Red Cup Village, a Cape Town-based lifestyle brand, will be launching its first biodegradable design patent cup made from sugarcane & corn-starch in May of 2019.
The company uses 3D printing technology to manufacture a unique drinking cup using a polylactide (PLA) filament, which is a biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources such as sugarcane and corn-starch.
Red Cup Village was founded by the young entrepreneur Luvuyo Ndiki who was born in the Eastern Cape. The Red Cup Village dream started while he was studying towards his product design and communication degree at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology back in 2014.
“Red Cup Village was inspired by a story my grandmother told me about a woman back in the 13th century, this African lady united two rival village-tribes by inviting them to a gathering where she made them drink from the same wooden cup and without realising the two kings started sharing the same cup which made them share their cultures, visions, beliefs and created unity in the village” Luvuyo Ndiki.
Red Cup Village was the first company to re-introduce the renowned red cups into the African market back in 2014 when the company used to brand cups with stickers before they started looking towards creating a sustainable product for the environment and stimulate green economic growth in the country by producing local products from recycled plastics pallets.
In a statement, Ndiki said: “Our brand story has always been about bringing people from different cultures together and creating a social cohesion – it’s not just a cup, but a lifestyle. We are building a global lifestyle brand through innovative concepts and premium products.”
The company now has 3 registered design patents with pending international trademarks. Luvuyo Ndiki has been bootstrapping the company since 2014.
Edited by Daniëlle Kruger
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