Marmadukes
Marmadukes is a family-owned independent café group operating three design-led all-day dining locations across Sheffield, UK, combining in-house sourdough bakery, pastry kitchen, and exclusive Rwandan specialty coffee for retail, catering, and wholesale customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSheffield, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Marmadukes does
Marmadukes is an independent, family-owned all-day café group operating three physical sites in Sheffield, United Kingdom: Norfolk Row (the 2012 flagship in a 19th century townhouse), Cambridge Street (a design-led Danish-industrial coffee flagship developed with studio 93ft), and The Sorting Office (a repurposed Victorian post office on Ecclesall Road housing an open café alongside the group's centralised sourdough bakery and pastry kitchen). The business was founded in August 2012 by husband-and-wife team Clare and Tim Nye and remains privately held by the Nye family, with three of their four children now involved in operations; no external institutional investment is disclosed.
The core offering is built on three in-house production pillars: daily sourdough bread and pastries baked from Wildfarmed regenerative flour, an exclusive Maraba Rwanda single-origin house coffee (Edition 3) roasted by Origin Coffee Roasters and sourced directly from Maraba Coffee Washing Station, and a chef-driven all-day menu spanning breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Sourcing is deliberate and traceable — Cacklebean eggs, Neal's Yard Dairy cheeses, The Estate Dairy cultured butter, Brades Farm Jersey milk, and Moss Valley & Owen Taylor meats — supported by a ReFood food-waste partnership and Biohygiene chemical-free cleaning.
The revenue model combines in-café transactions (table-bookable at Norfolk Row and The Sorting Office via Dojo; walk-in at Cambridge Street), enquiry-based celebration cakes (from £60 for 10–12 servings to £325 for a three-tier serves-65 cake), private venue hire for groups of up to 80 across three venues, enquiry-driven wholesale bakery supply to other cafés and restaurants, and digital gift cards sold via Square. Pricing sits in the mid-premium UK specialty café range (espresso £3.40, flat white £4.10, mains from £11 to £18.90). Customer segments are diversified: walk-in local trade is primary, with secondary exposure to corporate office catering, private event hosts, and hospitality wholesale buyers. Marketing relies on organic Instagram, the Squarespace-hosted website, an email newsletter, Google Maps presence, and what3words navigation links, with no paid acquisition channels identified.
Marmadukes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Marmadukes
- Legal name
- Marmadukes
- Website
- https://marmadukes.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Marmadukes is a family-owned independent café group operating three design-led all-day dining locations across Sheffield, UK, combining in-house sourdough bakery, pastry kitchen, and exclusive Rwandan specialty coffee for retail, catering, and wholesale customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Marmadukes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee & All-Day Dining
- NAICS
- Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG), Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH)
Keywords
Where Marmadukes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sheffield
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Marmadukes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Café Food & Beverage Sales: In-café dining at three Sheffield locations. All-day dining menu covering breakfast, brunch and lunch with seasonal specials. Full drinks programme including specialty coffee, cocktails, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic options.
- Wholesale Bakery & Pastry: Wholesale supply of bread, pastries and cakes to other cafés and restaurants. All baked in-house at The Sorting Office sourdough bakery and pastry kitchen.
- Gift Vouchers & Retail Coffee: eGift cards sold via Square. Retail coffee (house blend bags) available for customers to brew at home.
- Celebration Cakes: Bespoke and menu celebration cakes for birthdays, weddings and events. Prices from £60 (serves 10-12) up to £325 (three-tier serves 65). Tiered and sheet cake options available. Orders via enquiry form with 2-week lead time and full payment required to confirm.
- Private Event Hire: Private venue hire for events up to 80 guests across three distinct venues. Catering packages and bar service included. Events pack with hire fees and menus available on request.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | In-café dining — light bites and sides |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | In-café dining — mains and large plates |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Beverages — hot drinks |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Celebration cakes — round cakes |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Celebration cakes — sheet cakes |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
Marmadukes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Marmadukes is an independent, family-owned café group operating three all-day dining locations in Sheffield, UK, selling breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes alongside specialty coffee, cocktails, wine and beer. The business produces in-house sourdough bread and pastries from a dedicated bakery and pastry kitchen at The Sorting Office using Wildfarmed regenerative flour, and serves a bespoke single-origin Rwandan coffee blend. Additional offerings include celebration cakes, wholesale bakery supply, private event hosting, and corporate catering.
