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BUSINESS INTERVIEW
FOOD FOR A FULL
THE MEDITERRANEAN CULINARY AD TO SERVE A CURIOUS PUBLIC JUSTIN SEAMONDS, CEO OF ROTI ELABORATES ON THE COMPANY’S SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATION AND CULINARY INNOVATION BEHIND PROVIDING SIMPLE, DELICIOUS, HEALTHY AND AUTHENTIC EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE.
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LIFE:
DVENTURE
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FOUNDED IN 2006, THE STORY OF ROTI STARTS WITH SPICE. THREE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND A FOURTH BUSINESS PARTNER WITH A PASSION FOR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE LONGED FOR AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE FROM THE REGION CLOSER TO HOME. THE LONG STORY SHORT? THEY STRUGGLED. ather than resign themselves to fate, they decided to open a restaurant in Chicago, Illinois where they could share the spices, sauces, colours and flavours they craved with a curious public. Roti’s first restaurant opened with resounding success, so the founders focused on formalising the business growth and turning towards a fast-casual model rooted in the deep culinary traditions of the Levant on the eastern Mediterranean shores. Here to tell us more about the company’s passion for
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feeding a healthier world with bold, delicious flavour is Justin Semonds, CEO at Roti. Justin shines a light on the company’s supply chain transformation and culinary innovation which helped it not only survive the COVID-19 pandemic but find new footing in its wake. “Our entire purpose is to bring craveable and healthful food to the market, with flavours that are either authentically reproduced or substantially inspired by culinary traditions that span the Levant (the eastern crescent of the Mediterranean into ancient Persia,)” begins Justin. “The
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other aspect that is fundamental to our DNA is to provide a familiar guest experience, featuring a make line where we present the beauty of these foods to the guests. The goal is for them to be able to do what we do on our phones, but in a welcoming restaurant setting – ‘I want some of that, try a little of this and take two of those.’ At Roti, we've made our guest experience a very self-directed journey centred around what I would argue is the most beautiful, appealing, flavourful and healthful food – brought together into the ultimate culinary combination.”
experiences and then keeping ones that we consider to be evergreen.” Justin joined Roti as CEO in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and threw the hospitality sector into disarray. “COVID dislocated every preconceived notion we had about what restaurants should be and how we should ask the public to interact with them,” says Justin. “We had to evolve and redefine what it meant to package food, serve customers
“WE WORK WITH SUPPLIER PARTNERS AND VENDORS TO SECURE THE COMPONENT PIECES SO WE CAN PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT WE THINK IS BOTH TRULY COMPELLING, AND EXECUTABLE” Since 2006, Roti has enjoyed rapid growth and commercial success and now has 19 restaurants in three US cities. Along the way, the company has experimented with myriad flavour profiles, products and influences which reflect the geographical and formidable culinary diversity of the Levant. “It’s an inexhaustible place to go and find inspiration,” says Justin. “As such, Roti has been very aggressive about trying new things, pulling them in through our menu, introducing a curious public to new culinary
and approach health and safety. Not everybody made it through that transition. For us, just coming out the other side is an immense source of pride for our brand. But now, it’s all about what we do next.” Justin explains how surviving the challenges of COVID and emerging into growth entailed a transformational approach to supply chain strategy and culinary innovation at Roti. “As part of a relatively small supply chain, we are what I would consider 7
which we think our people will value and are a little underappreciated or even undiscovered, we have to go and find partners who can help us activate those offerings.
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to be a challenger brand, meaning we are competing for a share of the public’s appetite against very large, entrenched, well-located, digitally active brands – even if they're not in our food category,” says Justin. “Ultimately, this means we must be nimble and differentiated.
“From simple things like proprietary spice blends and ingredients that have real meaning and value in our food, to the inexhaustible world of complimentary culinary components like olive oil, it’s about finding the right partners to provide the best flavour profiles, who also share our passion for high-fidelity authenticity.
