the jury: Orsolya Nyilas, Customer & Community Partnership Manager at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, Sándor Horváth, At-Work Manager at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, Balázs Vargha, Head of Media Institute at MOME, Réka Matheidesz, Head of EU Projects at MOME, and Lídia Gulyás, social media specialist and illustrator.

Each of the 10 shortlisted entries took a unique approach to sustainability and the circular economy, with some using a playful, even humorous idea, while others came up with interactive graphic solutions. Due to the high quality of the entries, the jury eventually decided on three grand prize winners – their designs will be featured on paper cups from next year. The jury believe that the three designs complement each other, addressing different target groups and forming a coherent portfolio. “Nearly fifty students from MOME Media Institute applied, 10 of them were shortlisted and invited to create the actual design. The message of the competition and sustainability are very important topics – and the dedicated and sophisticated high-quality work of our students has reflected this. It was a difficult decision for the jury, but it was also very rewarding to be here, because I got a lot of feedback from the other judges about our students' work, which made me very proud,” said Balázs Vargha, Head of Media Institute at MOME.

“The key phrase of my concept was that recycling is like a child's game, so I used this as a starting point to create familiar games that are easy to play on paper. It is a playful way to demonstrate the recycling process,” said Zsuzsanna De Jong, one of the winners of the competition and a sophomore student at MOME. “With this dynamic-abstract graphic style that I represent, I was able to present the circulation that had become the basis of my concept,” said Nikoletta Mihalik, whose designs will also be displayed on the paper cups. "I designed a hugging figure on the cups: as soon as I looked at the cup, I started playing with the idea of the circular shape, so I created this figure who loves his coffee and symbolically the whole planet so much that he hugs it", said Soma Gonda, a master’s student at MOME, the third winner of the competition, who created a graffiti-styled world on his designs.

Hungarian vending market trends show that there is a growing demand for hot drink vending machines. There are currently around 14,000 hot drink vending machines in the domestic market, from which around 100 million cups are dispensed annually, according to the company’s estimation. Coca-Cola HBC Hungary operates more than 1,000 vending machines in the country, which means millions of cups.

“The switch to paper cups is important for all involved: our company will use around 30 tonnes less plastic, our consumers will get an awareness-raising new design and experience at our hot drink vending machines, we support our customers' sustainability efforts and we work with young talents during the design process," Sándor Horváth, At-Work Manager at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary and a member of the jury, summarized the importance of the project.

The winning designs and the photos from the event can be viewed on this link.