Entrepreneur behind community food market shares the secret to success

An entrepreneur who wanted to combine his passions of “real” food and international relations and human rights, and created a multi-million pound business in the process, has shared his top tips for success.

Andrea Rasca, the CEO and founder of London-based sustainable food market Mercato Metropolitano (MM), launched a pilot project in Milan in 2015, regenerating a 150,000 square foot disused railway station.

It was transformed into a gastronomic food market with a strong focus on environmental, social and governance issues. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Rasca explained he believes food “has to be nutritious, accessible and compatible with local cultures”.

“The food system is a circular business, which enables us to cure the problems of climate change, health of people, and inclusion.”

Despite no budget and very little marketing or advertising, the pilot saw more than 2.5 million visitors. Over a four-month period, customers spent over £8million.

Following the success, Mr Rasca visited various different locations in London. While many were high footfall areas of the capital, Mr Rasca wasn’t convinced they were the right choice for his new venture.

Keen to create footfall in a new destination, he went to see an abandoned factory with no electricity, gas or heating, in Elephant and Castle.

“I saw it and I fell in love with it,” he said. Having secured the venue, the team started “from absolute scratch”. It soon proved to be a success – in the first year, they did £9million of sales, then £15million in the second year and £21million in the third year.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. The entrepreneur recalled: “I managed to finance myself directly to keep on paying all of my employees and not charging any rent for two years to any of my trading partners.”

It was a tough time, but the team were eager to get started again once restrictions were lifted. “Once we reopened, all of my team was ready to start again and all of my trading partners were still on their feet. We did incredibly well.”

Mercato Metropolitano has expanded over the years, opening at a Mayfair location, Elephant Park near the original Elephant and Castle site, and Wood Wharf in Canary Wharf. But, despite following the same principles, Mr Rasca points out that they strive for no two venues to be the same.

“Every place needs to be different because the building is different, the community is different, the location is different. But the values, the manifesto, is the same.”

This year, Mercato Metropolitano is forecast to reach £23million in sales in the Elephant and Castle location and £15million at MM Mayfair, with approximately five to six million guests per year.

Mercato Metropolitano follows a revenue share model, both with the landlord and with MM and its trading partners. Mr Rasca said: “Because I’ve been doing this for many years, I wanted to take all the non-food actives off traders’ load, and let them concentrate on cooking well, fast, with the best possible quality of ingredients.”

To ensure the food complies with the MM manifesto, every supplier is vetted by the Mercato Metropolitano team.

“What we do is create a platform which allows the entrepreneurs to concentrate on making the best possible offer for our guests.” Within this revenue share model, MM then handles everything from the light, electricity, business rates, to floor security, marketing and tills.

The newest location in Ilford is set to open this autumn, and the first trading partner setting up shop was announced this month. Arjun Manikandan and the Malayali Project were crowned this year’s winner of the MM’s dreaMM initiative, securing a three-month, rent-free tenure at this new sustainable community food market.

Commenting on his win at the ceremony, Mr Manikandan said: “Being from Ilford myself, it really means a lot to me that this campaign started there and we will be able to be based in the new Ilford sustainable food market, and bring our authentic Kerala cuisine there. People don’t really know about Kerala and its culinary values.

“Kerala is known as ‘God’s own country’ because of the naturistic beauty and culture of Kerala, in south India. It’s a beautiful place for a holiday, and hopefully people can experience a Kerala holiday through our food at The Malayali Project.

“Having never run a business before, we don’t know what to expect, but we know that the MM team will be supporting us all the way and that gives me confidence to say, ‘Okay, let’s do this!’”

As part of the prize, Mr Manikandan will get access to free one-to-one consultations to help create a long-lasting business plan, plus support in sourcing sustainable, local ingredients and branding and marketing advice. With more than 110 budding entrepreneurs covering their passion, choosing a winner was tough, and Andrea has promised to support all of the finalists.

Express Money asked MM founder Mr Rasca what his tips for entrepreneurial success were. He said: “What I always tell people is that I need to see the passion.

“You need to have a dream, a passion and a business plan, but everything must start from the passion you have.

“When you are working in this field of hospitality, you need to love what you do and you need to love to share it with someone – not to sell the products.

“First of all, think about making it happen and making it successful with all your passion. That’s the reality, authenticity and passion.”