‘Now is the time for challenger brands’: Manon van Essen, founder of Magioni
Dutch healthy pizza Magioni was on the brink of a significant launch into a UK supermarket this Summer before the health crisis meant the retailer had to postpone. Rather than wait by the phone for the supermarket to call, Magioni used the lockdown period to ask itself some propelling questions: Is there another business model for us aside from retail? Could we generate a new revenue stream for ourselves while helping independent restaurants that are struggling? We talk to Magioni's founder Manon van Essen about their new Virtual Restaurants concept and hear how the lockdown provides an opportunity for challenger brands to reinvent themselves and help shape the world post-COVID-19.
Magioni’s range of fresh pizzas contain a minimum of 32% vegetables (cauliflower or courgette) in the base.
How has the crisis impacted the business so far?
In the beginning, when all the stores were closed, people were stockpiling up of course, and they were just buying everything that was in store. We got new fans trying our products and we increased sales tremendously so that was good, but we stand for healthy living, so we were thinking what could we do for the community? So, the team baked pizzas and we drove our food truck to a local nursing home to give to healthcare staff and the elderly. We felt we needed to do something and thought we might learn from it also. We tried to give back to the community and I think it brought out the best in people as well. It changed the behaviour in the team and people started taking on more responsibility. Working from home can be challenging, of course, but we’re actually creating really cool campaigns at the moment, so it hasn’t limited our imagination. I’m very proud of the team every day continuing to improve which is a big accomplishment during these times.
Magioni’s meat-free ‘Peppr’oni power’ pizza with vegetarian pepperoni.
How has the business responded?
As an entrepreneur, I've always believed that when change comes, we need to move. So, when something big hits the fan, we just need to ask: What can we learn? How can we become better? And how can we do it quickly? We think we’ve come up with a creative solution that can benefit the community and our brand at the moment through increasing sales. We’re testing virtual restaurants here in Amsterdam at the moment. Restaurants are obviously closed and experiencing hard times. They have chefs employed and they need to pay the rent but have no revenues. The idea is to work with existing restaurants to create new digital restaurants and list them on Uber Eats or Deliveroo or any other delivery services. We could use the chefs in the restaurants to take the orders and keep them employed while we look into a new way of selling our pizzas. As an entrepreneur, I’m just excited about what new times this will bring and how we will conquer this. Before COVID, we were so busy in the rat race we would never have even looked at this solution. It’s very interesting.
“Times of war often brings out character, and I feel a responsibility to show a different side to all this drama.”
Magioni took the decision to sacrifice meat from its entire range in 2020. (Credit: Magioni/Instagram)
So, do you feel like the crisis has actually led to some quite transformative thinking?
We were planning a big launch into the UK this Summer. And then as COVID was coming all the supermarkets said they weren't going to be introducing additional products for the moment. It was a project I'd been working on for almost a year and I thought what the hell are we going to do now? But then I thought, times will change, COVID will go away at some point, and the supermarkets will calm down, and we'll be able to talk again. We didn't know how long we will need to wait so I thought: 'How can we use this time to create something even more scalable?' Of course, ghost kitchens and dark kitchens are coming up very rapidly, but they are competing against existing restaurants. Our virtual solution benefits restaurant owners and brings them additional sales, and it benefits us. We plan to open two more in the coming weeks, and others are now asking to join. I think times of war often brings out character, and as an entrepreneur, I feel a responsibility to show a different side to all this drama.
“I always look for how we could change the business to grow. ”
And do you feel like virtual restaurants could become a significant part of the business in the future?
I always think really big. I think ‘okay, what if Magioni was the biggest virtual franchise in the world?’ Could that be possible? With this business model, it could be possible, but we don't know yet, we need to test, we need to tweak, and we need to be able to change rapidly. We’re testing it at the moment with two virtual locations, and I never say never. We’ve created a healthy pizza and we're selling it in any possible way. In life, one day is normal and the next things completely change, so you need to be flexible with your business plan. The ones who are most adaptable to change are the ones who win so I always look for how we could change the business to grow.
How has your marketing changed during COVID?
In the beginning, we were scared to continue marketing, and thought is it still appropriate? People were feeling scared; how can we respond to it? Of course, media prices are dropping so we can use our budget more efficiently, which is an advantage. But what helped is that we created a challenge where people can cook at home with their kids using our pizza bases. We wanted to find ways to bring a little bit more fun into people's homes. We received a lot of videos from young mothers who were cooking with the kids, setting up their dining table and having a nice chat together. It went down really well, and it matched my ideals of not wanting to push our brand or tell people what to buy but instead help people make the most out of the current situation, and our fans and our healthy rebels appreciated that we were thinking of them. With the marketing shooting, it's also very challenging because we can't be on set, of course, so we do a lot of home videoing with influencers, so we work around that as well.
So, are you embracing the home aesthetic in your marketing?
Yeah, and I think everyone is embracing it at the moment. Of course, it can be boring, and it can be challenging if you live with your kids at home, and you need to do the homeschooling, of course, but it also gives great opportunities to have better conversations and more time together. Pizza is a product that you share; it's not a product you eat alone. So, it has this really social aspect to it. And COVID has shown us how social it can be actually. Rather than focus on the food itself, we are focusing more on the emotion at the moment. And that's a good thing.
“You start a business, and then we get lazy. These are not the times to get lazy. We need to get up, move forward.”
What advice would you give to others in thinking about marketing during Coronavirus?
Brands should look at what's appropriate. As long as you have relevance, add value, and do it in a human way, I don't think you can go wrong. Many food brands are freezing their budgets and not doing anything. But COVID opens our eyes and gives us a possibility to show strength and flexibility, and as a challenger brand, that's one of the things you must do. So, if you want to change, the time to do it is now, so don't stop the marketing. Often, you start a business, and then we get lazy. These are not the times to get lazy. We need to get up, move forward.
What changes do you want to see post-COVID?
Building a brand can sometimes feel like a rat race. And I'd like to keep the peace of mind we now have in the company. People are exercising at home now. They are taking time out, going for short walks. We need to integrate these things into our business. I also think, although what is happening to our health system is terrifying; it's been good for the whole of humanity to calm down a little. I've liked seeing more wildlife and that we can see the Himalaya tops again. People have had time to think about what's important, and I hope that what we realise we need to be more conscious of the world, of how precious life is and how precious our body is. We need to be with the people we love and do the things we enjoy, and not feed ourselves crap and feel terrible. Now is the time to start feeling good. It's also the time to act for the environment. Palm oil, for example, should be banned. I hope people open their eyes and start demanding better products. Yeah. That's my wish.