Ryan Everton was drinking his third beer at a rugby game when – while staring at the plastic cups piled up next to his seat – a revolutionary business idea dawned on him.
What if others could be convinced to use the same cup during an event – and had a cash incentive to return it at the end?
‘I looked down and saw a pile of single use cups. That was the day I started Globelet,’ Everton told Daily Mail Australia.
Ryan Everton (pictured) was drinking his third beer at a rugby game when – while staring at the plastic cups piled up next to his seat – a revolutionary business idea dawned on him
Five years later, his simple idea to incorporate reusable cups at festivals and concerts has evolved into a multi-million dollar business.
The goal is clear: end single use packaging and make everything reusable.
At events served by Globelet punters pay for the use of one plastic cup and reuse it throughout the event.
When festival-goers are done with the cup they get their bond back when the cup is returned, or they can keep it as memorabilia.
The 25-year-old’s concept has now taken off at festivals across Australasia making use of his reusable cups, which the company creates from scratch and ensures are recycled.
Today his vision washes and manufactures over one million cups a year.
In one example of his bright idea making a difference, five years ago the Splore festival in New Zealand was using 50,000 single use compostable cups over three days.
His simple idea has evolved into a multi-millionaire dollar business and the goal is clear: to end single use packaging and make everything reusable
The 25-year-old’s mastermind concept has taken off with festivals across Australasia making use of his reusable cups (pictured)
Today his vision washes and manufactures over 1 million cups a year throughout festivals in New Zealand and Australia
‘They littered the ground, they came from Taiwan, they never got composted,’ Everton said.
Globelet now supplies organisers with 10,000 reusable cups.
‘All are washed, 80% of them get returned, .07% end up in a bin and are returned to us, and 2000 of them go home to be reused.’
His enterprise saves the event a lot of money, eliminates single use cups, creates a clean site as every product is worth money so nobody drops them and creates a unique collectable souvenir.
All the profits they make as a company goes into innovation.
‘Last year we build a state of the art drying machine for our cups. The year before we built a collection of generic cups that would be reused across all events.
Currently Everton and his team are in the process of designing trackable products and bins for cities.
His idea was so groundbreaking that it caught the attention of Linda Jenkinson – a multimillionaire businesswoman who is the first New Zealand woman to list a company publicly on the Nasdaq exchange.
Ryan Everton’s (pictured) enterprise saves events a lot of money and eliminates single use cups
At events served by Globelet punters pay for the use of one plastic cup and reuse it throughout the event
She met Everton while he was in San Francisco on his overseas experience and they connected.
Ms Jenkinson was moved by the fact he was so passionate about wanting to create a sustainable business.
‘Often you have ideas that change the world but are not sustainable or you have money making ideas that make the world worse off.
‘To find something that changes the world and is a sustainable business – that is special,’ she told Daily Mail.
Ms Jenkinson now works alongside Everton with strategy for growth around entering new markets to eliminate more than just beer cups.
She also is responsible for researching how to make the products cheaper for everyone and more sustainable at the same time.
Rhythm and Vines, a highly-popular New Year festival in Gisborne, were the first to jump on board with the idea and haven’t looked back (pictured: Marketing director Kyle Bell and RnV main stage host Andrew James with Globelet cup)
Mr Bell said the sustainable benefits were obvious but the designs on the cup (pictured) had turned them into the festivals most popular merchandise item
To date the company has managed to sway 95% of music festivals in New Zealand to go disposable free.
‘More and more events are now wanting to eliminate there single use waste and save cost which is positive.’
Her husband Nick Moult is Globelet’s head of operations. Ryan said he has likely washed more cups than anyone on the planet.
Rhythm and Vines, a highly-popular New Year festival in Gisborne, were the first to jump on board with the idea and haven’t looked back.
‘We are always looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact,’ Kyle Bell, Rhythm and Vines marketing director told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The cups are an absolute hit with festival-goers also, who end up taking them home and reusing them, as opposed to throwing them away.’
Mr Bell said the sustainable benefits were obvious but the designs on the cup had turned them into the festivals most popular merchandise item.
The company also produces reusable water bottles (pictured) that can be brought to events and filled up at a refuel station
‘The cups are an absolute hit with festival-goers also, who end up taking them home and reusing them, as opposed to throwing them away’
Everton believes that taking the initial risk in business is the tricky part but the rewards can be truly gratifying
‘We issued out 30,000 Globelet cups during the event which were recycled throughout the event.
‘You would almost double that in plastic non- reusable cups that would end up at the dump so a significant saving.’
Everton says when it comes to business it’s taking the risk that demands guts.
‘All you need to be successful is 1000 people paying $100.
‘That means business is easy, the hard thing is whether you will do something hard, and scary – something that makes the world better or solves a problem.
‘Or,’ he said, ‘Will you just sell another cup of sugar water to a kid down the street?’