Caravan: ‘All welcome’ has been our north star from day one

Over the years, the team at Caravan has put a lot of work into building a well-travelled, all-day concept, but for CEO Laura Harper-Hinton, it’s the ‘all welcome’ mantra that guides the group above all else.

She tells MCA the business has always had an “extremely diverse” workforce, comprising 55 nationalities and all walks of life, as well as genuine diversity in front-of-house teams and decision-making roles.

“We were super passionate about diversity from day one – it’s not something we bolted on later,” she says. “We’re really proud of our senior leadership – we’ve got lots of nationalities, religions, and ethnicities, and our chair is female.

“It’s easy to focus on the lens of colour, but diversity is more than that.”

Measuring diversity as a business can be difficult, but Caravan has put in place commitments such as promoting junior management into more senior roles – regardless of educational background – and promoting 80% from within the business. Last year, the percentage was 88.

“Rather than externally employing, we want to drive a positive culture within,” Harper-Hinton adds. “You become known as a place where diversity and belonging really matters.”

By fostering this culture, Caravan encourages new applicants from diverse backgrounds, as well as customers.

The menu has always had “something for everyone”, and the venues are designed to be welcoming.

“We’re open all day and encourage guests to come and engage with the space however they want to.”

Harper-Hinton, along with co-founders Chris Ammermann and Miles Kirby, are from New Zealand. Their story influenced the formation and evolution of Caravan into what it is today.

The EDI acronym, which stands for equity, diversity, and inclusion, has evolved to DIEB to include belonging, which is particularly important for Harper-Hinton.

“We came here without that sense of belonging to London. Family is a tricky word to apply to hospitality businesses, but we want people to feel they belong.”

From senior leaders to other tiers, all employees have had culture training. The business is also mindful of promoting mental health and wellbeing, while working with organisations like Hospitality Action.

“When you have a lot of diversity in your workforce, it makes a broader percentage of people feel comfortable in your spaces,” Harper-Hinton says. “We’ve got a 60% female customer base, and the feedback from women has been that it’s a wonderful atmosphere to be in.

“They feel more comfortable as opposed to a homogenised workforce.”

LGBTQ+ communities can often get “sidelined” in these conversations, she adds, but Caravan has tried to foster inclusivity across the board.

“Our head of coffee and commercial director are queer, and so much of the roastery team is women.

“It was predominately a white male workforce when we started in coffee 13 years ago, and now we’ve got a 50-50 split you don’t often see in coffee businesses.”

The philosophy is to respect preferences, be conscious of how unconscious bias can creep in, and maintain standards of communication across the business, both externally and internally.

Staying up to date on a constantly changing landscape is also key.

“We genuinely didn’t bolt this on. Caravan has always been a melting pot of people, wherever you’ve engaged with it as a business during its journey,” Harper-Hinton adds.

“We want to adjust, amend, learn, grow, and read all we can, and challenge ourselves to stay ahead of what’s emerging.

“There’s always more work to do, but ‘all welcome’ has been our north star from day one.”