When friends Paul Thomas and James Walsh listed their coffee business on Temu in August 2025, it was out of curiosity. They didn’t expect it to go anywhere. They were wrong. Five months later, Temu accounts for 15% of Quokka Coffee’s orders, about 20 a week, and has become a key sales channel for the two-man side hustle based in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
I thought this was never going to work for coffee, but we’ve been bowled over.
– Paul Thomas, Quokka Coffee
Paul, 50, and James, 39, met 19 years ago in the recruitment industry, where they still work full-time. They launched Quokka Coffee in 2019, initially supplying premium instant coffee to offices on subscription. When pandemic lockdowns closed offices, orders stopped overnight.
The pair started selling through their website, mainly to individual buyers. In 2024, they added whole beans and drinking chocolate to their range of products. But in a UK coffee market crowded with big brand names, standing out proved difficult without a dedicated sales team or big advertising budget.
Then Paul’s daughter gave him an idea. After watching her scroll through Temu, he decided to test it. Temu opened its platform to UK sellers in 2024, giving small businesses like Quokka Coffee access to millions of customers without high upfront costs.
Within days of listing, orders started arriving. They’ve now fulfilled over 350 orders through Temu and continue to sell via other channels like their website. What surprised the founders most was the type of customer they found on the platform. Rather than just one-off purchases, they discovered that Temu attracted repeat customers and bulk buyers.
We’ve had such a positive experience selling on Temu. It has really made a difference to a small business like ours.
– James Walsh, Quokka Coffee
Online marketplaces like Temu level the playing field for small sellers by connecting them with vast audiences. In today’s economic climate, retail platforms are becoming launchpads for small business growth.
– Gregor Murray, vice president of strategy, Digital Commerce Global
For now, Paul and James continue to work in recruitment, with dozens of boxes of coffee beans stocked in their Wilmslow office. With Temu adding a consistent revenue stream to Quokka Coffee, what started as a side hustle is quickly becoming a serious business.