“So when we think about the kinds of products we want to bring into our restaurants and offer to our guests,
“We work with supplier partners and vendors to secure the component pieces so we can put them together
in a way that we think is both truly compelling, and executable. We are still on our journey towards deeply and seamlessly collaborating with vendors to make it easier to create foods with ever-strengthening quality and flavour profiles. “The place we start in our business is what represents the highly authentic, which generally means homemade or very intense processes with very expensive inputs – because you’re trying to replicate something that used to happen in somebody's individual kitchen. “There’s an assumption in the hospitality industry that the more we
have to do and the more places we have to do it in, the more we have to dumb it down, reduce our quality and sacrifice along the way. “At Roti, it’s a particular point of pride that we've risen above this pessimistic assumption and been able to make our food simpler to execute and even more delicious by choosing our partners wisely. We've been able to use ingredients that we've been able to supply to three different parts of the United States and preserve the highest fidelity version of these flavour profiles, recipes, grill techniques and textures that define our brand. We have an advantage because
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we choose our partners carefully and intentionally as we are just so unrelentingly proud of the food and flavours we’re trying to produce. “One of our valued strategic partners is Angel Bakeries. These are fabulously inspired people. In their business, two people have master's degrees in baking certifications from Kansas State University and the company has brought a truly unique bread into the US marketplace that's also available globally. Angel Bakeries had an interest in a business that was doing similar things over in the Levant
“Angel Bakeries is a partner that dedicates the same kind of energy, enthusiasm and intensity towards making something that is as simple as they can make it but also replicates the culinary tradition at the highest possible level as we do. “Another key strategic partner for Roti is Klondike Cheese Company, just over the Wisconsin border from us. The state of Wisconsin produces 25% of the world's cheese and Klondike is a company four generations in the making, with a decades-long heritage of
“ONE OF OUR VALUED STRATEGIC PARTNERS IS ANGEL BAKERIES. THESE ARE FABULOUSLY INSPIRED PEOPLE. THE COMPANY HAS BROUGHT A TRULY UNIQUE BREAD INTO THE US MARKETPLACE THAT'S ALSO AVAILABLE GLOBALLY” and they've brought a product to market that travels extremely well, made with – and I'm not kidding – a secret dough maturation process that you’re not allowed in the room to see. “They've imported equipment from the Levant to be able to create and bake this product properly. They have a preservation and shipping method that allows you to reheat it with steam in your restaurants which makes it mind-bogglingly fresh, delicious and properly textured – easily on par or better than anything we’ve eaten over there.
winning gold medals for a number of their products in international competitions. “Klondike have done a truly miraculous thing where they have taken a market opportunity for a diversified cheese business and they've carefully and meticulously scaled it into a highly-capable production facility – without giving up one iota of quality in what they produce. “Everything they've built, all the machinery, equipment, training and tactics, is geared towards 11
transformation and seeking deep strategic partnerships, Roti explores playfulness and experimentation as core components within its culinary innovation to propel growth and ultimately offer exceptional experiences to its guests. According to Justin, there are two main approaches to culinary innovation at Roti: unique culinary leadership and self-directed guest experiences.
