Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter! Now, I love exploring and seeing what’s happening outside of the UK. Last week I was in the US and spent a few days in Martha’s Vineyard. Amazing place, that really champions independents and does top-notch seafood, especially Lobster rolls, they’re not joking around out there! I also ticked off a life ambition of mine to try Chick-Fil-A and it did not disappoint!

This week we're diving into the latest headlines across UK hospitality, shining a spotlight on the North London bakery turning sourdough into a five-site growth story, checking out the US vending machine format that's putting our sad coffee machines to shame, and looking at the data behind hospitality's World Cup boost. Let's get into it.

In today’s email: The £1.5m Loaf, The Vending Machine Glow-Up & Football's Coming Home (For Hospitality)

Read Time: Approx 3-4 mins

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We take a look at some of the hottest headlines happening right now in UK Hospitality.

Sources: Propel Info, MCA Insight, Restaurant Online

🔥 EXPANSION & NEW ENTRANTS: Hawaiian poké specialist Honi Poké is targeting 60-plus UK sites within three years, including 18 franchise locations in the next 18 months, Dubai-born halal chicken brand ChicKing is opening six UK sites in six weeks (now at 24 here), Swedish salad bowl brand Holy Greens makes its UK debut with a Canary Wharf site, and Spanish açaí concept The Goood Açaí is eyeing a first UK site in 2027 with London supporting five-plus locations

🔥 RECORD RESULTS: Food hall operator Market Halls reported a "landmark" year, with turnover up 18% to £16.9m for 2025 and total venue sales rising to £32.4m, East Anglian pub and inn operator Chestnut Group grew revenue 35% to £39.29m (a 15.27% like-for-like rise) driven by acquisitions and organic growth, and the owners of Liverpool's Cavern Club reported "another standout year" with turnover up to £12.2m and net profit rising to £3.25m

🔥 INDEPENDENTS GROWING: Leeds dessert giants Get Baked have officially teamed up with Godfreys Popcorn to launch their first site in London. Coffee, matcha and açaí concept Vyve opened its second site in Sheffield with Birmingham and Essex to follow, Kent bakery Docker opens a fourth site in Dover as it marks its tenth birthday, and Nottinghamshire Mediterranean concept Zhug doubled up with a second site in Nottingham's Hockley

🔥 A LIFELINE FOR THE HIGH STREET?: Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has signalled a major reform of business rates, that would raise rates on the giant warehouses serving online retailers like Amazon to fund relief for physical high street businesses. He has proposed a 20% cut to business rates for pubs and lifting some high street shops out of rates altogether. What do you think, is this a good idea?

If you live in North London, you may have recently noticed a bright new pink bakery hit your high street. Sourdough Sophia is the community bakery born out of a pandemic dining room that is quietly becoming one of the most interesting growth stories in UK food right now.

In 2020, Sophia and her partner Jesse started cycling fresh loaves around their Crouch End neighbourhood during lockdown. Within weeks, queues were stretching down the street from their flat. Unable to get a business loan, they went back to the community - a Kickstarter raised £36,000 from over 600 local backers and their first bakery opened in December 2020, selling out by 10am every day for six months.

The Numbers That Tell The Story:

Here's what they're doing differently:

🍞 The product is non-negotiable - Their sourdough is made with flour, water and salt - nothing else. At a time when the bakery category has become flooded with aesthetically-led operators chasing trends, Sourdough Sophia has built its reputation on the fundamentals and a true focus on quality. The N8 Sourdough remains their bestseller, as well as an amazing array of pastries they have on offer.

🤝 Community as the funding model - Every stage of their growth has been funded by the people who eat there. A Kickstarter from 600 local backers opened the first site. They have since raised a further £1.5m to fund expansion plans. In a sector where VC investment is the norm, this is a genuinely different approach and it creates a customer base that has a personal stake in the brand succeeding.

📱 Instagram built the brand - Sophia's personal account documents the business in real time - the baking, the team, the queues, the new sites. Over 266,000 followers have watched the business grow from a dining room to a small chain. That audience predates the bakeries and in many cases drives footfall to them. When a new site opens, the community already knows about it.

The playbook here is not about speed. It is about depth - product quality, community trust and slow, deliberate expansion funded by the people who love it most.

I was walking through Boston airport last week and something piqued my curiosity - a vending machine. OK, I know what you’re thinking, a ‘vending machine’, yes but this isn’t any ordinary vending machine. As I looked through the glass, there were full meals and healthy ones at that, ready to go from the shelves and food that actually looked appetising. The company that produces these is called Farmer’s Fridge - they have over 2,000 locations across the US.

It dawned on me that we have really lacked innovation in what’s possible in the vending machine format in the UK and I think there is a big opportunity. Unity Coffee recently raised £2m for their premium AI-powered coffee vending machine format… those Costa Coffee machines need to be replaced!

England's World Cup run is proving a real boost for hospitality. According to Dojo, spending at UK pubs and bars rose 17.3% across the tournament's first two weeks, with Nottingham (up 23.3%), Newcastle (21.8%) and Leeds (19.7%) leading the charge, and transactions spiking 43% in the hour around the full-time whistle. Let’s hope it continues and we bring it home! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

That wraps this edition of Hot Potato! Hit reply with any thoughts - I read everything and it genuinely shapes what comes next.

Have you got an interesting story you want to share or anything you would like to read more about? Let me know!

Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Founder, Hot Potato

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