continued growth through digital transformation
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Ensuring growth through digital transformation at Taco Bar WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
MANUEL NAVARRO
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Lars Callebro, CEO of Taco Bar, details the ways in which his company’s restaurants are capturing the digital market
D
uring my 20 years in the restaurant business there has never been such rapid change in customers’ habits and demands
as there is right now, which is both interesting and fun to be a part of,” says Lars Callebro, owner and CEO of Sweden’s Taco Bar. Despite this challenging environment, Callebro’s company, which offers Tex 04
Mex cuisine, is growing at a healthy rate. Six new restaurants have opened in the past year, adding to its existing stable of over 40 locations across Sweden. Such growth is actually two-fold, encompassing both the aforementioned physical locations but also the ever-expanding digital market.
PHYSICAL One of the factors enabling Taco Bar’s continuing growth is its implementation of the franchise model. “Franchisees have a five-year deal with us,” explains Callebro. “They pay royalties and marketing fees which gives them access to our menu, our concept and our supply chain.” The system rests on the mutual benefit of franchisor, franchisee and suppliers, and Callebro is clear that growth can never be achieved at the expense of existing franchisees: “Taco Bar’s
kr240mn Approximate revenue (SEK)
1983
Year founded
300+
Approximate number of employees
goals for the future are continued growth, opening Taco Bar restaurants in new markets and, most importantly, taking care of the franchisees that we already have within the system. If we do that, we’ll continue to grow.” Taco Bar also credits its culture as vital to its success. “The guest experience is relaxed, casual and informal,” says Callebro. “Taco Bar is a place where everyone is welcome, a place where you and your friends, family or business partners can have an affordable meal and a drink without w w w.t a cob a r. s e
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“ If a customer would like to sit in their office or in a park, order food and have it brought to them, the app will be there” — Lars Callebro, CEO and Owner, Taco Bar
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TACO BAR – OM OSS’ 07
needing to book in advance. You can
and their operational procedures,
pop in for 15 minutes or you can be
but it’s also about ensuring everyone in
there for an hour and a half if you would
the Taco Bar family understands what
like.” It might at first seem that a
Taco Bar is about. When it comes to our
consistent culture is at odds with a
restaurants, it’s very much about time
franchise model, but Taco Bar puts
spent on the floor, shoulder to shoulder
the effort in to ensure a welcoming
with our franchisees and partners.”
atmosphere is a constant across
Such attention to detail extends to
its locations. “Spreading the culture
the company’s supply chain, which
is very important and we put a lot
Callebro says is crucial to the company’s
of money and hours into that part of
authentic DNA. “We source our corn
the organisation. We have a strong
nacho chips from a plant in Pennsylvania.
operations department in order to be
They’re made from stone ground fresh
able to fully support our franchisees
corn especially for us. Our tortillas are w w w.t a cob a r. s e
BRINGING PEOPLE ER TOGETHER FOR A BETTER LD WORLD We’re building a company to last, brewing beer and building brands that will continue to bring people together for the next 100 years and beyond. With centuries of brewing history, we’ve seen countless new friendships, connections and experiences built on a shared love of beer.
We are AB InBev We are the world’s largest brewer with over 500 beer brands globally. We are committed to driving growth and improving the lives of more people in more places. Through brands and experiences that bring people together. Through our dedication to brewing the best beer with the finest, natural ingredients and through our commitment to helping farmers, retailers, entrepreneurs and communities grow.
Beer is the original social network With centuries of brewing history, we have seen countless new friendships, connections and experiences built on a shared love of beer. We connect with consumers through culturally relevant movements and the passion points of music, sports and entertainment. Our portfolio now offers more than 500 brands and eight of the top 10 most valuable beer brands worldwide, according to BrandZ™.
Sustainability is our business Brewing quality beer starts with the best ingredients. Without a healthy and sustainable environment, we would not be able to brew the highest quality beers. That is why we have made global commitments focused on smart agriculture, water stewardship, renewable energy, plastic pollution, circular packaging and climate action, to help contribute to a healthy natural environment and thriving communities, so we can continue to brew beers that bring people together for the next 100+ years.
Honoring the past, building towards the future We are all brewers. By combining over 600 years of brewing heritage with constant innovation, we protect the heritage of our much-loved brands while constantly innovating and creating new and exciting beers and occasions for consumers.
