Frank Green Spent AU$10M and 100,000 Hours Rebuilding Its Cup

Frank Green spent three years, 100,000 logged hours and an estimated AU$5 million to AU$10 million on research and development for Edition II, the biggest undertaking in the reusable drinkware company's history. "Every single thing has changed," founder and CEO Benjamin Young told Inside Retail. "Not one thing has gone from edition one into edition two."

That's a full teardown of a product line that already sells. Young frames the responsibility as his, not the customer's. "If you don't use Frank Green, that's not on you. That's on us because we haven't made it irresistible," he said.

What does AU$10 million of listening buy?

The company tested behind one-way mirrors, ran repeated development rounds and put finished products through accelerated use testing. In one study of 100 customers, 95 per cent preferred the look and feel of Frank Green's product over an unnamed major competitor; with branding revealed, that rose to 98 per cent. Company-reported numbers, to be clear. Still useful.

The changes are concrete: dishwasher compatibility, a slimmer silhouette, reworked handles, lids and bottle neck, a fourth-generation ceramic lining and an integrated soft rubber base. Each change cascaded. "You change one thing … and it changes five other things," Young said. The project required new machinery, new ceramic formulations and changes to plastics.

A brief history of millimeters

Young developed his first reusable cup while working in mergers and acquisitions at Cleanaway in the 2000s, watching a recycling system drown in plastic. He spent two years and AU$3 million of his own money on cups that launched in 2013. The 2017 appearance on Craig Reucassel's War on Waste brought a flood of orders.

The habits haven't changed. "Every day is a school day, and feedback's a gift for us," Young said. His team followed customers' routines morning to night — running, Pilates, commuting, desk work — to find where disposable products crept in. "The best reusable is the one you actually want to use," he said.

Pricing and new audiences

Despite pricier materials, a one-liter Edition II bottle costs the same as its Edition I equivalent, and both generations stay on sale. Young called it a duty to find internal efficiencies rather than pass costs along. "It can't just be take, take, take all the time," he said.

The range also targets buyers the brand has missed. Frank Green has appealed predominantly to women; Young named men and premium outdoor shoppers as growth audiences, served by a reinforced line with thicker lids, heavier stainless steel and a larger handle. Formats now cover bottles, coffee cups, smoothies and boba, with interchangeable lids for different occasions.

Where the story gets told

After three years of development, marketing becomes the job. "We say we went all in," Young said. "There's been nothing left in the tank. We left it all on the track." Physical retail does the explaining: David Jones, Myer and Rebel, plus Frank Green's own stores, offer a concierge-style service matching products to lifestyles. Those stores also showcase pet accessories, homewares and kitchenware.

Young's reuse push now extends to the warehouse. No Wrap, launched in May, replaces disposable pallet wrap with patented polypropylene corner brackets and high-tension vinyl straps that the company says secure a pallet in under 60 seconds and survive more than 10,000 reuses. "No one was putting us under pressure to stop using pallet wrap on our pallets," Young said.

The international stakes are the real headline. Frank Green has retail in Indonesia and distribution in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with Singapore, South Korea and Japan on the wishlist. Young projects North America, including Canada, will overtake the Australian home market by the end of 2026 and hit three times its size in 2027. Forecasts, not results. But Edition II is the vehicle meant to deliver them, and Young knows the customers wrote the spec: "Our customers are absolutely our competitive advantage as well because they gave us the ideas for this."