How long does a mug range take from first brief to delivery?

Once final designs are signed off, manufacturing takes around 60 days and sea freight a further 30 to 50 days depending on destination. Allow roughly three to four months from sign-off to delivery, plus the design and sampling period before it, which depends on how many rounds you want to run.

What is the minimum order size?

We work at production scale. Custom designs typically start around 3 000 units per design. That suits a group roll-out or a retail line rather than a single site. Tell us the volume you have in mind and we will tell you honestly whether it works.

How many sample rounds do we get?

As many as you want. Each round carries a manufacturing and transport cost, quoted before we start it, so you decide how far to take it. You approve shape and material first, then glaze, colour and mark placement.

Can you match our existing brand colours and finishes?

Yes, within the limits of the material. Clay, glaze, glass and steel all behave differently, so we work with physical references rather than screen values. We mix samples until the colour feels right in the hand, not just on a monitor.

Can you handle reorders?

Yes. We hold your specification, tooling and artwork on file, so a reorder matches the original run rather than drifting between batches. Reorders also move faster than a first order, because the development and sampling stage is already done.

Do you handle packaging and fulfilment?

We do. We can kit pieces into branded boxes, then ship to one address or dispatch to a list. It keeps the object safe and the experience consistent from the first unboxing.

Where are you based, and where is it made?

Our office is based in South Africa and we produce with specialist factories in South East Asia selected for each material. Design, specification and quality standards are ours. Production sits close to the major shipping lanes, so we can quote landed cost into any international destination.

CUSTOM MUG & CUP MANUFACTURER

Every store.
Every cup.

Mugs are our speciality. We design and manufacture custom mugs and cups for coffee groups, franchise networks and retail brands, in ceramic, glass and stainless steel, produced to your specification at production scale.

Start a project See what we make

Ceramic · Glass · Stainless steel

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Stack of sage and porcelain ceramic mugs on a wooden surface with botanical prints

What we make

Mugs first.

Mugs and cups are what we make most of. We make the rest of the table too.

A hand-finished ceramic mug with sage stripes, filled with coffee and served on a matching saucer.

The mug range

Ceramic mugs and cups: House mugs, espresso cups and saucers in stoneware, porcelain or new bone china. Stackable, durable, and made so a reorder matches the first run.
Gift sets and boxed ranges: Pieces boxed as sets for retail sale, gifting and staff kits. We can pack and box the range ourselves, or supply loose for your own packing.
Seasonal and limited runs: Launch, seasonal and anniversary pieces produced alongside the core range, in special runs.

“The mug is the smallest, loudest piece of your brand.”

Capability

Materials and finishes.

We specify and produce with factories selected for each material. Choose the body first, then how your brand goes onto it.

Shape route

Straight-sided white porcelain mug with a slim pulled handle — Stock shapesOur existing shapes, decorated for your brand. The fastest route to production.

White ceramic mug with a wider round handle and taller body — Adapted shapesAn existing shape modified: handle, capacity, foot or rim.

Low, wide white porcelain cup with a squared handle — Custom mouldsA new shape developed to your own design, tooled from scratch.

Bodies

Straight-sided porcelain mug in a bright, even off-white finish with a slim pulled handle — PorcelainFine, bright white and translucent. The premium body.

Heavy stoneware mug in a warm sand tone, lightly speckled through the clay, with a thick rounded handle — StonewareHeavier and warmer in tone. Hard-wearing in daily service.

Tapered new bone china mug with a soft matt white finish and a fine curved handle — New boneLight and strong with a soft white finish.

Clear double-walled glass mug with a smooth drawn handle, the inner wall visible through the body — GlassLead-free crystal, crystalline or soda ash.

Brushed stainless steel mug with a rolled rim and a welded loop handle — Stainless steel 18/10Food-grade, corrosion resistant, for travel and reusable pieces.

Glazes and surfaces (ceramic)

Mug in a single even matt grey glaze, the colour uniform from rim to base with no variation or flecking — Colour glazeA single solid colour, matched to your brand. Available matt or gloss.

Mug in a deep teal reactive glaze that breaks to rust brown over the rim and pools darker down the body, so the colour shifts across the piece — Reactive glazeGlaze that moves in the kiln for depth and variation.

Mug glazed grey on the outside with a clean white interior, the two colours meeting in a crisp line at the rim — Two-toneTwo colours across one piece, split by body, rim or handle.

Cream glazed mug scattered with fine brown and grey specks that come through the glaze, giving a lightly textured, stone-like surface — SpeckleFlecked through the glaze for a natural, textured finish.

Grey glazed mug with a band of unglazed clay left bare around the foot, showing the matt, slightly rough raw body beneath the glaze — Raw bodyLeft unglazed in part, usually the foot or an outer band, showing the clay itself.

Reactive and speckled glazes vary from piece to piece. That variation is the effect, and it means no two pieces are identical. Where consistency across every store matters most, we recommend colour glaze.

Marks and print

Terracotta stoneware mug photographed straight on, with a protea motif raised in relief off the surface in the same glaze as the body, so the mark reads as texture rather than colour — EmbossedRaised detail moulded into the piece, in the same glaze as the body.

