The Paper Cup Company « Live Magazines | Cheshire | Manchester

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The Paper Cup Company

Thirsty Work…

It was a bold and brave move for entrepreneur Mark Woodward when he set up in business. Fast forward five years and today Mark’s company supplies a million paper cups per month throughout the UK and Europe

The Paper Cup Company is not only weathering the recession well, it is bucking the trend and expanding, having just moved into new premises at Salthill, Clitheroe.
For Mark Woodward and his young team, the secret of their success lies in their USP, a good business model and prompt customer service – their unique selling point is their short print runs which enables them to supply smaller bespoke printed quantities than the ‘big boys’ they are competing against, as Mark explains: “Bigger companies tend to have massive print runs – which means the minimum order maybe 250,000 cups.
“That’s a lot of customised cups and many smaller businesses just don’t want to order that amount. They would rather order a smaller amount three times a year, instead of one order every five years.”
While Mark has always been in the paper industry, it took the jolt of redundancy for him to make the crucial decision to set up on his own.
A course with Business Link put in place firm foundations for his new company as he recalls: “While my skill set was paper cups, I needed to learn more about running a business. Business Link helped me formulate business plans, I learnt about cash flow and marketing and a lot more besides. I owe a lot to them.”
Business Link also connected Mark to Lancaster University which introduced the company to its unique CMS software enabling businesses to maintain and update their own websites.
Back then The Paper Cup Company’s website comprised just five pages – it now has in excess of 50 and it is in the process of developing a world first.
Over the summer they will be launching designacup.com the only website that allows you to choose your size of cup and create your own unique design.
“Customers can create their design, use their logo, add text, choose their background colour and request sample sizes or quote. We are the first to do this and it’s all thanks to Lancaster University.”
Creating designacup.com is a landmark step for this ever-expanding company that initially began in the front room of the Woodward family home in Worston.
Originally called The Central Warehouse the company sold paper plates, cups and plastic glasses but as time progressed, it became evident that paper cups – in particular bespoke printed paper cups, was driving the business forward.
“If one part of the business is doing well and making money you put more and more effort into that,” says Mark who eventually re-named and re-branded the business and The Paper Cup Company was born.
Now printed paper cups represent 60 per cent of the turnover while stock design represents the remaining 40 per cent.
Mark’s decision to source a same-site manufacturing and print facility in Ningbo near Shanghai in Northern China, has also proved astute.
“Initially I was buying from a UK supplier who was buying from China –too many middle men and too little control,” says Mark who eventually employed an English speaking Chinese businesswoman to act on their behalf.
“Employing someone to work solely for us is the best fit for our business. If there is a problem we have someone there on site. I have been out to China maybe twice in the last couple of years – other business people who don’t have anyone on site to represent them, are maybe flying out every two or three months to sort out problems.”
Mark’s original business plan was to build up a nationwide network of wholesalers and while that is still ongoing, the company still supplies direct.
The Paper Cup Company’s evolution has been rapid – but when the recession hit, Mark’s original business model to keep overheads low, has paid off.
“We didn’t have the overheads our bigger competitors had, we cut everything down to the bone.
“We always use the analogy that we are like a speed boat – we can change direction very quickly. The bigger competitors are more like tankers, they take longer to react to market forces.”
And that rapid reaction has made The Paper Cup Company a leader in its field. Being able to supply at relatively short notice, to react to the needs of customers and be pro-active in the market has enabled continued expansion.
Mark and his team including family member Sarah Woodward, Logistics Manager, Heather Potts UK Wholesale Manager, Sam Gee Print Manager and Cengiz Avci European Sales Manager, supply to big name companies including Robinsons, Nestle, Liverpool FC, Butlins and Aldi.
The latest candy-striped cups with plastic domes and straws are all the rage for milk shakes and they also supply to smaller companies the length and breadth of the UK – and paper cups, as they have learnt, have a multitude of uses!
Car body shops use them to measure paint, a fish restaurant on the Isle of Mull uses the supersize popcorn buckets for diners to dispense with fish bones and a seafood diner is using the cups for a portion of scampi.
“We never know what they are being used for,” concludes Mark. “People develop concepts and we move that forward and provide the solutions.”