A Milestone Worth Celebrating-Printed Cup Company 20th anniversary
This year marks a huge milestone for Printed Cup Company, its our 20th anniversary! From humble beginnings to where we are today, this journey wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our incredible customers, team, and local community.
A Look Back His Journey So Far
The Printed Cup Company was founded 20 years ago by Mark Woodward, who had already spent over 30 years in the industry. It all started in his front room, where he built a UK distribution network for paper cups. To meet demand, he initially set up a manufacturing unit in Asia, specialising in short-run production of around 10,000 cups per order. However, long 12-week lead times and unpredictable shipping made it clear that he needed a more efficient solution.
Determined to provide faster and more flexible service, he made a bold move establishing a European manufacturing facility right here in Lancashire. Unlike other UK manufacturers, who prioritised cost efficiency with minimum orders of 100,000 cups and long lead times, he focused on speed, flexibility, and quality.
Setting the Standard for Speed and Service
From the start, we set out to become the fastest paper cup manufacturer in the world by: Providing quotes in under an hour, Preparing artwork and sending for approval within the same timeframe, Offering a highly responsive service tailored to our customers’ needs.
Our first facility in Clitheroe introduced minimum orders of just 1,000 cups with a 10-day turnaround. Over time, we pushed the boundaries even further, achieving the incredible milestone of producing a single cup in just one hour.
Our first paper cup machine produced 8oz single-wall cups, soon followed by 12oz and 16oz versions. As demand grew, we expanded to include 8oz and 12oz double-wall cups, continually investing in new machinery to meet our customers’ needs.
Community Support & Giving Back
This journey wasn’t one we travelled alone. We are incredibly grateful to the local community for their support along the way:
- Lancaster University provided invaluable skills training, with students even helping to develop our first website and business systems.
- Dugdale Nutrition gave us office space, and James Alpe provided the building that became our first manufacturing site.
- Elan Engineering and Rob Warburton played a key role in installing our machines, ensuring we had everything we needed to scale up.
To show our appreciation, we became the first corporate member of Clitheroe Rotary, allowing us to give back to the community that helped us grow.
The World’s Largest Paper Cup & Other Crazy Moments
Over the years, we’ve had some incredible moments but one of the craziest was when we built the world’s largest paper cup! Created to celebrate the Tour de France passing through the Ribble Valley, the cup was made from recycled paper recovered from recycling paper cups supplied by James Cropper, highlighting our commitment to sustainability. Watch a short video about it HERE!
Looking to the Future
As we celebrate 20 years of success, we reflect on how far we’ve come from a front-room operation to a leading manufacturer. The future is unpredictable, but one thing is certain we will continue to innovate and push the boundaries of sustainability.
Building on our sustainability efforts, we introduced our new product, aqueous lined cups, this year for 2025. These cups are a significant step towards making cup recycling even easier and reducing environmental impact. Read our other blog about them HERE.
What Our Customers Have Said Over The Years
“I used the Printed Cup Company when I opened my shop last year and wanted some branded cups. The service, efficiency and quality of the cups were all exceptional and I’ve been using them ever since! I won’t use another company as I cannot fault PPC at all! My customers and I love them!” — Hannah Jones, Cakes by Hannah
“We’d recommend the Printed Cup Company to anyone looking for great quality branded items. A big perk for us is that there is no minimum order, and their products are 100% recyclable, which helps us to achieve internal sustainability goals. Their in-house designer was creative, organised and keen to make sure that we received a quality product that met our brand guidelines. We received regular updates regarding our order, lead times were fast and we love the product that we received.” — Charlotte Todd, CMAC Group
“We have used The Printed Cup Company since we started our business and the service, artwork and final product are all fantastic. We have had branded cups made up for the prestigious brands of our clients as well as our own and they have all been of the excellent quality that we need to use with our premium coffee service.” — Sam Fletcher, Partner – The Barista
“We contacted the Paper Cup Company when we were let down by our original supplier at the last minute. The service we received was excellent, from the first phone call to final delivery. There was very little time before the event for which we needed the bespoke printed cups, but Sam and the team were patient, competent and professional. The result was an incredible looking paper cup delivered a fortnight before the expected date. The Printed Cup Company saved the day for us and we’d wholeheartedly recommend them.” — Liam Tullberg, Marketing Assistant – Pukka Herbs
Thank You for Your Support!
As we celebrate 20 incredible years of the Printed Cup Company, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have made this journey possible. To our loyal customers who have been with us from the very beginning, your trust and continued support have been invaluable. Your belief in our products has helped us grow, innovate and evolve over the years, and we are truly grateful.
We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new customers, and to those we will meet in the future. Your support is vital to our ongoing success, and we look forward to continuing to serve you for many years to come.
Mark Woodward, Founder of The Printed Cup Company, also shares his gratitude: “When I started this company 20 years ago, I could not have imagined the journey we would go on. It has been a privilege to work with so many talented individuals and serve such incredible customers. The support from my family, our team, and our customers has been invaluable, and I am truly grateful. Here’s to the next 20 years of innovation and success!”
Here’s to the next 20 years and beyond. Thank you for being a part of our journey. Your support means the world to us.
Join the Celebration of Printed Cup Company 20th anniversary!
We’ll be celebrating all year long, and we’ve got plenty of exciting things in store. Be sure to keep an eye on our social media channels for updates, special offers and more throughout the year!
Stay Connected
Explore our range of stock products HERE or visit our sister website www.printedcupcompany.com for bespoke solutions or contact us today:
Email: sales@printedcupcompany.com
Call: 01200 449900
Check out our other social media and products by clicking or scanning the below QR code!
