We’re happy to introduce our newest partner KiCo. A co-working kitchen and food community in The Hague, founded by the brothers Sami Simreen and Samer Simreen. KiCo stimulates and empowers food innovators to launch and grow their business successfully. Let’s ask Sami and Samer more about their initiative!
(Klik hier om dit interview in het Nederlands te lezen)
How would you describe KiCo in one sentence?
“KiCo is a place where various players across the value chain – from farmers to chefs and beyond – meet, collaborate and grow together.”
How did you come up with this concept?
“Previously, we owned a catering company in Abu Dhabi where we produced 60-100K meals per day across large scale industrial catering to restaurants, retail and events such as the Abu Dhabi F1 GP. After a successful sale we each took time to explore new industries. However, our passion for food continued to pull us back.
We specifically asked ourselves: how can we be a positive driver of much needed change in the food industry? After extensive research we realized that there were many innovative founders creating delicious products who were struggling to get their products off the ground due to high costs, high risk and the many challenges that arise in the early stages of building a food business.”
So you came up with a solution.
“Yes. KiCo was created as a response to that need and gap in the market. Shared kitchen facilities and a diverse community where founders and chefs can develop and test their products while having the support they need along their journey.”
What do you offer exactly that help these entrepreneurs succeed?
“We created a professional production space to ensure their products are made in a safe and hygienic environment in line with local regulations. Second, we provide top tier production equipment to ensure quality, consistency and scalability. And last, we offer a network & growth opportunities with industry leaders, experts and partners. Through talks, workshops, testing opportunities, networking events and more we open up our network to equip them with the knowledge and connections that support them on their journey.”
Looking at Locally Made specifically, how can our makers collaborate with KiCo?
“Firstly, for those looking to scale up but are not quite at that large scale production level, our kitchens are the perfect space for them to grow with consistency, while maintaining control over the process. We can support food makers with product development, customer testing and process optimization to make sure when they’re ready for that next step, their product and process are where they need to be.
For those looking to be part of a growing food community with easy access to the experts and partners they need to succeed, our community offering is the one for them. Talks, workshops, meeting buyers and much more are all just a click away.
Finally, for those looking for an awesome space to film content or host workshops and events; we’ve got them covered.”
That sounds great! Could you give examples of existing collaborations?
“Sure! Hendrik’s Tasty is a delicious seitan brand made from beans and chickpeas. Thanks to our top of the range equipment they’ve been able to cut down their production time from 4 days to 1 day. This gives them time to focus on building their business and sales channels while improving quality and consistency while growing production capabilities in line with growing demand.
Bonborange is another one; a chocolate bonbon startup that uses orange side stream from supermarkets to make their products. They’ve got an innovative product which can have various applications, so we’ve worked with them on identifying the right sales channels, defining the approach and connecting them to relevant experts and partners to help them unlock new opportunities and grow their business.”
And you organize events, right?
“Yes, with our community members, buyers and concept/recipe developers from various companies. These have also led to new projects where our members are either about to announce new listings or have partnered up with recipe developers to create new products for certain high street stores.”
Based on your expertise, what’s your best business tip for our food makers?
“Never fall in love with your product! It’s something that happens too often in food. Stay hungry for customer feedback and gaining an ongoing understanding of their needs and how you fulfil them. The best way to do that is by fostering long-term relationships with your customers where they feel like they have skin in the game and that you are truly there to help create something they need. We share a lot of these tips on our website and socials, as well as during our community events, so make sure to sign up to our newsletter and socials @kico.kitchen.”
Locally Made community, you’re all invited to KiCo’s Launch party on September 26. You can register here. If you want to come by before, you’re more than welcome to book a tour through KiCo’s website.
