Brand Insights from Mosto Restaurant Group: Interview with Eva Biorck, Co-Founder and Managing Director

What is your role at Mosto Restaurant Group and how do you bring value to the whole organization?

I am one of the co-founders and managing directors with a focus on business and organization development. Since the founding of our first restaurant, Mosto, we have opened eighteen restaurants, of which some were closed and others reshaped or relocated.

As of today, we have a total of 10 restaurants and two bars in operation. From the start-up to now, my role in the company has taken many shapes. In the early days, running one restaurant, I was mainly in charge of marketing and administration. As our company grew, we could employ a larger team and have a better structure and teams dedicated to these areas. My focus has since been on shaping and structuring the business and organization so that it runs smoothly and is resource-efficient. It includes being the bridge between the finance, administration & HR department and the operations. Together with the team I look at our processes and work on changes or refinements that need to happen to improve our overall performance. I negotiate contracts with landlords and investors and handle all sorts of internal and external communication to our stakeholders.

Can you please explain the different brand concepts you have built up (Mosto, MOKA, etc), how they are different and why each of them works so well?

We founded Mosto back in 2008 just before the summer Olympics. The focus was casual fine dining - subtle elegance in terms of both food and beverage and atmosphere.

At that time, we were one of the first restaurants in Nali Patio, and certainly the oldest in the building now. There were a lot fewer Western restaurants and the offering was mostly either 5-star hotel restaurants or fast food. We felt that there was a need for more “casual fine dining” restaurants with an emphasis on both food quality and atmosphere. Today of course the offer in Beijing on non-Chinese food is endless and the scene is very different (photos of Mosto Beijing on the right and below; Image source: Mosto Group).

In 2010 we opened Modo Urban Deli in then newly opened Taikooli in Sanlitun. This restaurant was more like a European Deli with a focus on charcuterie plates, cold cuts, sandwiches, and salads – “easy on the go food”.?This concept eventually gave birth to the idea behind our fast-casual café chain Moka Bros. We wanted to create a lifestyle brand with a focus on healthy eating that we could more easily replicate. So we refined the operations processes and worked on a menu that focused on “power bowls”, wraps, sandwiches and smoothies. The menu is of course key, but we believe that the atmosphere we create in terms of design, lighting, music, is equally important to build a community and strong brand. When we first launched this brand in 2013 there was a lot of space in the market for this type of concept. Now there are plenty of Western and Chinese brands in this niche and the competition is fiercer. This keeps us on our toes and motivates us to keep updating and renewing ourselves.

La Social was born in 2016 when a night out among my South American business partners ended with an inspired idea. Together, we transformed an unused storage closet into a Latin American style bar – equal parts passion, aguardiente, and insanity. In 2018, La Social grew, opening in Shanghai and, once again in 2019, with the introduction of La Social Taqueria in Chengdu. (Photo above: La Social Beijing; Image Source: Mosto Group)

While the concept of La Social might have been conceived on a wild night out, the final experience leaves no detail to chance. Filled with delightful details and vibrant décor that combines Latin American flair, vintage Chinese memorabilia, and all things over the top; La Social transports you to the Latin Bars that our owners grew up loving.

What is the story behind each of the concepts? How have you positioned the brands in the market and what are your target customer groups?

In terms of positioning, Mosto has traditionally been focused on the expat market that was quite large at the time of opening in 2008. We have during the years continuously done facelifts to the restaurant to stay afresh, but primarily Mosto has always attracted the Western crowd and diplomatic community. We have in recent years put a lot of focus on bringing in more Chinese customers and we see steady growth. Our Chinese customers are familiar with Western food, have traveled the world, and have been well-exposed to Western culture. So, there is curiosity and interest there.?

How do your marketing activities differ for the concepts? What are the main objectives for the marketing activities and how do they support your business?

