Ole & Steen:
UK Food Strategy and Development
Project Overview
Danish bakery chain Ole & Steen chose Egg Soldiers to be its development partner for its UK brand debut (and first international opening), with our team working directly with the two founders and original UK directors to evolve and align the menu offer ahead of its entry onto London high streets.
Brand messaging and positioning was a key focus area for the project, with grab-and-go savoury offerings for both breakfast and lunch, operational design and menu architecture, and an evolved identity all established as part of a full food solution for the London market.
Brand messaging and positioning was a key focus area for the project, with grab-and-go savoury offerings for both breakfast and lunch, operational design and menu architecture, and an evolved identity all established as part of a full food solution for the London market.
Egg Soldiers x Ole & Steen:
Our Approach
Our Approach
UK Menu Strategy & Brand Evolution
Egg Soldiers first spent time in Copenhagen to fully understand the Ole & Steen (or Lagkagehuset) brand ID.
The team immersed itself in Danish café culture with the Ole & Steen leadership, developing a blueprint for translating the brand's ethos and established food vision to suit the UK market, namely retaining its core bakery focus while integrating savoury elements across day parts to appeal to the right customer demographics.
As part of this next step in the brand's journey, we also suggested a UK-friendly rebrand, evolving the Danish 'Lagkagehuset' with the addition of 'Ole & Steen' to avoid any pronunciation issues and ensure immediate adoption.
The team immersed itself in Danish café culture with the Ole & Steen leadership, developing a blueprint for translating the brand's ethos and established food vision to suit the UK market, namely retaining its core bakery focus while integrating savoury elements across day parts to appeal to the right customer demographics.
As part of this next step in the brand's journey, we also suggested a UK-friendly rebrand, evolving the Danish 'Lagkagehuset' with the addition of 'Ole & Steen' to avoid any pronunciation issues and ensure immediate adoption.
Menu Development & Integration
Once the new food vision was agreed, Egg Soldiers set about developing all recipes for new products across both breakfast and lunch, establishing menu architecture for the brand's entry as both a bakery and QSR/grab-and-go high street operation.
To stay true to the core of the business, the new breakfast section would sit alongside its core pastry line-up and fresh bread offer, with yoghurt pots and bacon sandwiches among new additions.
New lunch items would also dovetail the original bakery offer, with hot bowls, flatbread toasted sandwiches, and salad bowls positioned for the on-the-go lunch market in Central London.
To stay true to the core of the business, the new breakfast section would sit alongside its core pastry line-up and fresh bread offer, with yoghurt pots and bacon sandwiches among new additions.
New lunch items would also dovetail the original bakery offer, with hot bowls, flatbread toasted sandwiches, and salad bowls positioned for the on-the-go lunch market in Central London.
Concept Launch & Support
Egg Soldiers designed the kitchen areas, handled operational designs, and established UK food supply chains, promoting Ole & Steen's jewellery counter-style food display with new savoury additions while bolstering the launch with hands-on guidance and support.
Client Feedback
- Alastair Gordon, Operations Director"Leading the launch of Ole & Steen (Lagkagehuset) into the UK, I was looking for a strong food team to create and define a new food offer that complimented the high quality of our Danish baked goods.
"Egg Soldiers were the standouts with their non compromising approach to quality, staff training and their out-of-the-box creativity whilst having a clear commercial eye on how we could be fresh, new and truly stand out in the London food scene."Top operators, couldn't recommend them highly enough."
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