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JUMPSTART
KITCHEN SYNC
THE FOOD INCUBATOR OF HK
By Sharon Maloney
Hong Kong’s vibrant F&B scene has seen an upsurge in new and exciting small
businesses, running the gamut from artisan bakeries, specialty diet deliveries and
make-your- own restaurant meal services, to more conventional restaurant and
dining start-ups. But local food entrepreneurs face considerable challenges when
setting up their businesses.
JUMPSTART
Lori believes
starting a business
in HK is very easy;
“The actual process
of starting up a
business in HK,
means that you can
be up and running
in three days.”
Finding capital
proves no problem
either. “It’s fun
money for some
(investors).”
Aside from running Kitchen Sync, Lori and Patrick are
involved in an impressive number of food businesses in
Hong Kong.
Enter Kitchen Sync, the ‘culinary
incubator’, a term that most likely
did not exist before being coined by
founders Lori and Patrick Granito. In
essence, they are to the food industry
what angel investors are to tech start
ups. A kickstarter with a difference;
providing everything from business
planning and development advice,
to capital investment and providing a
physical space necessary for small F&B
businesses to get off the ground. Lori
likens it to a benevolent hand-holding
service, “to give them the tools to help
them grow,” as Patrick says.
The inspiration for Kitchen Sync
came from the couple’s combined
years of experience within the HK
F&B industry, with Patrick working
in an executive chef role within the
Cafe Deco group and Excelsior Hotel,
and Lori running The Bayou, Magnolia
and Go Gourmet. Lori was not trained
as a chef, nor previously had any
experience in running a food business
prior to The Bayou. She jokes “Patrick
is the chef, while I am the cook”,
which speaks volumes about his
careful, considered manner and her
hands-on approach to business.
They are founders of Go Gourmet and Magnolia Private
Kitchen and co-founders of Little Burro. They also manage
La Petite Epicerie, and are partners at TLC Aroha (“clean”
food delivery service). Their next project called Nola will
be a New Orleans Deli and Po-Boy shop.
They can be reached at: [email protected]
In addition to supplying the
expertise, Kitchen Sync provides
the use of an affordable, safe, and
fully licensed catering kitchen for
companies to make and test products.
Lori cites Hong Kong’s high property
rentals and notoriously difficult
licensing laws as the biggest hindrance
to startups. “Who’s going to test their
product and build them a million dollar
kitchen? It’s too prohibitive,” she
concludes. Lori hopes to pass on their
experience of setting up a business by
“being able to get people who really
want to do something and to just
remove that barrier.”
Having watched their own
companies hatch, grow and flourish,
with some inevitably folding, the
Granitos are well-placed to help
fledgling businesses. Their own
approach to Kitchen Sync was
an organic process, initially just
providing the space. As more people
approached them, requesting help in
other areas, they began to add other
services as the requirement grew.
Lori believes starting a business in HK
is very easy; “the actual process of
starting up a business in HK, means
that you can be up and running in
three days.” Finding capital proves no
problem either. “It’s fun money for
some (investors),” as she found out
when sourcing capital for The Bayou
and Magnolia.
Patrick says the company has faced
only a few challenges, mainly at its
inception, when the company was
unknown and demand was low. The
Granitos were laid-back and relaxed,
knowing that demand would follow.
Promotion and X\