Espro Acquired by Wisconsin Cookware Maker Regal Ware

The Espro Coffee French Press P7, part of the latest set of presses in the Espro Press line. Espro product photo.

Innovative home coffee equipment maker Espro — styled by the company as ESPRO — has been wholly acquired by Wisconsin-based kitchenware seller Regal Ware.

Inventor and product designer Bruce Constantine is leaving Espro, the company he co-founded 16 years ago in Vancouver. Regal Ware has been a majority shareholder in Espro since the Spring of 2018.

“The groundwork for a world-class brand has been laid. Now, it’s time for someone whose passion is growing the business to take it to the next level,” Constantine said in an announcement sent by Regal Ware. “For me, I’m an innovator. I’m ready to take some time off and break some new glass.”

The financial terms of the acquisition have not been made public.

The Espro cold brew system. 2019 image courtesy of Espro.

After first developing a calibrated tamper, Espro took a notable plunge into the home coffee equipment field with a uniquely filtered and multi-walled stainless steel variation on the classic French press called the Espro Press in 2012. While numerous products have emerged from the Espro Press line since then, the brand has in recent years expanded into different categories.

In 2019, Espro debuted a cold brew system and hot coffee tasting cups, and earlier this year it unveiled a pourover brewer called the Bloom, which was developed in collaboration with 2019 U.S. Brewers Cup Champion Kaley Gann.

Regal Ware COO Dave Lenz will fill Constantine’s place as president of Espro on an interim basis as the company conducts an executive search.

The underside of the Espro Bloom dripper. File photo courtesy of Espro.

Based in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, Regal Ware controls, manufactures and sells home kitchen cookware through numerous brands, including Saladmaster, American Kitchen and Lifetime.

“Thanks to Bruce’s ingenuity and his ability to see a need, Espro offers a truly distinctive technology under the hood of every product,” said Regal Ware’s Lenz. “Espro is an important, high-quality and relevant brand for Regal Ware and we will continue to invest in its growth and expansion.”