Collaboration with Taco Bar We are a proud strategic partner of Taco Bar. Together we want to deliver the best possible experiences towards the consumers by offering high valuable and premium brands. Throughout our partnership, we want to become more than a beer supplier. Our job is to constantly challenge ourselves to deliver great brand activations, to identify new ways to improve rate of sales and to provide brands that fit to the right audience of Taco Bar. Dreaming big is in our DNA and we like to share our energy with each of our partner. Brewing the world’s most loved beers, building iconic brands (such as Corona, Stella Artois and Budweiser) and creating meaningful experiences are what energize and inspire us. We empower our people to push the boundaries of what is possible. Through hard work and the strength of our teams, we can achieve anything for our consumers, our people and our communities. Christophe Stevens, Area Director Nordics
Connect with us
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bought from a bakery in Atlanta,
ingredients, it also plays into the
Georgia, and our guacamole is made
company’s focus on sustainability.
for us in Uruapan, Mexico. Our pulled
Taco Bar operates on a low waste
beef is made in a special factory here
model, serving its food on china and
in Stockholm, with carefully sourced
drinks in glasses, moving away from
meat from Uruguayan cows that are
plastic to paper, and carefully sorting
grain fed for 120 days. It’s put into an
any waste that is created. Recently,
oven for 22 hours, and barbecued
the company has seen success with
over hickory wood on a BBQ cooker
vegetarian offerings: “We have over
specially bought from the US – that’s
250 different dishes that you can have
what makes Taco Bar’s food special.”
as a vegetarian, and our vegan shake
Not only does this responsible
has been a tremendous success
sourcing ensure the quality of its
on social media.”
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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Lars Callebro, CEO In 2009, Lars Callebro led a management buyout of the company from Nordic Service Partners, bringing three colleagues with him to become partners in the firm. After the buyout, Taco Bar was re-imagined with a new design, logo, and menu that included alcoholic drinks. Lars was formerly Director of Business Development at Nordic Service Partners, and before that worked in different management positions at Svenska McDonald’s. He began his career in the Swedish army, serving as an officer for 14 years.
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“ Taco Bar’s goals for the future are continued growth, opening Taco Bar restaurants in new markets and, most importantly, taking care of the franchisees that we already have” — Lars Callebro, CEO and Owner, Taco Bar
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While we measure our negative impact on the environment in terms of a carbon ‘foot’ print, we see ‘hand’ prints as being all the positive things we do to help the environment. To us, hand prints are things like good animal welfare, well considered crop rotations, biogas and solar panels. Right now we are working hard to become Carbon Net Zero. Us Arla farmers will work together with our customers to achieve this. We want our customers, just like Taco Bar Sweden, to feel secure that they have made a sustainable choice by choosing dairy products from Arla.
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FOR THE LOVE OF VEGO’ 15
“ Convenience is very important for the future guests of Taco Bar, so we’ll continue to invest in digital consumerisation” — Lars Callebro, CEO and Owner, Taco Bar
DIGITAL “The biggest challenge right now is the digital transformation happening in the retail sector,” says Callebro. “It’s not the case that today there are 100 people on the street and tomorrow there’ll be 50 people – but it is going from 100 to a figure like 90. We needed to grab a piece of that digital market, and we have done that very successfully.” Part of the company’s continuing efforts in this sector has been the development of an app, in partnership with suppliers and others, that allows Taco Bar customers to order and pay inside the w w w.t a cob a r. s e
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“ The biggest challenge right now is the digital transformation happening in the retail sector” — Lars Callebro, CEO and Owner, Taco Bar
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restaurant or in advance of their arrival. Callebro sees such conveniences as crucial to the company’s continued success. “If a customer would like to sit in their office or in a park, order food and have it brought to them, the app will be there for them, or they can use it to beat the line and take it away themselves. Convenience is very important for the future guests of Taco Bar, so we’ll continue to invest in digital consumerisation.” Taco Bar leverages its partnerships with a number of innovative technology companies to improve the experience of its customers. Teaming up with delivery companies like UberEats, Hungrig,
Delivery Heros and others is another way Taco Bar offers its customers the convenience they desire. “This is a strategically important area for us to grow within the digital space,” says Callebro, also detailing Taco Bar’s partnership with Leeroy on a datadriven, unified point of sale system. “Leeroy is our point of sale partner and we are evaluating them and others regarding our app that we hope to launch within six to 12 months.” It is through the twin considerations of physical and digital that Taco Bar has succeeded in growing throughout Sweden. Its ongoing digital transformation has set the company up to capture the digital market without neglecting its physical locations. Such has been its success within the country that the future holds expansion outside of its borders. “We are constantly evaluating new markets,” says Callebro. “It’s in our long-term business plan to establish Taco Bar outside of the country, so we will continue to search for good partners to expand.”
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Mailbox 373 111 73 Stockholm Sweden T 00 46 709 93 45 56 www.tacobar.se