I think for each brand, community building has been a big part of our marketing and our main objective. For Mosto, we do wine dinners and pop-up events, charity fundraisers, and of course create celebratory set menus for important holidays. We have also collaborated with chefs from other restaurants in the F&B community and we like to host various community-building lunches and dinners. The key to a successful restaurant is consistency in food quality, service, and atmosphere. These three pillars need attention and care and that is what ultimately creates word of mouth and brings in new customers and creates brand loyalty.

For Moka Bros, the customer mix and profile look a little different. 90% of our customers are Chinese and they are much younger, around 18-30. They are typically new graduates or middle managers and they take pride in self-care, whether it is food, fashion, or health. (Photo above: Moka Bros Beijing; Image Source: Mosto Group)

We set off creating Moka Bros as a lifestyle brand with a lot of personality - upbeat music, interactive wall art, guerilla events such as tattoo parties, street graffiti, DJ events, women empowerment, and LGBT and environmental activities. The aim is to attract people that connect to our values beyond the power bowls and smoothies to a larger purpose of leading a healthy and open-minded lifestyle. (Photo above: Moka Bros Chengdu; Image Source: Mosto Group)

In La Social we do all things fun – special DJ guests, themed parties, and bartender collaborations. We attract a mixed crowd of young professionals – both Chinese and foreigners.

(La Social Beijing; Image Source: Mosto Group)

Across the brands, our customers are very tech-savvy and use Dianping and RED as resources for choosing where to go out. Discount schemes and loyalty programs are important tools to keep our Chinese customers coming back.

In a highly competitive market, what would you say is your key selling point? What makes your restaurants so unique and attractive for customers?

• Mosto's USP: "Our house is your house. We are here to make you feel good."
• Moka's USP: "The trendy, edgy hangout spot. Relentlessly delivering healthy, flavorful fare for the hip urban crowd."
• La Social's USP: "A place sought for wonder, intimacy, and fun."

The last two years have been a difficult time for many sectors worldwide, especially also the restaurant industry in China. Please explain how you have coped with the situation and how you were able to persevere? What tips can you share with other restaurant owners?

I think there are two aspects to this question. One is technical and practical and will depend on the type of business you have. For example, during the height of COVID and when many restaurants had to close temporarily or simply had zero customer flow, you might need a cash injection and seek new investment to survive. Some of the measures we took were to reduce our opening hours – in Moka we closed for breakfast and thereby cut out one shift to support our staff, in Mosto when we re-opened after four months we only opened for dinner. We made our menus temporarily shorter, we tried to negotiate rents with our landlords and negotiate payment terms with our suppliers. We did not want to cut staff and did our best to keep their jobs.

The other aspect is how we deal with times of change and difficulties emotionally. As a business owner and manager, I had the feeling of being on a sinking ship and quite frankly it was very challenging and scary to navigate through the unknown territory. There were many contradictory emotions. I was jumping from feeling hopeless to hopeful, from discouraged to encouraged, to feeling sad and grateful all at the same time. I think it was helpful doing hands-on work in the operations as that created a sense of control and to be “doing something”. Most importantly though, was the amazing support of friends, colleagues, and the community.

I think for almost all of us, these past two years have presented very sudden and unanticipated changes. I know for myself, many of my life goals didn’t go as planned. I’ve learned firsthand that a crisis can feel overwhelming and isolating, and that taking time for self-reflection is essential. The change will always be certain and constant in life, and navigating through times of change is something we must always prepare for. So, while goals are important I have come to understand that maintaining a flexible attitude, embracing the need to keep on learning, and striving towards progress is the essence of fulfillment.

As a restaurant group, design plays an important role too. How have you integrated design within the restaurants and how does it represent your identity and values?

The interior design and music are key to the type of atmosphere you want to create. The kind of lighting, the materials, accessories, plants – it’s all in the details. Both my husband and I value design and it is something we pay attention to around us. I used to run an interior accessories retail business and my husband and business partner comes from a theatre background, so he thinks of it as “setting the stage” every night. I’m from Sweden and my husband is from Colombia, so I’d like to think it’s the perfect combination of colorful yet simplistic design values. (Photo of Mosto Beijing, Image Source: Mosto Group)

Staff retention is a difficult topic for many companies. What are your tips for building loyalty and a stable team?