Product overview
Marmadukes is an independent Sheffield-based all-day dining café group offering a unified product across three locations: Norfolk Row (original flagship), Cambridge Street (coffee flagship with modern design), and The Sorting Office (featuring an open sourdough bakery and pastry kitchen). The core offering comprises all-day dining (breakfast, brunch, lunch), in-house bakery products (sourdough bread, pastries, cakes), and speciality coffee with a bespoke Rwandan blend. Additional services include celebration cakes, private events hosting, gift vouchers, wholesale bakery products, and corporate catering. The business operates with a focus on sustainable, locally-sourced ingredients and Wildfarmed regenerative flour.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- All-Day Dining All-day café and restaurant service offering breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes with a focus on quality ingredients, handmade sourdough, and speciality coffee across three Sheffield locations. Targeted at individual diners, remote workers, and weekend visitors.
- Sourdough Bakery In-house sourdough bakery at The Sorting Office producing handmade sourdough bread daily using Wildfarmed regenerative flour; featured across all three Marmadukes locations and available wholesale to other cafés and restaurants.
- Speciality Coffee Bespoke house coffee blend (Maraba Rwanda Edition 3) sourced from Rwanda's Maraba Coffee Washing Station roasted by Origin Coffee Roasters, served at all locations and available for retail purchase for home brewing.
- Pastry Kitchen In-house pastry kitchen at The Sorting Office producing cakes, pastries, and savoury tarts daily for all three café locations using Wildfarmed regenerative flour and high-welfare ingredients.
- Celebration Cakes Custom celebration cakes including Devils Chocolate, Victoria Sponge, Lemon, Salted Caramel, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Chocolate Orange, available in round cakes (serves 10–12 from £60 up to three-tier serves 65 at £325) and sheet cakes (serves 45 from £180; double layer serves 50–60 at £230). Orders via enquiry form with 2-week lead time and full payment required to confirm.
- Private Events Private event hosting at all three venues accommodating groups up to 80 guests, with curated menus featuring sharing and seasonal dishes, catering packages, and bar service included. Events pack with hire fees and menus available on request via the Events Coordinator.
- Gift Vouchers Electronic gift cards available for purchase via Square, redeemable at all Marmadukes locations.
- Wholesale Bakery Products Wholesale supply of bread, pastries, and cakes to other cafés and restaurants, available via enquiry. All baked in-house at The Sorting Office sourdough bakery and pastry kitchen.
- Pre-Order Catering Corporate catering service providing pastries, salads, and sausage rolls for client meetings and office events, ordered in advance via the website contact form.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1000+ tons of coffee processed annually by Maraba Coffee Washing Station, supporting 3,694 farmers (for house coffee blend)
Companies that use Marmadukes
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Marmadukes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Marmadukes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.
- WildfarmedcoreWildfarmed is Marmadukes' exclusive flour supplier for all baking including sourdough, pastries, cakes and more. Wildfarmed practises regenerative farming with carbon-negative wheat, zero chemicals, and pasture cropping. The partnership is central to Marmadukes' sustainability mission. Marmadukes has a dedicated page (marmadukes-x-wildfarmed) and co-created video content with Wildfarmed about the brand and family story.
- Origin Coffee RoasterscoreOrigin Coffee Roasters roasts specialty-grade, directly traded coffee for Marmadukes. Through direct trade, Origin ensures fair pay and good working conditions for coffee farmers. Marmadukes has a bespoke house blend (Maraba Rwanda, Edition 3) exclusive to them, developed with Origin and Maraba Coffee Washing Station.
- Maraba Coffee Washing Station (Kazunga Charles)coreMaraba Coffee Washing Station in Rwanda's Nyakizu Hills (founded 2012 by Kazungu Charles' family) processes 1,000+ tons of coffee annually and supports 3,694 farmers. They are the source of Marmadukes' exclusive bespoke house coffee (Maraba Rwanda Edition 3).
- CacklebeansupportingHighest welfare Arlington White hens from a family farm in Gloucestershire. Provides eggs with notably golden yolks for use across all Marmadukes dishes.
- Neal's Yard DairysupportingWorks with the very best traditional UK cheesemakers, ensuring sustainability at every step of the supply chain. Provides cheese for Marmadukes' menu.
- The Estate DairysupportingSupplies the best cultured butter on the market, churned in Cheshire from aged-for-60-days top quality cream. Used across all baking and cooking.
- Brades Farm MilksupportingFamily farm with focus on Jersey cows welfare, supplying the most delicious milk specifically suited for specialty coffee.
- Moss Valley & Owen TaylorsupportingLocal, small farms supplying high quality and high welfare meat to Marmadukes.
- BiohygienesupportingChemical-free, biodegradable cleaning products. Not harmful for waterways, biodiversity, animals or people — in contrast to conventional cleaning products.
