Brewing Up Art: Memo Cups Are Turning Every Sip Into a Marketing Masterpiece

Since time immemorial, necessity has inspired innovation — and for one Kelowna business owner, that saying has certainly proven true. Local coffee enthusiast and café owner Francisco Merinero wasn’t planning to expand his business, but the lack of affordable, creative, Canadian-made beverage cups sparked an idea: what if he could print his own?

An online search soon led to an international research trip, and 18 months later, Memo Cups was born. Francisco, affectionately known as “Paco” in his community, heads up the much-loved Marmalade Cat Cafe locations in Kelowna. The family-run business created by Francisco, his wife Karina Andres, Francisco Jr and Rodrigo Merinero, boasts a playful, creative vibe, and the décor clearly shows Francisco loves supporting the local Okanagan Valley art scene. To Francisco, it only made sense that their paper take-away cups could serve as blank canvases for both company branding and local event promotion. However, the strict requirements of many cup manufacturers were holding back their marketing possibilities.

“It is not uncommon to see minimum print run requirements being 25,000 cups, in addition to pricing that makes making changes to design and logo very cost-prohibitive,” he informs us. “We wanted to be able to adjust the logos on our cups throughout the season, for events and holidays, but it just wasn’t feasible.” Not one to stop at small obstacles, Francisco did some digging—and he quickly realized there was a great business opportunity tied to the solution he was seeking.

Creativity Is Brewing in Every Locally Made Cup

The launch of Memo Cups solved Marmalade Cat Cafe’s marketing glitches, but it also put a spotlight on an untapped market. After finding the perfect machinery to manufacture a top-quality, compostable cup, Francisco started seeing potential everywhere he went, a demand that reached far beyond the food and beverage industry. Car dealerships, realtor offices, local fruit markets, hotel lobbies—even at his local dentist’s office. Countless businesses were serving beverages in generic cups, missing out on prime branding opportunities.

With low overhead, cost-effective equipment, and minimum print runs starting at just 1,000 cups, Francisco realized he could offer something in Kelowna few other beverage cup manufacturers could: competitively priced, custom-printed cups that feature eye-catching branding — with no limits on creativity.

Finding A Home in The Southern Okanagan

Having an environmentally sustainable beverage cup was paramount, but Memo Cups also needed to meet another critical requirement for Francisco—they had to be made locally, support his community and create new employment opportunities. When the Merinero family relocated from Mexico to Kelowna, it was a leap of faith into unfamiliar territory. Yet the community welcomed them with open arms, and fifteen years later, that initial kindness has blossomed into deep-rooted connections for Francisco and his family.

When he set out to find a made-in-Canada solution to his marketing challenge, he knew it would also need to be based here in Kelowna—where the creation of new jobs would help pay back the community that had so warmly embraced his family. “Our kids have grown up here; this area is home for them, and each Marmalade Cat Cafe is part of the fabric of the area. Memo Cups not only helps our brand stand out, it is also providing jobs for artists in Kelowna.” The benefits are for both their café clients as well as supporting the growth of small business. And, with being manufactured right in Kelowna, Memo Cups can help local companies by offering turnaround times far shorter than those of the bigger, more expensive cup manufacturers located elsewhere.

The Art of the Pour: Crafting Coffee Cups That Inspire

It is quite fitting that the image chosen for Marmalade Cafe’s first run of cups was a watercolour rendition of the iconic Pandosy Street building that houses the Cafe, blending art and branding while celebrating Kelowna’s architecture. Francisco sees an exciting future ahead for Memo Cups, catering to many Okanagan food and beverage outlets – but also being able to provide a creative marketing option whenever drinks are served at local events, fundraisers, and more.

The company’s key feature is its ability to produce cups in small batches (a minimum of 1,000), which is beneficial for small businesses that may not meet the minimum order quantities set by larger manufacturers. Larger orders are not a problem, though, as Francisco’s state-of-the-art CSA-approved machines have the potential to produce more than 2 million cups per month.

Putting the creativity in his clients’ hands means Memo Cups can design the cups with logos that are not obscured by heat sleeves. Their in-house graphic design can offer seasonal changes to the logo design at the click of a button.

Getting Your Brand in the Hands of Your Clients

For inquiries on how Memo Cups can put your business’s name in the hands of your clients, email Francisco and his team at admin@memodisposables.com. For examples of the wide range of cup sizes and variety, check out their Memo Cups website. While Francisco and his team are currently focused on cold and hot beverage cups, they will also be introducing printing on ice cream, frozen yogurt, soup cups, and other containers. Follow along Memo Cups’ journey on Facebook and Instagram, and watch for upcoming new additions to the product line.

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