Wasabi

What Wasabi does

Wasabi (legal entity Wasabi Co. Ltd) is a UK-founded quick-service restaurant chain specializing in sushi, hot bento, noodles, and onigiri, operating company-owned restaurants across London, major UK cities, and transport hubs, with a recent international footprint of four New York locations. Founded by Dong Hyun Kim (Mr Kim) from a Camden Market stall over twenty years ago, the company has scaled to a multi-channel food business anchored by a state-of-the-art factory in Park Royal, London, producing over 80,000 ready meals per day plus sauces and hot food for its restaurant estate. The Park Royal facility also supplies a branded ready-meal range stocked by four major UK grocery chains — Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Co-op — extending the brand beyond the restaurant box into home-occasion consumption.

Revenue is generated through four streams: (1) in-restaurant dine-in and takeout sales across the UK and New York estate; (2) wholesale grocery sales of ready meals via major supermarkets; (3) third-party delivery commissions from Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats; and (4) a Wasabi Rewards loyalty programme (1 point per penny spent, redeemable at 4,000 / 8,000 / 15,000 point tiers). Distribution is further broadened by a franchise model launched in 2024 with Lagardère Travel Retail at London Luton Airport, targeting ten franchised stores over five years. Go-to-market combines company-owned retail, franchised retail, click-and-collect (wasabi.vmos.io), delivery aggregators, and grocery wholesale — a horizontal segmentation approach targeting individual consumers, office workers and groups, grocery shoppers, and airport travelers.

The leadership team comprises founder and director Dong Hyun Kim, Chief Executive Officer Henry Birts, IT Director Brendan Mckeown, Managing Director Frederic Lluch, and Group Finance Director Scott Etherington. Wasabi is privately held with no disclosed parent company, acquisitions, or external equity investors; the only external financing on record consists of two HSBC debt facilities in October 2016 (~$30.6M) and March 2018 (~$41.9M). Operational scale is supported by centralized manufacturing, an 84%+ workforce with over one year of service, sustainability commitments including 100% renewable electricity and zero waste-to-landfill, and ongoing ESG programmes such as food donations to The Felix Project and a 2025 partnership with Olio.

Name

Wasabi

Legal name

Wasabi Co. Ltd

Website

https://wasabi.uk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Wasabi is a UK-founded quick-service restaurant chain serving sushi, hot bento, and noodles across company-owned and franchised locations in the UK and New York, with a Park Royal factory producing 80,000+ ready meals daily for restaurants and major UK supermarket partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick-Service Asian Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Frozen Food Manufacturing (31141)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Store Sushi & Asian Prepared Foods (CRAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hot Hold & Ready-to-Eat Meals (Rotisserie, Hot Bar, Entrées) (CRAHAKAB), Frozen prepared meals & entrées manufacturing (AFAKAHAA), Refrigerated/Chilled Foods Wholesale (Deli, Prepared, Fresh Pasta, etc.) (AFAIAHAB)

Keywords

• Japanese quick service
• Sushi restaurant chain
• Ready meal production
• Asian fast food
• Bento meal provider

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food Sales: In-restaurant dining and takeout sales across UK locations including London, major cities, and transport hubs
2. Grocery Retail: Ready meals sold through Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Co-op supermarkets
3. Delivery Commission: Third-party delivery through Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats platforms
4. Loyalty Program: Wasabi Rewards program where customers earn 1 point per penny spent, redeemable for menu items at 4000, 8000, and 15000 point tiers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wasabi Sushi & Bento operates a chain of quick-service Japanese restaurants across the UK and New York, serving freshly prepared sushi, bento boxes, onigiri, noodles, and Asian hot food. The company is supported by a central production facility at Park Royal producing over 80,000 ready meals daily, with distribution through company-operated stores, major UK supermarkets, and third-party delivery platforms.

