WINTER HAVEN, Fla — Despite the ongoing pandemic, some Tampa Bay area businesses are continuing to thrive. Or, in this case, knock it out of the park.
Dugout Mugs is based in Winter Haven. Business partners Randall Thompson and Kris Dehnert tell us the multi-million dollar business all started with an idea.
Back in 2014, Thompson was coaching baseball at Florida Tech when he saw one of the coaches cutting baseball bats in half to do a hitting drill. Seeing the barrels laying in the dugout, a brilliant idea came to him.
He thought, "maybe I could take this home and pop this open and drink a beer out of it." And that's just what he did, Dehnert says.
From there he partnered with Dehnert, and Dugout Mugs was born.
The business grew to the point that it makes officially licensed Major League Baseball merchandise. Fans can get different-sized mugs adorned with their favorite team's logo.
But, even if MLB isn't your favorite thing, you can also further customize your mugs with realistic photo carvings and other logos.
Dehnert says his team and the company are really big in community outreach.
"We've created that connection and just that aura around our company — it's just unparalleled and I think it's not only carried us through COVID but it's going to carry us for years to come."