Frank Green, the Australian brand famed for its reusable cups, is bringing manufacturing in-house with the opening of a 6000 square metre warehouse in Melbourne’s inner west.Prior to the opening, Frank Green’s production was handled by a former car manufacturer, but, thanks to the company’s impressive growth in recent years, it was time to scale up.  “Business has doubled in six months and will double again in another six months. We have become a much bigger business than [our manufacturer], so we thought why wouldn’t we just bring it in-house,” Frank Green founder and CEO, Benjamin Young, told Inside Retail. The site brings production, customisation and logistics under the one roof, giving the business more control over its operations, including the freedom to work extended hours when needed and improve customer service. “We wanted to bring fulfillment in-house as a core capability because we were having some service difficulties [with suppliers], because no one’s going to love your business like you do and respect your customers as much,” Young said. “We [operate on] Saturdays now, we do after-hours, we do click-and-collect, all these things that we don’t need to go and ask someone. We can be truly innovative and try things that we couldn’t before,” he said. As part of Frank Green’s efforts to improve on its delivery promise to customers, the company ditched Australia Post as a fulfilment provider, with Young brandishing it “the worst supplier ever in the history of the business”.As a result, Young shifted 95 per cent of its business away from them in favour of, what he says is, a more cost-effective supplier. “Our customers are so much happier, we can now do same-day delivery,” he said. The new warehouse also aligns with the company’s mission to be a sustainable business, improving operational efficiency and reducing its carbon footprint. “The facility enables us to more efficiently prepare our customer’s orders, driving lower energy consumption and waste across our entire supply chain,” Young said. The Frank Green team has now expanded to include over 100 employees.Expanded product rangeSince launching in 2014, Frank Green has become well-known for its reusable coffee cup and water bottle designs, but with hygiene concerns related to the pandemic halting the use of reusable cups at cafes, the business was forced to expand its product range.“We didn’t just want to rely on water bottle and coffee cup sales, we believe the problem [of single-use plastic] is so much bigger,” Young said.“The pandemic has accelerated our use of plastic and it needs to stop.” Today, Frank Green offers over 20 products including insulated food storage containers, reusable bags, as well as coffee and tea. Last month, the company launched a homewares collection complete with heat-retentive porcelain bowls and brushed metal cutlery.“Our business has changed from arguably Australia’s best reusable cup and bottle business to a beautifully designed environmental solutions business for products,” Young added.“From the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed, we’ve now got a solution for you so you don’t need to use single-use plastic.”The business has about a 50-50 split between DTC e-commerce and wholesale, but has seen significant increase in demand from its retail partners, most notably department store David Jones.“Even during [lockdowns] when the stores were closed, we increased our sales with them by 53 per cent,” Young said. “Yesterday, we got an order from them for hundreds of thousands of dollars just for one week because the shops have opened now and people are coming back in. We’re the number one kitchenware selling brand at David Jones.” Overseas expansionThe Frank Green business is now servicing customers in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe and North America, and Young has plans to grow its presence in Asia. “[We’re looking at expanding into] mainland China, Indonesia and Malaysia; we’re already selling in Hong Kong, but where we’ve been dipping our toe, we’re now going to go [all in].”The team plans to establish a local presence and distribution in Asia to ensure that it can meet the high standards for delivery and fulfilment in the region.