Ex Zambrero CEO eyes ambitious plant-based restaurant expansion

David Jones Food Hall at Bondi Junction will be the first site in an ambitious plan to bring plant-based dining into the mainstream.

Flave founders Samantha and Stuart Cook intend to open 600 Flave franchises within the next five years, starting with the Bondi location.

As the former CEO of Mexican fast-food chain Zambrero, Stuart Cook knows a thing or two about franchising and has already signed a deal with a master franchisee in India.

42 outlets are planned for Hyderabad and Bangalore starting in March.

“Feeding vegetarians, vegan food isn’t the mission … but if we can go and end up in Texas we can help reduce the consumption of meat in the world and that’s where we can make the biggest impact from a sustainability standpoint,” Cook said.

Following Bondi Junction, the next Flave restaurant will open in Darlinghurst.

“We see the rise of plant based foods becoming almost this normalised way of eating, and we’re really at the forefront of that – we’re at the beginning of the mega trend,” Samantha Cook said.

To help with its expansion plans, Flave secured $2.5 million in a Series A fundraising round: a $2 million crowdfund will also be undertaken through the Birchal platform.

“Basically, it allows people to invest as little as $50 into Flave and get upside of a private company where typically retail investors would only get to do it,” Stuart Cook said. “It’s an amazing chance for everyday Australians to be able to invest for the first time and become a shareholder.”

“We’ve got the ex-COO and ex-CFO of Zambrero who have joined the (Flave) team, we’ve got a number of mentors who guided me back in Zambrero who have now invested into the business,” Cook said.

Jonathan Jackson - 28-11-22