- ReFoodsupportingFood waste partner. When food waste cannot be avoided, it goes to ReFood to power green energy and create natural fertiliser. Part of Marmadukes' sustainability commitment.
- Swallows & DamsonsminorFlorist providing fresh flowers for celebration cake decorations and Meadow Cake upgrades. Customers can request specific flowers or let Swallows & Damsons choose seasonal mixes.
- 93ftminorDesign studio that created the interior design for Cambridge Street. Industrial shell complemented with a contemporary Danish twist using repurposed and long-lasting materials. Clare Nye (owner) collaborated with 93ft on the project.
- DojosupportingTable booking platform used by Norfolk Row and The Sorting Office for online reservations.
- SquaresupportingPayment and gift card platform. Gift vouchers sold via Square's platform at app.squareup.com/gift/ML0J89DGKNZ73/order.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Marmadukes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 200 Degrees Coffee: Nottingham-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe group with multiple UK sites serving coffee, brunch and light meals. Comparable on specialty coffee focus plus cafe food offering, though with their own in-house roasting capability.
- Granger & Co. Bill Granger's design-led all-day dining restaurants in London serving brunch, lunch, dinner and specialty coffee. Directly comparable on the all-day, design-led, premium positioning play, though more food-led and lacking the in-house bakery/wholesale vertical.
- Gail's Artisan Bakery: UK-wide specialty cafe-bakery chain with in-house sourdough, specialty coffee, all-day dining and design-led interiors. Closest direct comparable on product offering and customer positioning, though at significantly larger scale and with institutional backing.
- Coffee#1: Welsh-origin specialty coffee cafe chain with 90+ UK sites serving coffee, cakes and light food. Comparable multi-site UK cafe model with bakery-led food offering; larger scale and more value-leaning than Marmadukes.
- Soho Coffee Co. Bristol-origin specialty coffee cafe group with multiple UK sites. Directly comparable specialty coffee + cafe food model, though more beverage-led than Marmadukes' bakery-centric positioning.
- Notes Coffee: Leeds-origin specialty coffee and brunch cafe group with in-house baking and a focus on single-origin coffee. Closely comparable specialty coffee and cafe-bakery model; regional UK competitor at similar stage of multi-site growth.
Others
- Wildfarmed: Regenerative flour supplier and Marmadukes' core strategic partner. Comparable as the upstream ingredient supplier whose brand is co-marketed with Marmadukes; relevant peer for understanding the supply-side narrative but not a direct competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Origin Coffee Roasters: Cornwall-based specialty coffee roaster that roasts Marmadukes' bespoke house blend and also operates its own cafe/training spaces. Comparable as a specialty coffee roaster-cafe operator; broader incumbent with their own retail presence.
- Pret a Manger: UK-wide premium sandwich/coffee chain with deep presence in city centres including Sheffield. Comparable on the all-day cafe/coffee/food occasion but mass-market scale rather than artisan-bakery positioning; primary competitive overlap on footfall and pricing reference points.
Regional players
- Tamp Coffee: Sheffield-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator. Directly comparable on coffee program and Sheffield market overlap; regional peer competing for the same specialty coffee customer in the same city.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Marmadukes social profiles
Digital presenceMarmadukes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Marmadukes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Marmadukes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Marmadukes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Marmadukes
What does Marmadukes do?
Marmadukes is an independent, family-owned café group operating three all-day dining locations in Sheffield, UK, selling breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes alongside specialty coffee, cocktails, wine and beer. The business produces in-house sourdough bread and pastries from a dedicated bakery and pastry kitchen at The Sorting Office using Wildfarmed regenerative flour, and serves a bespoke single-origin Rwandan coffee blend. Additional offerings include celebration cakes, wholesale bakery supply, private event hosting, and corporate catering.
Is Marmadukes a public or private company?
Marmadukes is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Marmadukes founded?
Marmadukes was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Marmadukes based?
Marmadukes is headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Marmadukes make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Café Food & Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are wholesale Bakery & Pastry, gift Vouchers & Retail Coffee, celebration Cakes and private Event Hire.
Who are Marmadukes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 200 Degrees Coffee, Granger & Co., Gail's Artisan Bakery, Coffee#1, Soho Coffee Co. and Notes Coffee. Wildfarmed is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Origin Coffee Roasters and Pret a Manger. Tamp Coffee is listed as a regional player.
Does Marmadukes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Marmadukes.
What industry is Marmadukes in?
Marmadukes's product category is Specialty Coffee & All-Day Dining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAG, Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice), with a secondary code of THAFADAG, Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus). Its NAICS code is 311811 and its SIC code is 5810.