Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter! Hope you're all crushing it this week and today I am super excited to talk to you about one of my favourite grab-and-go offerings out there.

This week, I dove deep into a Danish phenomenon that's quietly conquered the global beverage scene. We're talking about Joe & The Juice - the Nordic cool cats who transformed from a tiny corner juice bar hidden inside a Copenhagen clothing store into a £500 million lifestyle empire operating 350+ stores across 20 countries while maintaining the authenticity that made them special.

What fascinated me most? They cracked the code on something every hospitality brand struggles with: scaling culture without losing soul. While competitors obsess over operational efficiency, Joe & The Juice built their entire empire on a radical insight - "people over products" - and somehow made it work at global scale.

The numbers are absolutely staggering: DKK 2.8 billion revenue in 2024 (that's £330 million), 35% same-store sales growth and margins over 20%. They're prepping for a US IPO targeting $2.4 billion valuation. Not bad for a company that started when its founder was using a Coca-Cola fridge to keep their drinks chilled.

But here's the kicker: they deliberately sacrifice operational efficiency for authenticity and it's working brilliantly. Ready to discover how Danish "hygge" conquered global coffee culture?

In today’s email: From Copenhagen Corner Shop to $2.4B IPO: The Joe & The Juice Formula

Read Time: Approx 4-5 mins

How a Skeptical Cousin and Italian Regular Customer Created a Global Phenomenon

Source: Joe & The Juice History / Money Magazine Profile

Kaspar Basse never intended to revolutionise healthy fast food. The former Danish karate champion was running a web company when he convinced friends at trendy lifestyle store Rue Verté to let him open a tiny juice bar in their corner space. His modest goal? Create healthier fast food that didn't taste like cardboard.

Key Points:

• The family drama that almost killed the dream: When co-founder and cousin Morty Basse's parents demanded he finish university instead of "wasting time on juice," Kaspar pressed forward alone. "I told him I was doing this with or without him," Basse recalled. Morty eventually returned after three months as a chef in Nice becoming employee number two.

• The lightbulb moment that defined everything: Philip "Pippo" Finsteen, an Italian regular, offered to cover a Saturday shift so Basse could attend his mother's birthday in Paris. Despite warning him "Don't f--k it up," Finsteen tripled daily sales through pure charisma. This crystallised Basse's core insight: "For his company to succeed the people who worked for him mattered more than anything."

• Building culture as competitive advantage: Joe & The Juice built their entire strategy around employee empowerment and authentic customer experiences. No scripts, no uniforms, just genuine personality - a decision that would prove smart as they scaled globally.

• The accidental naming: The "Joe" comes from "average joe" - representing accessible healthy food for everyone not just health fanatics. Simple, memorable and perfectly capturing their democratic approach to wellness.

The Anti-Starbucks Strategy That's Conquering Three Categories Simultaneously

Source: Fast Company / Tasting Table

Joe & The Juice successfully bridges coffee, juice and fresh food without becoming a full restaurant - creating what leadership calls a "third space" between Starbucks' coffee focus and juice bars' limited appeal.

Key Points:

• Premium pricing justified by experience: Lunch combinations reach £18, individual juices around £9. But customers pay willingly because everything is made-to-order with organic ingredients, served in beautifully designed spaces by genuinely enthusiastic staff.

• Menu curation over endless expansion: Ten signature juices maintain identical global recipes with provocative names like "Hangover Heaven," "Sex Me Up" and "Go Away Doc." The viral "Tunacado" sandwich became a social media phenomenon proving their knack for creating memorable products that customers actually want to share.

• Quirky store design: Italian designer furniture meets Nordic minimalism creating spaces that encourage lingering rather than quick transactions. Electronic soundtracks energise staff and customers while employee-taken travel photos reinforce the lifestyle positioning. It's not just a juice bar - it's a lifestyle destination.

The Digital Strategy That's Generating Real Returns

Source: mParticle Case Study / Braze Case Study / Clay Design

While competitors chase rapid expansion, Joe & The Juice built a digital ecosystem that's fundamentally changing unit economics and customer behaviour.

Key Points:

• The loyalty app transformation: Customers using their loyalty app increase store frequency by 2.4x and spending by 2.7x. They've cracked the code on making customers spend more not just stay longer.

• Revenue automation success: Using Braze and mParticle, they achieved a 56% increase in revenue and 75% increase in loyalty card sales through automated, personalised customer journeys. Their campaigns achieve 74% open rates and 5.5% click-to-open rates.

• Custom-built competitive advantage: They built their own backend system managing everything from supply chain to shift planning. This removes administrative burden from managers while creating competitive advantages competitors can't easily replicate.

• Digital sales penetration: 30% of revenue now comes from digital channels – not just delivery but their own app ecosystem. They own the customer relationship not just the storefront.

Scaling Nordic Cool: From 50 to 350+ Stores Without Losing Authenticity

Source: Joe and the Juice Annual Report

Here's what nobody talks about: Joe & The Juice cracked the hardest problem in hospitality - scaling culture authentically. They grew from roughly 50 stores at their 2013 acquisition to 350+ locations across 20 countries while maintaining the genuine personality that differentiates them from corporate chains.

Key Points:

• The "Moneyball" career system: Clear progression from Trainee to Regional Manager with equal pay across markets. Remarkably, 95% of headquarters staff started as "juicers" including former CEO Sebastian Vestergaard who began behind the bar 15 years ago. This isn't corporate speak - it's genuine meritocracy.

• Strategic market patience: After dominating Denmark (~100 stores), they methodically expanded through Europe before the crucial 2015 US entry with a SoHo flagship that "determined international viability." They even exited Australia in 2023 rather than accept mediocre performance, showing discipline rare in growth-hungry brands.

• Franchise partnerships for distant markets: 23 Middle East stores with plans for 200-300 show how they're scaling without losing control. Smart capital allocation lets them focus resources on core markets while capturing international opportunities.

If I was building a hospitality brand tomorrow, I'd steal three things: Invest in employee culture as operational strategy, build proprietary digital ecosystems and create products worthy of organic virality.

Today we've decoded how Joe & The Juice built a $2.4 billion lifestyle empire. I want to know: if you were building a hospitality concept inspired by Joe & The Juice tomorrow, what would you prioritise first? Employee culture transformation? Digital-first customer experience? Premium product positioning?

Now, speaking of brands that are completely redefining their industries through unexpected wellness positioning... have you noticed how the lines between wellness and hospitality are blurring? From London's biohacking cafés serving adaptogenic lattes that claim to boost cognitive performance to LA's functional food restaurants where meals are prescribed like medicine, hospitality operators are tapping into a wellness market that reached $6.3 trillion globally in 2023 and is growing at 9% annually.

In our next edition, we'll explore the functional health drinks market that represent a $214 billion market growing to $307 billion by 2029, why hospitality-integrated spa services are exploding to $260 billion by 2030 and whether this wellness dining revolution represents the future of premium hospitality or just expensive placebos for anxious millennials.

Ready to discover how "functional foods" are revolutionising restaurant economics? Subscribe now for our exclusive breakdown of wellness dining's profit potential!

Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Founder, Hot Potato

P.S. Don't forget to add us to your safe senders list to ensure you don't miss out on any of our tasty content.