sustainability. Every ounce of their milk is sourced from within 60 miles of their dairy facility, so the carbon footprint relative to what they do is astounding and they recycle their water in the plant. What they produce is just absolutely exceptional in quality and super mindful. They've been a partner of ours for a long time and we've expanded the number of items that we use from them, even though Levantine cuisine tends to be narrow in its use of dairy products. “Like Angel Bakeries, Klondike is a partner that operates at scale, and yet cherishes true, authentic and real production methods with a mindfulness for the environment. We think that’s a magic combination, and we're looking for more people like that.” Alongside deploying supply chain 12
“In recent years, there have been two kinds of innovation that happened in our business – one that will be familiar and another that will probably be a bit surprising,” shares Justin. “The familiar one is unique culinary leadership. Our culinary influences are deeply rooted in countries and knowledge that encircle the Levant, and those who have built our culinary platform have a fundamental understanding of these rich culinary traditions. “So unique culinary leadership is our ideation engine, but that ideation engine needs to be plugged into an apparatus that can actually create an executable food programme. That's where our partners can come in and take something that we know we can do in a small batch but then do it at scale in dozens of restaurants. “The second part of the culinary innovation at Roti is perhaps less
“KLONDIKE HAVE DONE A TRULY MIRACULOUS THING WHERE THEY HAVE TAKEN A MARKET OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIVERSIFIED CHEESE BUSINESS AND THEY'VE CAREFULLY AND METICULOUSLY SCALED IT INTO A HIGHLY-CAPABLE PRODUCTION FACILITY – WITHOUT GIVING UP ONE IOTA OF QUALITY IN WHAT THEY PRODUCE” familiar and it is led by our guests. We’ve found that the customers who frequently come to our restaurants truly appreciate the innovative approach we facilitate where they can create unlimited culinary combinations, either self-directed or in collaboration with one of our Roti team members. “We've got a palette of seven different sauces and five hot mains. Our bases
include rice, cauliflower rice, and three different types of greens – and, of course, we offer gorgeously stuffed pitas. So every time a guest comes in, they have several decisions to make and myriad options before them. “So there's also a lot that you can do to go on a journey that provides you with endless combinations all within a beautifully merchandised 12
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to 16-foot line in our restaurants. We try to put a palette of options in front of the guests so that they can control their own journey and go where their inspiration leads them. Anyone with the spirit of adventure can end up in a different place every time they visit us. And Levantine cuisine, from ingredients to finished products, is absolutely beautiful food.” As Roti has expanded to new locations and developed its menu to bring Levantine cuisine to market in the US, the company has embraced and leaned into sustainability as a social responsibility. As Justin explains, reducing waste is a top priority within this broader endeavour towards sustainable operations. “Inside our restaurants, we have a goal of zero waste,” says Justin. “When you look at our industry and the amount of food that is prepared and not eaten, it's staggering. There's a tremendous amount of inefficiency that's inherent in our business. So we try to stay very vigilant and disciplined about how much food we prepare and how frequently we prepare it. The goal is to try and balance best meeting demand without running out because you never want to disappoint people.
“We also try to ensure that the number of ingredients working their way into our kitchen stays quite modest. When we bring something into our kitchen or when we have an idea to introduce something new to the menu, the first place we look for ingredients is what we already have in the pantry. “If we experiment and it involves a new item that needs to come in to execute, we always consider how else we can incorporate these items so that we use all of it or use it more quickly so that it stays fresh. It takes intensity and focus but we really try working only with ingredients that have multiple uses or that we can ensure are fully exhausted as a resource in our food, without waste or by-products that are unsustainable. “It's a journey, not a destination. But we've made a lot of strides forward to make sure that the amount of waste that we generate as a business is increasingly low and that the kind of waste that we generate is an increasingly sustainable waste. For instance last year we switched to fibre lids to reduce our use of plastic. We’re also in the process of 15
switching out all of our other plastic packaging to biodegradable packaging. “We haven't quite achieved the scale where we can lean into our suppliers and assess all of the sustainable practices that we have. But we are naturally drawn to people who are mindful of the environment, recycling, sustainable materials and reducing waste. We've gravitated towards people who are already doing that kind of work and hope to grow to the size where we can have more of a notable influence on the total supply chain ecosystem, not just what we can control within the four walls of every restaurant.” So what does the future hold for Roti? “We are looking to grow the number of units we have, develop our digital presence and grow in different markets,” summarises Justin. “Every one of those forms of growth creates opportunities for our existing team to progress in their careers, help us with projects and try to drive innovation inside the business. “Ultimately in our industry, for branded restaurant companies, there's no other place to go – you’ve got to grow. So we are looking for ways to go and open new locations in new and existing markets, but also 16
“WE ARE LOOKING TO GRO WE HAVE, DEVELOP OUR GROW IN DIFFER to reimagine what those locations really look like. “The utility of dining rooms, for instance, is not what it was preCOVID. Of course, you want to have a welcoming restaurant environment. For us, the majority of our customers walk through our line and walk out with the product that they select. But many of them sit down to eat and enjoy our hospitality and restaurant. So we will consider the proportions of our spaces accordingly. From looking at the area we dedicate to back-of-house operations to the ratio
very nicely into those buckets. “For us, the joy part arises from multiple aspects of the business. It comes from the people, teamwork, hospitality, guest satisfaction and flavours we create – these are the fun parts! “The value of pride stems from how well we look after people and food, the experiences and the flavours we offer in our restaurants and through our digital journeys.
