Mighty or Magical? A Mug That Doesn’t Spill

Creating a mug that won’t fall but lifts naturally sounds crazy, but Jayme Smaldone and his dad didn’t think so. After knocking over his cup of Joe and ruining a perfectly good (and very important) computer, Jayme realized that this was a problem for people the world over—and it was a problem he could solve. 

The infamous coffee and damaged computer incident happened one January morning. Instead of crying over the spilled beverage, Jayme and his dad realized there was a mug issue—specifically, a lack of mugs that could be safely set down near technology. Their background in product development made them the perfect people to solve one of life’s many frustrations.

“We started to tinker with different concepts and ways that we could do what we wanted. We wanted it to be magical, but not require any batteries, magnets, or require users to have to push a button or pull a lever. We wanted people to use it like any other mug, but have this amazing no-tip function” Jayme explains.

After approximately two years of development Jayme and his dad came up with a unique, tip-proof mug design, they call Smartrgrip. They were granted patents around the world and began selling their product in Rahway, New Jersey.

By 2019, Mighty Mug had celebrated the sale of its two millionth mug, garnered over 250 million media impressions worldwide, and successfully won a case against counterfeiters, preventing knockoffs from being imported and sold in the U.S.

However, the company soon faced two major hiccups: COVID-19 and outdated legacy software.

No Challenge Big Enough to Knock Down Mighty Mug 

Mighty Mug’s ability to remain standing even when faced with hand slaps, cat swipes, purse nudges, boat dips, and more has made a huge splash with the media. BuzzFeed calls it “Mesmerizing,” while Real Simple says it is “Impossible To Tip.” And Thrillist declares Mighty Mug to be “Downright Genius.”

Mighty Mug says the patented Smartgrip design enables the mug to grip the surface it’s on but allows the drinker to lift it naturally when they’re ready to sip. Unfortunately, this “mightyness” was not to be found in the company’s aging accounting solution, AccountEdge. 

Jayme says the solution did their bookkeeping and their inventory but “did both poorly.” When the pandemic hit, they wanted to be able to work remotely, but it was not an option with AccountEdge.

“At that point, we said we’ll go with QuickBooks Online so that everybody has access that way. But we wanted to have an inventory system where we didn’t have to input spreadsheets or rely on human effort, which led to inevitable errors when somebody forgot to upload a file, or they left a line off the file. It was consistently throwing the inventory off.”

It was time to replace the insufficient solution, so Jayme put together a thorough spreadsheet comparing Mighty Mug’s inventory management software options. The seven solutions included Skuvault, Skubana (now Extensiv), Zangerine, Fishbowl, QuickBooks, and Cin7.

Jayme’s wish list should have been easy to fulfill, but it wasn’t.

“It was going to be a pain with a lot of them. They would say, ‘Oh, yeah, we could do that, but we’ll have to write a custom app for you.’”

Not with Cin7.

Cin7 Mighty Enough for Mighty Mug

For Jayme, Cin7 was easily the right choice. He and his team wanted a cloud-based solution that would let them sell directly to the consumer and seamlessly integrate with Amazon, QuickBooks Online, Shopify, ShipStation, and their EDI solution. They also wanted their accountant and external vendors to be able to access the solution to see their inventory on hand and inventory value

With Cin7, they could do all those things and more. Mighty Mug embarked on a four-week implementation, going live on December 17, 2020, after an onboarding process that Jayme says was “really great.”

He also says there’s tremendous value in implementing Cin7.

“I think having information available, no matter where you are, is definitely valuable as is being able to link to ShipStation, Amazon, and the rest. And not having to rely on manual data entry has been huge.”

The time savings have been substantial, but one of Jayme’s favorite features in Cin7 is its ability to calculate landed costs.

“With our previous system, we had to estimate landed costs ourselves,” he explains. “We’d just tack on percentage but that wasn’t reliable—especially with fluctuating freight rates and varying product sizes.”

As far as his reporting needs go, Jayme feels Cin7 covers it all. “With the reporting, I’ll look at the inventory, inventory value, and the retail value. That’s definitely helpful, especially when you’re considering something like an offer that’s lower than normal, and you’re wondering how much you’re going to make off of it. And it helps when you put in a quote to see your margins.”

Reaching for Non-Spill Global Dominance

Mighty Mug’s founding objective was to stop spills before they happen, yet its usefulness has far exceeded its original intent. 

“It solves a function, but it’s also magical,” says Jayme. “It’s helping people who are blind or losing their eyesight and people who are in rehab centers for neurological concerns. The mug doesn’t spill when they reach for it. People love that their cats can’t knock it off the table, nurses say they don’t fall off carts as they run down the hall, teachers and moms with young kids have less accidents, and if you accidentally leave your mug on top of the car, it will still be there when they get to wherever you’re going.”

Now, Jayme is ready to take Mighty Mug to the next level.

“I think the next 12-month period will be the biggest, most pivotal since we launched,” he says. “We’re super focused, and we’re going to launch a bunch of new items. We have a unique product, and we have unbelievable press, so our goal is to be a household name within 24 months.”

With its one-of-a-kind offering and strong partnership with Cin7, Mighty Mug is well on its way to being the #1, non-spill mug across the globe.