KERB gears up for first international opening as UK sales soar
KERB will open plant-forward food hall Saluhall in partnership with Ingka Centres, the real estate sister company to IKEA, and Nordic chef Claus Meyer. The venue is a 23,000sq ft food hall at 945 Market Street and is aiming for an 80% plant-based offer from local food and drink producers and traders.
This will be followed by a second overseas project in Copenhagen, which will be a white label partnership, and then the first official sibling for Seven Dials Market, a full KERB food hall that will open in Berlin towards the end of the year and which was first announced last year.
KERB announced its most profitable year as a business at its annual member summit, which was held last week. It says it helped its members generate gross sales of £23.5m in 2023, a 40% rise on the £17m made in 2022.
Growth has come through an increase in private, public and retail events trade, it says, with the business feeding more than 900,000 event guests and generating almost £8m in gross revenue for members.
Last year KERB delivered almost 1,800 market trading days, almost 500 event opportunities, and 365 days of trading at its flagship food hall Seven Dials Market to its members.
It also delivered over 850 hours of free coaching, saw 31 businesses graduate from its no-cost inKERBator programme, and worked with more than 320 people from less advantaged backgrounds.
'Most impactful hospitality company in the world'
“KERB is nothing without our members, and our annual member summit is one of the most important dates in our diary. Over the past 12 years there have been ups and downs within the hospitality industry, and these continue to challenge us all,” says CEO Simon Mitchell.
“However, with a strong team in place and renewed focus on creating opportunities for our members, 2023 was an incredible year of growth for KERB. We have ambitious plans to continue this growth into 2024 and beyond - allowing us to collectively make the biggest possible positive impact we can.
“We’re striving to become the most impactful hospitality company in the world, and we’re taking this very seriously.”
At the start of the year KERB enrolled seven women-owned business into its inKERBator later to address the gender imbalance in food. The move followed a membership census, which found that only 32% of its 140-strong membership pool were solely women owned.
The seven businesses were Mama’s Ktchn (vegan soul food); Mezzo (Italian); Emerald Eats (hot chicken fillet rolls); Banzai Kitchen (Japanese fried chicken); Hanoi Cà Phê (Vietnamese); Latin Soul (South American home-style cooking); and Poke Nom.
