CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Maybe you're a fan of the show Ink Master. It may surprise you that last night's challenge had a Corpus Christi connection.
Competitors used a product called "put-in cups." These are the cups you see that decorate fences outside of schools and sometimes businesses.
The family owned company was formed right here in Corpus Christi and business is so good, it's gone global.
The idea for Put-In-Cups came 20 years ago. The founder, Randall Hunt would walk to work and see schools decorating their fences with Styrofoam cups, which he'd see thrown on the street days later.
After much trial and error, Hunt created the first mold of these environmentally friendly colored cups with the help of his wife, Laura.
"When we say we're from Corpus Christi, it's like, 'Corpus Christ?' Everyone thinks it's this big company out of somewhere else, but we're just here," said Laura Hunt, Put-In-Cups Matriarch.
The Hunt family started out decorating schools and businesses here in town.
"It's so awesome for the kids to be able to see that community is supporting them." said Sarah Kopecky, the Roy Miller High School cheer coach.
"This is my third year teaching here and we're building our spirit and trying to get our kids more involved."
The product has become so popular, it's being used beyond Corpus Christi.
"We've shipped all over the nation, we've shipped all over the world. We've shipped to new Zealand, we've shipped to china," said Hunt.
These chain link fence decorations have even caught the attention of universities and professional teams.
They were even invited to go on Shark Tank, which they turned down.
The Hunt family got the "put-in-cups" patented. They even "Pack and Stack" their own product, working seven days a week to get all of their orders out.
Although the family plans to keep their business in Corpus Christi, they hope to expand one day.
If you're interested in finding out more about the family, go to https://www.putincups.com/.