Terracotta stoneware mug photographed straight on, with a protea motif pressed down into the clay surface, the recess catching a soft shadow so the mark reads through light rather than colour — DebossedDetail pressed into the surface, read through light and shadow.

White glazed mug photographed straight on, with a full colour protea decal sitting on top of the glaze, the print sharp edged, saturated and slightly proud of the surface — Decal on-glazeFull colour artwork applied over the glaze, at its brightest and most saturated.

White glazed mug photographed straight on, with a protea decal fired into the glaze so the colour sits flush and slightly muted under a continuous glossy surface — Decal in-glazeFired into the glaze, slightly softer in tone and made for commercial washing.

White glazed mug photographed straight on, with a digitally printed protea illustration showing fine line work and smooth tonal gradients across the print area — Digital printingPhotographic detail and fine gradients, suited to short seasonal runs.

On-glaze decals sit on the surface and wear with repeated commercial washing. In-glaze decals are fired into the glaze and do not. For foodservice we recommend in-glaze.

On glass and steel

White powder coated steel mug screen printed with a flat colour protea illustration in dusty pink and sage — SCREEN PRINT STAINLESS STEELInk screened on and fired, for solid colour marks that hold up to washing.

Clear glass mug printed with a full colour protea illustration in pink and green, fine detail visible through the glass — SCREEN PRINT GLASSFull colour artwork ink screened direct to the piece, for detail and gradients.

Clear glass mug with a protea etched into the surface in fine frosted line work — LASER ETCH GLASSThe mark cut into the surface, permanent and unaffected by washing.

Matt white powder coated steel mug with a brushed steel rim and a laser marked protea — LASER ETCH STAINLESS STEELThe mark cut into coloured coating, permanent and unaffected by washing.

Standard

Made to standard.

Every piece is made to a written specification and tested before it ships.

Compliance

Food safe

All pieces are made food safe.

Factory audited

Factory audit documentation available.

Service ready

Ceramic and glass are dishwasher and microwave safe.

Every run

Made to a written specification agreed before production starts.
Dimensional and colour tolerance held run to run, so a reorder matches the original.
Inspected against that specification before packing.

By material

Vitrified body: non-porous, so it will not stain, absorb odours or water.
Double fired: the body is fired first, then the glaze, for a harder and better bonded surface.
Thermal shock tested for the temperature swings of daily service.
Chip-resistant edge, the first place a mug usually fails.
Smooth foot ring, so it will not scratch counters or the piece beneath it when stacked.
Dishwasher and microwave safe.
Stackable where the shape allows.

Talk to us about your range.

Start a project

How we work

From idea to doorstep, handled.

Discovery
We learn your brand, your sites and what the range has to do, in service and on the shelf.
Design
We shape the pieces: form, capacity, material, colour and how your mark sits on them.
Prototype
Real samples in your hands. We iterate until you sign off the specification.
Production
Manufactured at scale with the right factory for each material, inspected against your specification before packing.
Fulfilment
Packed, kitted and boxed to your requirement, then dispatched to one warehouse or to every store.

Travel & keep cups

Counter-ready. Kept for life.

A travel and keep-cup line for the counter, made to the same body, glaze and mark standards as the ceramic range. Stainless steel and glass bodies, branded for the group and packed for retail. A piece customers buy at the till and keep, with margin and repeat volume behind it.

Mint green powder coated stainless steel camp mug with a brushed steel rim and a loop handle — Insulated camp mug

White powder coated stainless steel stemless tumbler with a clear press-on lid — Stemless tumbler

Pale blue powder coated stainless steel tapered cup with a polished steel interior — Tapered steel cup

Glass keep cup with a clear body, a soft white sleeve and a flip-top drinking lid — Glass keep cup

Lilac travel cup with a soft matt finish and a flip-top lid — Lidded travel cup

Vacuum insulated steel: Double-wall stainless bodies that hold heat and stay cool to the touch, in capacities from 350 to 500ml.
Powder-coat and brushed finishes: Matt or gloss powder coats matched to your brand, or a brushed steel body left bare. Laser-marked or screen-printed.
Glass tumblers: Double-walled glass keep cups and tumblers for the cafe table and the shelf, printed or etched with the mark.
Boxed counter-ready: Packed for retail, with or without your own sleeve. A line built to sell at the counter and survive daily use.

Why us

Your shape, not their catalogue.

Importers sell you what they already make. Promotional suppliers print on whatever they can source. We develop the piece with you and hold it to specification, run after run.

Mug specialists

Mugs and cups are what we make most of, and it shows in the handle, the weight and how alike the pieces are across a run.

Consistent across sites

One specification, one standard, every store. A reorder in a year matches the first run.

Handled end to end

Design, tooling, production, compliance testing, packing and delivery, from one accountable partner.

Common questions

Mug manufacturing, answered.

Start a project

Tell us about your brand.

Tell us what you have in mind and we will come back with options, timelines and an honest view on whether the run works.

What are we making?

What are you looking for?

What type of piece? (optional)

Material (optional)

Capacity in ml (optional)

How should the mark be applied? (optional)

Estimated quantity (units)

Timeline

Three short steps. No account needed.