OW THE NUMBER OF UNITS DIGITAL PRESENCE AND RENT MARKETS” of the dining rooms, we will explore how we can improve efficiency while amplifying experience. At the end of the day, growth comes from design, performance and resources and these three factors are guiding us on an exciting path for the coming years.” As he looks to the future at Roti, Justin wraps up our conversation by celebrating the company’s culture. “We have three values that drive our business: joy, pride and progress. I think all the core competitive characteristics in our industry fit
“The final part is progress. We have to progress as a company so that we can create the opportunity to grow for our teams and our suppliers as well – all to the ultimate benefit of our customers. “If we can get all three of those values moving in the right direction at the same time, the effect on the business is exponential. It’s a privilege to help create this positive environment where those three forces can all be leaning in the same direction at the same time. It's a hard thing to do and it's a hard thing to do consistently. But when it goes right there’s no feeling like it.” For further information about Roti, visit roti.com.
Turn over for 'ADDED VALUE' with Justin. 17
PURPOSE Justin relishes the opportunity to offer healthy, simple and delicious food with purpose in his role at Roti. “Purpose is a fundamental part of what Roti serves,” says Justin. “We exist because we believe that the culinary traditions that come from the Levant are the best for the body and best for the soul. It’s a communal food. “But our purpose arises from more than this. In the world we live in today, our food comes from a complicated place. Connected to this, food is more relevant than it’s ever been due to the implications of diet-related health problems, obesity and post-COVID health issues. “Food is the original social network and the original foundation for the health and wellness of communities, the body and the soul. At Roti, we believe in reigniting the passion for food as a positive force for good in society. “We are deeply dedicated to trying to create a more healthful world that tastes fantastic.” 18
“Our tagline as a business is ‘Food for a full life.’ And it’s not just about the food, it's about the full life that comes with it. We happen to focus on food but we're also trying to help our guests to eat with people, talk face to face and have a sense of joy, satisfaction and satiation from a meal well eaten – not necessarily because of what you ate, but also because of where you ate it and who you had it with.”
INSPIRATION “I get inspired by two key things in my career,” says Justin. “First, it’s about building a business that is high functioning, that has integrity and cultivates a high sense of trust. This is a powerful motivator for me. “These kinds of businesses not only tend to outperform, but they tend to earn reputations as being desirable places to be. Of course, it's a journey, not a destination. But building a high-quality business with people
who have clarity of purpose and vision, who trust each other to carry their part of the load and who make things happen in the right way with integrity, with a sense of honesty, I think is a wonderful thing. “I try to learn from people who can influence that. Simon Sinek is one of those people. Our Executive Chairman, Mats Lederhausen is another. I look to thought leaders like them so I can do better tomorrow than I did today. “The other source of inspiration for me, connected to building a highquality business, is doing something that matters is important to me. If
somebody is interested in satisfying their craving, and they stumble upon us and wander out, I just want them to be happy with what they got from us. I’m especially proud that people who are more deeply rooted in eating more mindfully or leading plant-centric lifestyles can easily enjoy our cuisine. Whether they’re vegans and vegetarians, or they struggle with any kind of dietary limitations on food like sensitivities, allergies, or dietary and lifestyle pursuits – they can find something to enjoy at Roti, and that really matters." Connect with Justin 19
www.roti.com
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