BUSINESS PROFILE SCANDI STYLE

Transcription

1 SCANDI STYLE KuPP, a Nordic inspired casual dining brand, is transforming the London Scandi food vibe with its all-day dining experience. Maria Bracken met founder Steve Cox to discuss the concept 1 of 6 PAGES - NAVIGATE DOWN

2 The idea of KuPP came from a genuine passion for Scandinavian food, culture and design. Some 10 years ago Steve Cox, along with his family, visited Stockholm for the very first time. This trip soon became the first of many as Kupp was to be born. The all-day food, drink, coffee and retail offering, which opened its doors 15 months ago, is situated on the canal in Paddington, London, and carries the philosophy of simple things, done just right. It features its own unique espresso and filter coffee blend alongside freshly baked pastries, which customers can enjoy in store or as a grab & go option. Cox, who also runs and operates Faucet Inn, a 16 strong English pubs chain, wanted to create a quality casual, all-day, food & drink concept with a strong focus on speciality coffee that would be attractive in both the Scandinavian & UK markets. He explains: Kupp represents all that we love about 2 of 6 PAGES - NAVIGATE DOWN

3 coffee, food, drink and Scandinavia and we want to share this with our customers. Whether it be fresh food, an enjoyable drink with friends or the perfect coffee, Kupp offers local residents and businesses an honest, warm and friendly experience delivered with real passion and knowledge from our teams. The concept, which currently has one other site operating in Exeter, has four key pillars to its business; food, drink, coffee and the store. Its menu has been developed around Cox s desire to use notable Scandinavian ingredients in a British way. Dishes can be informally shared as a group or equally can be enjoyed individually as a threecourse, more formal meal. It prides itself on its ability to gather and select the finest ingredients and products from British and Scandinavian suppliers. The Scandi-inspired menu uses techniques such as curing, pickling and smoking as a basis for many of the dishes featured. Cox describes the menu as complex but entirely fresh. The smoked-in-house pork meatballs are a firm favourite on the menu as are other signature dishes including its bowl of Alantic prawn Skagen & sourdough bread made with an English twist (Scandi prawn cocktail). Other fishy dishes such as the Hansen & Lydersen smoked salmon are also big sellers. Its social Christmas sharing menu is also looking popular. Starters include house-smoked pork meatballs, house-smoked and pressed ham and oven baked quinoa, kale and butternut bites. Mains feature crispy roast pork rib, 24 hour marinated roast venison haunch & sour hop gravy and handmoulded wild forest mushroom and Danish blue tart. Two courses are priced at 24 per person, and three courses are 30 per person. Its weekend bottomless brunches are also a big hit. Guests can tuck into dishes including Norwegian gravlax, smoked pork meatballs and pickled veg. Drinks on offer include bottomless cocktails, Bloody Marys and Czech Pilsner Krusovice beer. It s 30 per person and kids eat free. 3 of 6 PAGES - NAVIGATE DOWN

4 Kupp is also renowned for its four large silver tanks, the first of their kind in the UK, that sit above the bar holding the Czech Pilsner, Krusovice. Coffee is also at the heart of the brand s Fika Cafe & Store. Fika, pronounced Fee-Ka, by the way, is a Swedish custom, a kind of social coffee break where people gather to have a cup of tea, coffee or nibbles. The team hand selects its beans with the help of The Coffee Hunters at Mercanta and the team at Extract Coffee in Bristol roast them to perfection. Cox says that in terms of its food, drink and retail offering, its sit down restaurants are performing the strongest but says that grab & go is an area he wants to grow. Cox has big plans to move the concept forward. We have just signed up with Hammerson, the property developers, to launch in Southampton. We are also on the point of exchange in Manchester and are very close to opening in Birmingham. We want to be targeting the big primary cities that have high footfall and high visibility locations. The plan is to get KuPP to units reasonably quickly. 4 of 6 PAGES - NAVIGATE DOWN

5 Opening in Scandinavia is also on the cards. Cox says they are set up to operate there. After 15 months of trading, we have now started to source a lot of produce and material from Scandinavia as we begin to build up our supply chains over there. I m looking forward to operating abroad next year. We are looking at operating in cities such as Copenhagen and Berlin. We believe this concept is universal. We have also been approached by businesses that are interested in franchising which I find incredible when we currently only have two sites operating. You can see why this business would be easy to package up and go abroad with. Cox says the eating out industry is all about people, and to succeed you must have the right people on board: As we prepare for expansion, we are recruiting a new team. We recently took on someone to head up recruitment as this is an area that we have got to get right. We have also taken on a new member of staff to focus on our training 5 of 6 PAGES - NAVIGATE DOWN

6 programmes as well as a new sales person to help drive bookings. Cox says there are a lot of individuals out there who are doing some great things in the industry: There s lots of innovation going on and it s great to see! Everywhere you go there s exciting new food concepts opening up. It keeps us all on our toes. I think Tom and Ed Martin are doing great things at the minute as well as Mark Draper and Dan Shotton from Redcomb Pubs. Even the big pubcos are getting a lot better at what they do. Everyone has woken up to the fact that customers are very discerning now and a lot more demanding. There s also some great innovation happening around cocktails and people are becoming a lot more experimental with them. Everyone is being forced to really examine their businesses and look outside of the box. 6 of 6 PAGES - END