At Askeladden & Co, we believe in testing new market alternatives and adjusting as we go. However, it is crucial that our ventures deliver on three things: satisfied customers, happy employees, and solid profitability. Unfortunately, some of our companies were unable to meet all of these. As part of our social responsibility, we ensure a proper and orderly end, including fulfilling outstanding claims and being considerate towards our employees and the partners who have supported us.
Food & Beverages
December 2020 – October 2021
Munnfull was a buffet restaurant, aiming to provide value for money and to be a place for the whole family. Having in mind that people love the concept of a great hotel breakfast buffet, Munnfull wanted to transfer these positive connotations onto dinner.
Munnfull suffered from an overly high cash burn and too much pivoting resulting in the brand not being distinct enough, which is utterly important in a very competitive market. Operating during COVID also brought its challenges, such as a temporary nationwide ban on buffets altogether, as well as several lockdowns. Munnfull was shut down in October 2021.
Food & Beverages
November 2020 – February 2022
Kopp was a combined café and winebar, serving coffee, snacks and food during the day, and wine in the evening. With Norway being on top of coffee statistics worldwide, Kopp felt like a safe bet. Serving wine in the evenings was meant to increase utilization in typical off-peak hours for cafés.
Kopp ended up mixing too many concepts to communicate the value proposition clearly. We also misjudged the price-sensitivity Norwegians have towards coffee, meaning our slightly lower price-point wasn’t enough to drive traffic. It didn’t help that the same day Kopp opened its doors, COVID slammed them shut, having to stay closed for an extended amount of time. Kopp finally closed its doors in December 2021.
Food & Beverages
January 2021 – February 2022
Food Society was a restaurant and delivery concept which offered dishes from several specialized kitchens (e.g. Street; Indian; Thai; Korean; Greens; Japanese). The premise was that a family or group could all get food according to their own preference, while still ordering from the same place - a digital food hall.
The concept brought operational complexity due to the vast number of dishes a cook needed to master. Also the business model was based on scale benefits achieved at high volumes, which was made more difficult to achieve due to COVID. The concept did not achieve sufficient volumes to reach profitability, and was therefore closed down in January 2021
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