Product overview

Wasabi is a hot cloud storage company offering a unified cloud storage platform with core products including Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Wasabi AiR. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage provides instant access to archived content without data retrieval fees, while Wasabi AiR delivers AI-powered metadata solutions for video archives. The company also offers Cloud Tiering as an add-on module that categorizes data by access frequency to optimize storage costs. These products are designed to work together within hybrid cloud storage environments for content creators and media organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-store restaurant menu (sushi, bento, onigiri, noodles, hot food)

Quantifiable outcome

• Recycled 176 tonnes of plastic and cardboard in 2024
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Felix ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood donation partnership to prevent waste. In 2024, donated 14,046 kg of good food which provided 33,570 meals for those in need. Partnership helps reduce food waste while supporting community social responsibility.
• OliominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntroduced in 2025 as a food sharing app partnership to connect surplus food with individuals in local communities, helping to reduce food waste further.
• TescocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor UK supermarket chain stocking Wasabi grocery ready meal range. Available in ready meal sections of Tesco stores nationwide.
• MorrisonscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor UK supermarket chain stocking Wasabi grocery ready meal range. Available in Morrisons stores nationwide.
• Sainsbury'scoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor UK supermarket chain stocking Wasabi grocery ready meal range. Available in Sainsbury's stores nationwide.
• Co-opcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK supermarket chain stocking Wasabi grocery ready meal range. Available in Co-op stores subject to availability.
• SedexminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEDEX membership enables Wasabi to work with supply chain to enhance transparency of ingredients' origins. Part of sustainable sourcing initiative.
• DeliveroocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership for Wasabi restaurant delivery. Customers can order Wasabi through Deliveroo app.
• Just EatcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership for Wasabi restaurant delivery. Customers can order Wasabi through Just Eat platform.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership for Wasabi restaurant delivery. Customers can order Wasabi through Uber Eats app.
• Vita MojocoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner managing Wasabi Rewards loyalty program and mobile app infrastructure. Vita Mojo has access to certain personal customer data to provide the loyalty service.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• YO! Sushi: UK-based Japanese restaurant chain and Wasabi's most direct competitor. Operates a conveyor-belt sushi concept with dine-in, takeaway, and grocery retail presence. Closely comparable on product, customer base (UK urban diners), and brand positioning.
• Itsu: UK Asian fast-food chain specializing in sushi, bento, and noodles. Directly overlaps with Wasabi on menu, customer segments (lunchtime urban professionals), and grocery ready-meal distribution channels.
• Wagamama: UK-based Asian (Japanese-inspired) restaurant chain serving noodles, bento, and Asian dishes. Competes for the same lunchtime Asian-cuisine occasion, with larger full-service footprint. Comparable on product category and customer base.
• Chopstix: UK Asian quick-service restaurant chain focused on noodles, rice boxes, and bento. Targets similar value-tier customer and transit-hub locations (including airports), making it a close competitor for Wasabi's franchise and high-street locations.
• Sushi Daily: European in-store sushi kiosk operator (Genki-style) producing fresh sushi in supermarket and transit locations. Competes for the grab-and-go sushi customer and uses similar fresh-prep daily model.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: UK-based quick-service chain offering sandwiches, salads, and hot food including Asian options. Competes with Wasabi for the urban lunchtime occasion and offers similar click-and-collect/dine-in convenience. Larger and broader menu than Wasabi.
• Leon Restaurants: UK fast-casual chain serving healthy, naturally fast food including Asian-inspired dishes. Comparable on UK urban lunch customer segment, health-focused positioning, and supermarket grocery range. Operates more broadly than Wasabi's Japanese niche.
• Marks & Spencer Food Hall: M&S Food sells its own Asian-inspired ready meals in UK grocery. While a much broader retailer, its ready-meal range competes head-to-head with Wasabi's supermarket products on the same shelves and for the same meal-occasion customer.

Emerging players

• Charlie Bigham's: UK premium ready-meal brand sold through major supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's. Direct competitor in the grocery ready-meal aisle where Wasabi distributes via its Park Royal factory output. Comparable on retail channel and customer demographic.

Regional players

• