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Poké Bowls contain fish, rice or noodles and salad, as well as various dressings and sauces. Bild: she is a poke
This gastronomic chain serves “instagrammable” food, now it is expanding in Switzerland
The Ona Poké chain is based on a trendy Hawaiian dish. Now open new branches. Social media is important for success. The chain is not alone in this.
A trendy dish from Hawaii is conquering the Swiss interior: Poké Bowls. The bowls are mainly made up of fish, rice or pasta and salad. Everything is enriched with sauces and fruits, and is considered very healthy. Swiss companies have also noticed.
The Kaisin chain opened its first location in 2017 and is now represented four times in Zurich and Basel. In the same year, “Ona Poké” entered the market with the first store in Zurich. Now the company wants to grow quickly. It is currently seeking investors for a new round of financing, according to an industry letter. The medium-term objective is to open ten branches. There are currently two.
Former head of Mc Donald’s helps
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Flavian Hächler, says: “Poké is quite a stir in America. Our first store in Zurich was very well received. This is why we were able to quickly open a second location in Zurich. Now we want to tackle further expansion. “Ona Poké can also count on outstanding support: Harold Hunziker, former director of McDonald’s Switzerland and brother of Michelle Hunziker, sits on the board of directors.
“Ona Poké” will open its third location this fall on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, and another location in Geneva has also been secured. Its opening is scheduled for spring 2021. “We have Geneva because the city has the potential for at least three locations. This is the only way we can operate the concept reasonably cheaply. “
Will you expand abroad?
In terms of size, Zurich and Geneva are the only two Swiss cities that meet these requirements. The national border is not an obstacle: “You can always think big,” says Hächler. Expansion abroad is possible. “For now, we are concentrating on Switzerland.”
Poké is also popular because it picks up two trends: the need for healthy and light food, and the desire for dishes whose photos can be easily marketed on social networks such as Instagram. The “Ona Poké” investor brochure also states that the dishes come with “an incomparable, instagrammable look”.
Instagram is increasingly important
Other suppliers are also picking up on this development: for example, the American hamburger and shake chain Black Tap, which will open its second Swiss branch in Zurich in the fall, is consciously choosing it (CH Media reported). Guests should not only be full, but also get lots of likes from photos of their meals, a welcome free advertisement for the company. Therefore, providers are targeting younger customers for whom social media is important.
Flavian Hächler says his guests like to eat healthy, but they also enjoy a modern concept and “an eye for aesthetics”. The target group is urban people who want to eat something light: “They want to be able to work after eating.” The target group “dinks” is addressed in the investor brochure: “Double income, no children”. In German: double income, no children.
Coronakrise transforms Ona Poké “brutal”
The crown crisis hit “Ona Poké” during the confinement “brutally,” Hächler said. In the meantime, however, her chain has returned to sales as before the crisis, also because the delivery services business developed rapidly during the crisis. “Ona Poké” is now working with Uber Eats, eat.ch, and smood.
It is not clear if the chain will stop expanding into ten branches. But then Hächler and his team don’t want to be there anymore. “We can still manage ten locations well ourselves,” he says. “After that, the business will be too big.” Therefore, the chain will be sold to a larger operating company in four to five years. “The goal is sporty,” says Hächler, “but it can be done.”
