Pure is targeting airport locations across the UK for its next expansion steps, according to CEO and co-founder Spencer Craig.
Although the healthy food-to-go brand will add a few more physical sites to its estate in coming years, business catering provides the biggest growth opportunity, he tells MCA.
Yesterday, Pure launched a full range of business services for meetings, events and workplaces.The new B2B offering - Food for Business - presents a range of workplace feeding options and a new, wholesale range of longer-life Pure products.
Alongside “aggressive” growth of these services, the company aims to open at least another airport and up to two high street sites over the next eighteen months. “We have a really successful shop at Gatwick Airport, and we will carry on actively trying to grow in airports”, says Craig, whilst recognising the travel segment as a competitive market.
Discussing growth in the capital, he adds, “There is opportunity for us in the West End. I think we are underrepresented there, and there are a few other areas of the city I find interesting,” he says.
Pure currently operates 15 retail sites across London, and whilst the food-to-go business suffered significantly during the pandemic, it has seen strong recovery in recent years, currently up 40% on 2023.
Ralph Trustees, the family-run hospitality group that owns Hertfordshire resort The Grove became a new backer for Pure earlier this year, after Whitbread sold its 49% stake, which it acquired in 2016.
Discussing the move to focus predominantly on workplace catering, Craig explains that, “while London retail is improving slowly, we don’t think there is going to be a big change in how people work or move around.”
In particular he sees “structural challenges” around trading on Mondays and Fridays as a roadblock.” “We want to be in control of our future, and we can be, by doing the catering business. Up until now it has been largely for meetings, but now our customers have spoken to us about what they want, and we have been driven by that.”
He explains that unlike retail where opening physical locations is fundamental to growth, Pure has capacity within its existing network of catering hubs to grow this segment. Currently, catering makes up around 25% of business, Craig says, but he expects in three years’ time for this to be an equal stream to retail.
“It can be absolutely huge for us, and in a [corporate] market where there aren’t really many branded offers, we think that it is a massive opportunity.”
Discussing current trends in the food-to-go space, Craig observes a shift in dietary preferences, noting a move away from veganism towards high-protein diets.
“High protein has become much more prominent. You can get protein from vegan food, but it’s just a bit trickier. The processed nature of vegan alternatives is being seen for what it is,” he comments. Despite this, strong vegetarian options remain a core part of Pure’s menu.
