Wagamama opens grab and go concept
Mamago is said to be inspired by their team’s travels across Japan.
Wagamama has officially opened its Mamago grab and go food concept.
The sister brand features combination of classic, vegan dishes all designed to be eaten on the go.
The first experimental Mamago is located at 120 Fenchurch St in London. The breakfast, lunch and all day menu features Chicken Katsu rice bowls, breakfast wraps, vegan porridges, vegan dishes, salads, noodles, Asian inspired fruit pots, omelettes, fresh juices and snacks.
“We were inspired by our Soho test restaurant Noodle Lab to innovate, test, get feedback and constantly improve. We realise that we can’t get everything right on day one and our philosophy at Mamago is to test everything and get as much feedback as possible,” Wagamama business development director Andre Johnstone said.
“We’ve borrowed a few things from wagamama including the phenomenon that is katsu curry – so you’ll see some katsu dishes done in a mamago way including a katsu chicken wrap, a vegan cauliflower katsu rice bowl, chicken katsu rice bowl and naked chicken katsu salad. All the dishes have been developed with health in mind,” executive chef Steve Mangleshot added.
Wagamama earlier reported its turnover increasing by 11% to £93.5m in Q2 2019 amidst continued expansion of its restaurants in the UK.
Like-for-like sales growth in the UK was at 6.3% UK whilst its US like-for-like sales growth was at 12.5% US like-for-like sales growth. Adjusted EBITDA was up 27.2% in Q2 2019 to £16.7m from £13.2m.
The company also reported its first £1m week of delivery sales in the said quarter, with 36 restaurants achieving record sales weeks with a number of sites achieving multiple records.
Wagamama also noted that it had now traded ahead of the market every week for 287 weeks. The company also reported that team turnover had dropped to its lowest level – 58%.
“We look forward to 2020, and whilst we don’t expect to be immune to the various headwinds facing our industry, we will stay true to our positive culture and growth mindset,” Wagamama chief executive Emma Woods said.
