Year in Review 2015 | Page 21

Articles How come you have been so successful? Quality is the key - offering homemade food and sweets is our niche and we offer really good coffee. FIKA is unique in the United States, because Americans are not accustomed to sitting down and having a coffee and a cinnamon bun. they are used to buy a coffee on the go. We try to make them aware that what we offer is healthy and that it is of Swedish touch with high quality. There were no espresso bars when we opened our first FIKA, but now they open up new espresso bars all the time. The Swedish coffee culture is also exciting for the Americans and we are working to get it ingrained in American culture. Tell us about your goals for FIKA The first target was five FIKA locations and the chocolate factory, then to open up twenty FIKA, which is a number we are reaching soon, and the next target is to expand FIKA in the United States. Target number four is to open up in locations in the rest of the world. The idea is to start by opening a flagship store in DC next year and then make the leap to Philadelphia. We will likely continue to Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas after that. In the near future FIKA will also be available at airports, and the activities will take place through licensing. There are also plans to expand to Dubai, Abu Dabu, Japan and Canada in the future. Today, FIKA is owned to a hundred percent by Lars and his wife, but they are in the process of bringing in investors, which facilitates the expansion of FIKA as they need a partner with more experience to expand and internationalize. We wish Lars and FIKA the best of luck expanding your business in the U.S. and abroad and we are very excited see you open up in Philadelphia in the near future! Page 21