Mon 25th Jan 2021 - Merca Metropolitano unveils £35m expansion Merca Metropolitano unveils £35m expansion: London-based community food market Mercato Metropolitano has unveiled plans for a £35m expansion into Europe and the US, with ten more markets creating 2,000 jobs, including three new London sites. The company ratcheted up sales of almost £10m last year despite its two sites being closed for four months with limited opening for a further six months due to the pandemic – it puts its success down to its unique business model. Managing director Amedeo Claris said the secret lies in creating a business that is truly inclusive, sustainable in every aspect, and firmly rooted in the communities it serves. By 2025, Claris and founder Andrea Rasca are set to deliver ten more markets around the world focused on some of the biggest cities, with three more London sites, plus ones in Atlanta, Boston, Miami and New York in the US, and Berlin, Lisbon and Milan in Europe, creating about 2,000 jobs. In the longer term, further markets are planned for secondary cities in the UK and globally. The aim of Mercato Metropolitano (MM) is to expand its “movement” of artisan and conscientious entrepreneurs that guarantees everyone access to nutritious, non-industrial and affordable food while promoting unsophisticated and sustainable produce with full traceability. In 2019, four million people went through the doors at its markets in Elephant & Castle and Mayfair, which launched in 2016 and 2019 respectively, and have incubated more than 100 food and drink start-ups to date. A pop-up food market in Milan came first in 2015 as proof of concept. MM brings together simply prepared, locally sourced, culturally inclusive, unadulterated food and serves it using organic, recyclable and compostable materials, with a focus on quality products, small-scale artisan food operators and the immediate communities where the markets are based. Large-scale, chemical-laden ingredients and industrially processed food and drinks are banned in MM markets.“Mercato Metropolitano is leading a global movement driving sustainable food development to tackle some of the world’s biggest societal issues, from food security to climate change,” said Claris. “Our sustainable community markets invite people to eat, buy, share, and learn about food. Mercato Metropolitano is an urban destination and community space bringing together community events, music, workshops, cookery classes, innovative farming practices, circular economy models, and dishes from around the world. We provide support to entrepreneurs and incubate start-ups to break down barriers and build a thriving economy. Likewise, we secure properties for our markets from landlords who truly understand the importance of business sustainability and accept to work with us in the same way as we work with our trading partners. Ultimately, we are developing a sustainable business model that aims to shorten the food supply chain, make quality food more affordable and promote the importance of communal eating as a catalyst for social cohesion.” Claris said this approach had paid dividends so far and believes it is the way forward for a more equitable and democratic business world. “I would like to tell the business world why I believe our model is key to the survival and prosperity of the entire sector and why it should be considered by business leaders, and hopefully expanded on,” he said. The MM market format is designed and curated to include a business mix that allows all trading partners to recoup their initial capital investment in a relatively short period of time and remain financially sustainable. Rather than charging rent, MM shares in the top-line sales of all trading partners. For trading partners that are low-margin but desirable businesses for the community, MM expects a lower revenue share. MM provides trading stands ready to operate with utilities and extraction in place. The trading partner brings its own “tools of the trade” and movable appliances. They pay a small entry fee as a contribution to the capital cost of setting out a market site. MM bears all costs of cleaning, securing and managing common areas, in order that the trading partner is only responsible for its own staff, ingredients and business overheads. Financial and administrative sustainability is as important as food and environmental sustainability with MM helping all trading partners to improve their revenue generation and cash flow predictability that, ultimately, yields strong results for MM and all its key stakeholders. The next MM sites will open in Canary Wharf, east London and Elephant Park, south London in summer 2021; followed by Ilford, east London, in autumn 2021. The first MM opened on the site of a disused paper factory on Newington Causeway, Elephant & Castle, in 2016 and was London’s first sustainable community market focused on revitalising neighbourhoods and protecting the environment. The market has incubated more than 70 food and beverage businesses, a delicatessen with sustainably sourced products from local farmers and artisans, a unique cinema experience, a communal kitchen and several circular economy concepts, including a Bavarian microbrewery and a hydroponics farm. In October 2019, Mercato Mayfair opened within the newly restored, grade I-listed, St Mark’s in north Mayfair and turned the building into an inclusive retail and dining destination for the community, with a considerable space dedicated exclusively to educational and social activities for local and neighbouring residents. Mercato Mayfair showcases a community-focused variety of artisan food operators, a deli grocery, food retail space, a cheese and wine cellar, coffee and gelato offerings, and a craft micro-brewery. Educational and cultural activities place an emphasis on natural food, nutrition, upskilling, performing arts and social responsibility, as well as grassroot education on the fighting of non-communicable diseases, which are often the result of poor diets and a sedentary lifestyle. In 2018, MM developed the “MManifesto” in advance of its second anniversary to define itself as a movement and set out how it will work towards common goals for its communities. The MManifesto promotes shared values and collective action towards a more sustainable future for all. Trading partners sign and adhere to the manifesto, leaving behind unethical and unsustainable practices and food ingredients. That same year, MM started structuring an academy programme, known as “The MM Academy”, in response to the absence of a link between food and pressing issues such as sustainability throughout the food value chain, climate change and ethical business administration. The MM Academy offers tailored development programmes to cohorts of local and international students, employed staff and entrepreneurs in food and beverage, hospitality, community and sustainability subjects. It provides students, cooks, chefs and sales professionals with an opportunity to practice and improve their skills and trades, while developing hands-on knowledge and experience in important vocational and academic areas, such as international business, food and agriculture. MM has also created “The FarMM”, an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit think-tank to house the MMovement and focus on food and agricultural development and sustainability. Its mission is to nurture the development of collaborative innovation at the intersection of research, policy, technology and enterprise, where academics, policy makers and technology professionals work together to address current issues in the food value chain, such as security, sufficiency, sustainability and traceability.