Local high school students are getting an even more dug-in East End experience, thanks to their classmates to-go cup designs.
Westhampton Beach High School students had hands-on experience in their Principles of Marketing course, creating custom cups for Hampton Coffee Company (869 Montauk Hwy., Water Mill, 631-726-2633) as part of the third annual student-design competition.
Rising juniors Allie Barry, Elizabeth Sultan and rising senior Michelle Rodriquez’s cup creations were picked to be printed and used throughout the summer.
What makes this year special is that the three winners will go on air with WLIW 88.3 FM – the local public radio station broadcasting to the East End – to share about their artistic process on July 2.
“It’s just so nice to have the community care about things that our children are doing in West Hampton Beach and all of the other schools on the North and South Fork,” says West Hampton Beach High School marketing teacher, Amy Demchak.
The collaboration started in 2023 when Demchak contacted Jason Belkin, co-owner of Hampton Coffee Company, to see if he could donate 30 cups for students to practice applying their newfound marketing knowledge on.
“He said, ‘Well, I’ll go further than that, I would love to see the designs, what the kids come up with,’” says Demchak. “‘If they can be branded for Hampton Coffee, then I will select one and have it in our West Hampton Beach store.’”
This year is the first year the three winners’ designs are available in all seven Hampton Coffee Company locations.
The only directive the juniors and seniors in Demchak’s classes received, was to make something reflective of the Hampton Coffee Company brand and values of the community.
Barry, Rodriguez and Sultan used the online graphic design tool, Canva. They started with a fresh slate, adding and arranging elements to make for the perfect medium hot coffee cup.
All three winners opted for a coastal look.
“When I think of Westhampton and the Hamptons, I think of going to the beach because that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life,” says Sultan.
Rodriquez added an element symbolizing Hampton Coffee Company’s growth.
“The footsteps going onto the other pathway with more stores, [are] showing how there’s prosperity going on for a local company,” Rodriguez says.
Barry paid homage to summer by using lots of color.
“Even though it’s just the side of a coffee cup, it’s a way of having people see your branding,” says Barry. “Especially when it has a fun summer design on it, people think, ‘Oh, let me go check out that coffee shop.’”
Throughout the two-week long project, Demchak’s class met with Hampton Coffee Company marketing manager Edythe Collins.
“This was a great way to bring in a real-life example,” says Demchak.
Belkin loves holding this competition because of the many creative designs that come in, making it challenging to select winners.
The submissions are judged by Hampton Coffee Company employees and then thousands of copies of the winners’ cups are printed and distributed throughout the season while supplies lasts.
“Seeing these colorful special cups in our stores is always a highlight of the summer for us at HCC,” says Belkin. “And it’s what separates a local community business like ours from the national chains.”
