Figuring out nothing is actually really hard.
Just ask Hawking.
Or us.
When we set out to design products with the smallest possible impact, we realized how little the market had actually innovated.
“Compostable” cups that aren’t. Straws that fold mid-sip. Packaging that screams sustainability while hiding a plastic lining.
FULLY COMPOSTABLE
PLASTIC FREE
OCEAN FRIENDLY
MANIFESTO
We believe disposable shouldn’t mean thoughtless.
Plastic has overstayed its welcome. And the so-called alternatives? Most of them don’t hold up. Literally.
That’s why we build products that do their job brilliantly, then disappear on their own. Strong when you need them. Gone when you don’t. Fully compostable, plastic-free, and proudly over-engineered to break down.
We care about the full life of a product — where it comes from, what it’s made of, how it performs, and where it ends up.
And while we’re proud to be behind the scenes, we’re even prouder to be forgotten.
Because Nothing is better than something.
THE PROMISE
No industrial composting.
No plastic lining.
No greenwashed claims.
No asterisks.
Products that disappear on purpose.
Gone in 180™ is our promise. Every product we make breaks down in 180 days or less. No special facilities. No hidden conditions. You use it. You toss it. It goes away.
Single-useful.
Reusables will always be the gold standard. But unless you want to stand in the rain with your mouth open, you’re going to need a cup.
Our goal is to help you with that in the most responsible way possible — using high-quality, plastic-free materials that don’t stick around longer than they should.
Our Journey
2019 — Entering the Space
2019 — Entering the Space
Jordan loved milkshakes. He did not love when a paper straw collapsed halfway through one.
So he did what any slightly obsessive product person would do. He decided to fix it.
He thought it would be simple. It wasn’t.
After visiting more than 40 straw manufacturers (yes, there were that many back then), not one of them held up the way he wanted. That’s when he realized the problem wasn’t that people didn’t care, it was that nobody had actually engineered these things to perform in the real world.
Disposable didn’t have to mean thoughtless.
But he couldn’t build it alone. So he brought in his brother Brandon, a software engineer who understood how to build systems from scratch, and together they started what became SOFi.
The name? South of Fifth. A neighborhood in Miami Beach. And the place where the idea first clicked.
The world’s best paper straw was just the beginning.
2019–2023 — Scaling & Learning
2019–2023 — Scaling & Learning
SOFi Straws spread faster than we ever expected. It was the coffee world that really embraced us, which made sense. We’re beverage people at heart. We partnered with independent cafés across the US and Canada, and eventually with some of the most aspirational third-wave coffee chains out there. We loved working with them. We loved being in that world.
But after a while, everyone started saying the same thing:
“What’s the point of putting this amazing straw in a plastic cup?”
They were right.
It became obvious where we had to go next.
So we went to Indonesia. Why Indonesia? Because it’s one of the world’s largest paper-producing regions and a place where real fiber innovation happens, not just better marketing language.
We started with the cold cup, thinking we understood what we were getting into.
We didn’t.
Paper cups have been coated in wax, and more recently plastic… since 1907. Think about that. People were riding around in horse-drawn carriages using essentially the same paper cup you’re using today. That didn’t sit right with us.
Then there was the lid. They’re plastic too. And separate lids always felt a little… lazy? I mean, paper takeout boxes have had built-in lids since the 50s. Why couldn’t a cup?
Turns out, we underestimated the difficulty.
By a lot.
2024 — The Launch of the Cold Cup
2024 — The Launch of the Cold Cup
After four years of design, engineering, and more failure than we expected, we launched our V1 Cold Cup. It was prototype number 64.
We didn’t do a big announcement. We just quietly added it to the site and thought, “Okay… let’s see.”
People noticed.
One viral Instagram reel turned into another. Then national chains started asking if they could try it.
It worked.
But we knew something the internet didn’t: cold cups are the easy part.
You’re usually using a straw. You’re not pouring scorching liquid directly at your face. The margin for error is bigger.
The hot cup was different.
The hot cup had to be perfect.
Full stop.
2025 — The Hot Cup and Nothing
2025 — The Hot Cup and Nothing
At the peak of winter, we launched the Nothing Hot Cup. People lost their minds.
What we knew, but didn’t fully appreciate, was that people wanted another option. The industry just hadn’t given them one. Not for over 100 years.
We had spent years obsessing over the details: the way the spout feels on your lips, what happens to the cup as you drink your cappuccino, how it contours into your hand. It all mattered.
And it was worth it.
But something else became clear.
The brand didn’t fit anymore.
SOFi felt like an old denim jacket, one you love and have worn everywhere, but it just didn’t fit the same way. We weren’t meant to keep wearing it.
We needed a name that captured what we were actually building. Products designed to disappear on purpose.
It seems obvious now.
Nothing.
TODAY
Where we show up (and then disappear)
4,000+
cafés and restaurants switched
300M+
Plastic Items Replaced
25M+
plastic-lined cups replaced
“We built it. They were bold enough to switch.”
Brandon & Jordan
Co-Founders
Frequently Asked Questions
Nothing is located in Miami, Florida.
Gone in 180™ is our internal standard.
It means the materials we use are engineered to break down within 180 days under real-world conditions. Not decades. Not “eventually.” Not when shipped to a specialty facility three states away.
If it’s single-use, it should actually behave like it.
Reusables are the gold standard. If you can use one, you should.
But cafés, restaurants, events, airlines, hospitals; single-use exists for a reason.
Our job isn’t to pretend that away. It’s to make single-use less permanent.
Our products are manufactured in Indonesia, one of the world’s largest paper-producing regions and a hub for fiber innovation. That’s where the expertise and infrastructure exist to build what we’re building.
When we reach the scale to support manufacturing in North America, we will. Until then, we focus on performance, material integrity, and impact.
More questions? Visit FAQs
