In 2002, Jamie Oliver — known for his food-focused TV shows, cookbooks and campaigns for healthy eating — opened his first restaurant, Fifteen, a non-profit London eatery that trains disadvantaged young adults to become chefs.
Today, his London-based company, Jamie Oliver Ltd., operates a fast-growing restaurant group consisting of multiple brands with locations around the globe. The company also oversees Oliver’s publishing, retail and social-media ventures. Its restaurant group operates more than 70 eateries, many of them in regional malls, and has ambitious expansion plans.
The largest of Oliver’s six restaurant brands is Jamie’s Italian, a fast-casual concept at 42 locations in Britain, according to the company. Inspired by Oliver’s love of Italian food and culture, the brand also has 24 eateries outside the U.K., in markets stretching from Brazil to the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Italy,” said Oliver, 40, whose first job was as a pastry chef at a London restaurant run by Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. “I love everything about the place, from the beautiful food to the way people there choose to live.”
It was there that Oliver first worked with Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo. Years later, Contaldo, who has been a mentor to Oliver, helped him develop the Jamie’s Italian concept. Carluccio and Contaldo have also become celebrities of sorts outside the restaurant world. The pair star in Two Greedy Italians, a BBC television series set in Italy and focused on the country’s food and culture.
Although Oliver’s restaurants now span the globe, he says he has only scratched the surface when it comes to growth. “It would be wonderful to think there’s a place for Jamie’s Italian restaurant in every major city around the world,” he said. “Italian cooking is all about fantastic, rustic dishes created using the very best ingredients … I felt this simple philosophy could translate to any country in the world.”
With Jamie’s Italian, Oliver gave himself a tall order. He says his mission has been to create “an affordable, accessible and popular destination,” where dishes are prepared using “impeccably sourced” ingredients and served by employees that are “happy, well-trained and motivated.”
The chain, which operates internationally through franchisees, recently opened its first two restaurants in Latin America, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is mulling additional locations in the region.
In late 2015, Jamie’s Italian opened its first outlet in North America, at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. That location is the first of 25 units planned for Canada over the next 10 years, according to Jonathan Knight, international managing director for the brand.
Jamie’s Italian plans to make its U.S. debut some time within the next year, said Knight, who joined Oliver’s company at the beginning of this year, following a five-year stint in Dubai, where he ran a number of international franchise operations across the Middle East.
According to Knight, Jamie’s Italian also plans to expand its presence in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Russia. In Australia, it has half a dozen locations and expects to roll out more. In addition, its Australian partners plan to open the first Jamie’s Italian in New Zealand early next year, said Knight, former CEO of Al Khayyat Investments’ retail division in Dubai.
As if all that weren’t enough, Oliver recently launched a spinoff to Jamie’s Italian, Jamie’s Pizzeria. The first Jamie’s Pizzeria, a casual-dining concept, opened in India last year, at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, a city near Delhi. In 2015, Oliver also unveiled the first Jamie’s Italian in India, at Ambience Mall in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area.
Both brands operate in India through a partnership with International Market Management, a London-based advisory and investment firm. Over time, Oliver plans to open as many as 50 Jamie’s Pizza restaurants in India, according to Knight. Interestingly, pizza is one of the most popular Western-style foods sold in India, along with burgers (of the non-beef variety) made from vegetables, chicken or lamb, according to Euromonitor International. In recent years, the country has seen a proliferation of U.S. burger chains seeking to establish a foothold in the large, developing market.
The store footprint for the pizzeria concept is relatively small, ranging from 100 to 180 square meters, with 50 to 60 tables per site.
“There’s no fuss, just big flavors and fresh ingredients served in a relaxed environment at an affordable price,” said Oliver, describing the concept. “We think the size and simplicity of the concept makes it really accessible” to a wide audience in any market, he added.
Jamie’s Italian restaurants range in size from 400 to 600 square meters, and many have terraces for outdoor dining. Within malls, the eateries are located in high-traffic spots away from food courts.
Of course, building an international restaurant empire, while adhering to certain standards, poses challenges. One of the biggest challenges has been setting up a supply chain in each new market that reflects the company’s “ethos of responsibly sourced, higher-welfare and sustainable food,” while keeping prices relatively low, said Oliver. In India, for instance, the company was able to identify suppliers that provide it with products that are almost entirely locally sourced, he said.
While Oliver’s restaurants operate internationally through franchisees, his corporate staff is closely involved in both the launch of new sites and ongoing operations, he said. In addition, the operations team, senior managers and chefs for international sites train in Oliver’s U.K. restaurants.
“For us, the journey into a new territory begins when we find a brilliant partner that really understands what we are all about and then a fantastic site,” which requires a lot of research, said Oliver. “Once we’ve chosen the right partner, my team works incredibly closely with them.” — Anna Robaton