I think there is a belief that as an organization you are either good at retention or not, that there is a formula you can simply follow, or some company values you plaster on the wall. While I think defining values is an important exercise and even helpful to have them visibly on display, it is not the recipe for retaining staff. In my experience, it is a constant work in progress, and depending on where you are in the business cycle, both the temperament and needs may look different within your organization.

When I (we) employ key staff, it's a chemistry meeting first of all, and secondary (for us) is skills and knowledge. Competency is of course highly important, but first of all, we need to know that we can work together. We know that the different job functions can be exciting and rewarding but they can also be messy and stressful and we make mistakes along the way. So, whether you are a new company just starting on the journey or a more mature organization, you want to get along with your people and have them excited about your goals and a willingness to learn. For us, this frame of mind has been key to driving the business forward. So going back to values, I think our team spirit is built on a foundation of trust, empowerment, to keep on learning, and a belief that there's always a way.(Image source of photo above: Mosto Group)

Are there things that have not worked for you? What are your biggest lessons learned?

Yes of course. We chose two locations that did not work at all. Big expensive learnings. It’s important to take your time and do extensive research before committing to a new location.?We learned to never go into completely new developments and to focus the development of the brand in Beijing and Shanghai first and foremost. It’s ok to grow slowly.

On a personal level, trusting myself and “owning my power” has been, and still is, part of my learning journey.

What other tips would you like to share with the readers?

Some of these are very specific to running a restaurant business.

• Setting up a shareholder agreement between partners saves a lot of potential trouble and misery.
• Make sure you are on the right side of the law in terms of labor contracts, fire, hygiene, and environmental license.
• Set short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. It helps to prioritize your work.
• Always review and refine your standard operating procedures, but make the changes swiftly and move on. Don’t get stuck in processes and administration.
• Employ people that fit your organization in spirit as well as merit. I would say, surround yourself with doers.
• Do not over-analyze decisions. It’s particularly difficult making decisions that will have a huge impact on your business. It might be the wrong decision, but then you change and you keep moving forward.
• Have disciplined accounting practices and a solid financial plan in place. Cash flow and budget forecasting are key.
• Keep on learning. Whatever field or discipline contributes to growth that inevitably will influence your business too.
• Don’t underestimate the power of guanxi and losing face.
• Don’t let yourself get side-tracked or insecure about other people’s opinions. Stay focused.
• Finally, building your own business is challenging but it should make you happy. If the pressure is too hard and you lose the spirit it’s ok to stop. From failure comes new opportunities to grow.

How did you choose the names of the restaurants and what do they mean?

Meaning of Mosto (in Latin, Spanish and Italian) = The juice of freshly pressed grapes before or during fermentation into wine. In Chinese, Mosto is 摸石头. Figuratively, what it means is "to figure things out as you go along" as if you were wading through a river by feeling the stones on the riverbed with your feet. Moka is from Moka coffee with a simple spelling. Dani our chef has always liked this name and this particular spelling. We felt it matched well with a fast-casual cafe concept.

How do you see the future of the different concepts?

Mosto has been around for fourteen years already and now we have just opened up in Shanghai. Long in the waiting! I feel it’s a classic concept that almost matures and gets better with time. I think the healthy food segment is growing and here to stay so I see Moka Bros as one of the main players. And although bars tend to come and go, I’d like to think that people want to have fun and dance to Latin tunes! So, the conclusion is that the brands are keepers and here to stay. But as I said, the key to a successful restaurant is consistency in food quality, service, and atmosphere. These three pillars need attention and care and that is what ultimately brings customers back for more. So, there is always plenty of work to do! (On the photo above, Mosto Shanghai; Image Source: Mosto Group)

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