Key takeaways

If you’re running a business with a co-owner, play to your strengths but continue to learn about making the business better together.

If distributors overseas are marketing your brand at trade shows, join them at those events to help tell your story.

For many business owners with other plans, it’s the dream to sell their company to a couple of excellent long term employees.

Wellington-based Caffe L’affare founder, Jeff Kennedy and partner Bridget Dunn, who together own Prefab + Acme bakery in Wellington, were lucky to have Megan Wyper and Paddy Kennedy step up to buy their business, Acme Cup Co in late 2022.

Acme Cups came into being 13 years ago when Jeff and Bridget decided that the cafe industry needed good espresso cups designed by those in the industry - cups that worked well with big industrial coffee making machines, for instance.

Paddy, Jeff’s nephew, had been instrumental in the design of the Acme Cups range with his uncle and was an integral part of the business, while Megan had worked for Acme Cups since 2017. Her background was as a coffee roaster and barista, with her own photography side hustle.

“Working in small businesses previously, I’d always supported the marketing side and social media,” she says.

Keeping the core range but expanding organically

A couple of years on, the new owners haven’t touched the core Acme Cups range, but they are expanding it, introducing plates and bowls midway through last year.

“We want to continue the legacy, while having a voice of our own,” says Megan.

Two more brand expansions will be introduced this year - a range of porcelain tumblers for cold drinks made in Tajimi, Japan. These will be matt on the outside and a glazed milk white or feijoa on the inside. Then they are releasing a range of tools for the coffee professional, with more details to come.

The Acme Cups ceramic range, which is made in China and Japan, is sold all over the world to both coffee businesses and consumers. Megan and Paddy manage the European and New Zealand distribution businesses, then there are distributors in the UK, in the Netherlands, the US, Australia, South Korea, other parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Acme Cups tableware can be found in most cafes in New Zealand including big chain cafes and independent cafes.

“ NZ cafes love to support NZ businesses,” says Megan.

Growing the retail side of the tableware brand

And while they have always sold directly to hospitality businesses, Acme Cups are also available to consumers through retail stockists including Moore Wilson in Wellington, Milly’s Kitchen in Auckland and Ballantynes in Christchurch.

Overseas distributors have seen really positive growth in Acme Cups in retail and two are exhibiting the brand at trade shows in the US and Australia this year, so Megan and Paddy will be attending those to support them. Megan will also be travelling to Geneva for the World of Coffee show in June and Maison & Objet in Paris in September.

Staying close to the coffee community they are serving

Megan has made sure Acme Cups remains closely involved with the global coffee community. This year the business is hosting the NZ AeroPress Championships to be held July 25 in Prefab’s hall behind the Prefab cafe in Wellington, both owned by the former Acme Cups owners.

“Jeff and Bridget are still very much in touch with me and Paddy,” says Megan.

The to-do list for 2025

Paddy and Megan each have clear roles in the business, which employs eight people. Megan is in charge of sales, marketing and brand while Paddy is the design lead and the numbers person in the business.

The business owner understands the importance that stats play in order to make decisions for the business.

“We’re trying to figure out a way of getting more data from our systems. We are not using everything to full capacity,” she says.

The co-founder says she and Paddy recently attended a workshop with their accountants, KPMG, for business owners.

“It looked at goal setting and what we needed to do to get there, like mapping. It was great,” says Megan.

“Paddy and I are on the same page about where we want to go but it helps to put it on paper,” she adds.

For the full article on Stuff go here.

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Physical vs Digital

When they were offered a place at the table, Acme Cups owners said yes