Scaling Hawaiian Poké Bowl: 1 to 49 Locations Without Franchising

Dr. Niklas Richter · 2026-02-26

Let's talk about a growth story that breaks all the rules. Matthijs Hermans, co-founder and CEO of Hawaiian Poké Bowl, didn't follow the typical restaurant playbook. He started with one small shop in Antwerp. Now? He's overseeing 49 locations across Belgium and the Netherlands, with over 2,200 employees and annual revenue hitting about $59 million. That's right—they converted the €55 million to dollars for you. It's a fast-food business built with military-grade operational discipline. But here's the twist—they're doing it with fresh, healthy ingredients. Think of it as the precision of a major chain meeting the quality of your favorite local spot. ### The Non-Franchise Growth Engine So how do you go from 1 to 49 locations without franchising? It's not magic. It's a relentless focus on systems. Matthijs isn't your classic hospitality entrepreneur. He thinks in structures, data, rhythm, customer retention, and pure focus. He'll tell you that growing a business sometimes means doing less, but doing it infinitely better. For him, operational excellence isn't a nice-to-have—it's everything. Good intentions don't keep the lights on or the fish fresh. A well-oiled machine does.  ### The Secret Weapon: A Central Kitchen One of their biggest leaps was building a central kitchen. This wasn't just about scaling up. It was about locking in quality, speed, and consistency across every single location. When your prep is centralized, every bowl that goes out meets the same high standard. It takes the guesswork out of expansion. And customers notice. Their data shows something incredible: 50% of new customers come back at least once a month. That kind of repeat business doesn't happen by accident. It happens when the product is consistently great. Here’s what Matthijs opened up about in the conversation: - Letting go of control as the company exploded in size. - What leadership looks like inside a rocket-ship organization. - Building marketing that starts with product quality, not just clever ads. - The real meaning of growth: often, it's about subtraction, not addition.  ### Looking Ahead to 2030 The ambition doesn't stop at 49. The plan is to reach 150 locations by 2030. That's a huge leap. It requires a foundation that's not just strong, but flexible. It requires a team that's empowered and systems that are bulletproof. As Matthijs puts it: *"We're building a fast-food company for the future, where health and speed aren't trade-offs. They're the entire point."* His approach is a masterclass for any entrepreneur, especially in the competitive food space. It proves that you don't need to franchise to scale massively. You need a better operating system. You need to value retention as much as acquisition. And sometimes, you need to have the courage to simplify. So if you're building something and feeling stuck in the messy middle of growth, remember this story. Look at your operations. Look at your data. Ask yourself if you're trying to do too much. Scaling might just be about finding the one thing you do better than anyone else and doing it 150 times over.