With over 2.5 Billion disposable coffee cups being used just the once in the UK alone, we were on our 'A' game when we heard from the guys at TOPL. The opportunity to innovate in the sustainable design sector was perfectly timed. TOPL came to us with a significant challenge, simply put: "create the world's best reusable coffee cup". TOPL had spent a number of years exploring the concept of a reusable cup that incorporated an anti-spill technology without the success it deserves. What a great idea, to have a coffee cup that allows you to savour the full aroma of your favourite hot or cold drink, without slots to find or burn your lip on. And enabling you to just do a little bit of for the planet.

When we started speaking, they needed a brand, they needed a product. We set about with an extensive market research project to establish what people engaged with visually. The topics around reusables, such as material waste and energy efficiency. Born out of that research we created a prototype brand and the seedling of the concept for a lockable anti spill that combined the energy efficiency of a vacuum walled cup. The technical challenge was vast on this project. Our team put in thousands of hours to refine and perfect a working lid system. The core concept of TOPL is ease of use, simply twist to drink. That simplicity belies the hard work we put in refining the multiple internal seals, to cope with the pressures that occur within hot drink vessels. You have two opposing rotational moment forces, one to open and lock and one to remove from the lid from the cup. Not only did we establish supply chain with European material specialist to deliver the working production run, we had multiple visits to china to select, troubleshoot and ultimately deliver with our offshore production partners in Shenzhen.