Welltodo Exclusive: Raw Press Announces Major Expansion Plans

Leading health and wellbeing brand Raw Press have revealed plans to further penetrate the London wellness market with not one, but two new venues.

The first site, on South West London’s Duke of York Square, will open within the next few days as a month long pop-up offering a selection of cold pressed juices, coffee and snacks. The second, a permanent café, is set to open in early 2016 on Ellis Street in close proximity to Sloane Square. Formerly occupied by Lulu Guinness, the 900 square ft space will mirror the success of the existing Dover Street café, serving the cold pressed range and freshly prepared salads with a clean, communal vibe.

Co-founder Jack Graham explained: ‘We’ve been building the brand, refining products and building our customer base throughout the last 12 months since our original site opened in Mayfair, before raising money in the spring/summer of this year with a view to opening two further sites.’

And it’s the brand’s strong customer base that has allowed the team to put their expansion plans into practice, with 95% of the capital required to do so being raised through private investment from existing customers.

Unlike rival juicery PRESS who secured investment earlier this year from private equity specialist the Clark Group, in order to fund growth and build on its portfolio locations including Soho and Broadgate, Raw Press employed the ‘fishbowl method’ with customers dropping business cards in a glass container if they wanted to see another venue open. Within two weeks of contacting those who’d left details, the company’s investment targets were met.

‘It’s a marketing business as well as being a restaurant/café business, so brand differentiation and customer loyalty are key,’ Graham told Welltodo.

From the glass bottles the cold-pressed juices are served in, to popular collaborations with influential wellness figures such as Deliciously Ella (who helped create a line of dishes when the first café opened), engagement in every aspect of the industry is critical for success. In particular, initiatives such as the brand’s ongoing ‘Design A Salad’ competition (which sees the winner’s creation end up on the menu) have proven how important interacting with customers is when growing a loyal following, becoming known and ultimately the growth of the business.

And funding hasn’t been the only challenge the brand has had to overcome during its expansion phase. Graham described the struggle of finding suitable properties to occupy as similar to securing investment.

‘Landlords in London are very selective about who they have on their estate, you have to prove your value and be confident in the services and products you are offering,’ he explained; something Graham is confident to demonstrate.

With a third site in the works for 2016 (after a further investment round) and extensive rollout plans longterm, Graham is positive that Raw Press’s strong brand will succeed, even amid the current explosion of juice bar offerings in London and US brands threatening to enter the UK market.

He believes there is a good market for what Raw Press is doing, citing their USP as the strong holistic focus on both cold-pressed juice and food products as well as an engaging events calendar.

‘There aren’t many places that offer seated space, and our combination of on-site salads and extensive range of cold pressed juices – usually it’s one or the other. It also helps that the sector we’re in is very much about a group of like-minded businesses growing together (founded around the same time in London) and building an interrelated network. We help each other and in turn that helps to solidify the positioning of our brands,’ he said.

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