Tim Hortons brings back the cups for Roll Up to Win contest

Tim Horton's "Roll Up the Rim to Win" branded cups, which have a rim that can be rolled upwards to reveal a prize, are seen in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Tim Horton's

TORONTO — Tim Hortons is returning its famed Roll up to Win contest back to its roots.

The café chain said Monday it will reintroduce hot beverage cups with rims that can be rolled up to reveal a prize when the promotion gets underway on Feb. 24.

“Last year after Roll Up, we did hear some feedback from guests that they really love the game, but were missing the cup, the really tactile rolling up the rim,” said chief marketing officer Hope Bagozzi.

“When we took stock of last year’s game and said, how do we make it even better ... (we were) thinking, could we bring the cups back in some shape or form? That sort of became part of the impetus.”

The promotion was first launched in 1986 but was known as Roll up the Rim to Win until 2020, when the company moved the contest to a completely digital format. The shift was meant to keep staff from having to handle rims gripped and sipped by customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tims has been able to bring cups with rollable rims back, in part, because it found a way to navigate health concerns; winners will now show Tims staff their winning rims before dropping them in a box.

But the return of physical rim rolling won’t kill the digital element of the promotion.

Customers will be able to earn “digital rolls” when they buy select hot or cold beverages, breakfast sandwiches, wraps and other lunch and dinner food items, or when they bring a reusable cup to fulfil their order, buy Tims at Home products or sign up for a Tims Mastercard.

Only hot beverage cups will be able to physically be rolled up, but they’ll come in limited supply.

Because of the promotion’s digital and physical nature, there will be two prize pools, but both will offer customers the chance to win vacations, vehicles, gift cards, coffees and doughnuts until March 23.

While Tims has only committed to bringing the rollable beverage cups back for a limited time, Bagozzi said the company hasn’t ruled out reviving them again.

“If it’s really well received, guests really like it and things go to expectation, that’s something we’ll evaluate at the end of this year’s game and then determine if it makes sense to bring it back,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2025.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press