POKE HOUSE UK
When Poke House, Europe’s largest poke chain, aimed to break into the UK market, our consulting firm partnered with them to tackle a range of strategic challenges across multiple disciplines.
The journey began with a critical mergers and acquisitions strategy, where we facilitated the buyout of a local competitor to secure five key store locations. This foundational step was essential for establishing a market presence.
Next, we focused on branding and design to help create an identity that resonated with UK consumers. Our team transformed the menu, store layouts, operational execution model and overall brand experience, ensuring it appealed to local tastes while preserving Poke House’s Italian essence.
In the realm of People, we built a dedicated local headquarters team by recruiting top talent in Operations, HR, and Marketing. We emphasized comprehensive training programs to cultivate a culture of excellence, essential for delivering the high end Poke House experience consistently across locations.
Our deep dive into operational management enabled us to develop an efficient framework aligned with local economic realities and 'queuing' customs. We also crafted a localized supply chain that honored the brand's commitment to quality and sustainability, leveraging a european productions centre while also engaging with local suppliers for key distribution items.
As part the growth strategy, we identified and negotiated ten additional prime sites for expansion.
Understanding the importance of community, we forged partnerships with local contractors, events and news agencies, enhancing brand visibility and engagement.
Each opening created excitement, with over 500 attendees at opening events.
Consistently surpassing previous sales benchmarks at every location, Poke House emerged as a strong brand in the UK, supported by a robust growth pipeline and a positive work environment that attracted top hospitality talent.
This case exemplifies how our multifaceted approach—encompassing people culture, training, food & beverage engineering, real estate strategy, supply chain, store design, and operational management—can effectively propel a brand into a new market, ensuring lasting success.
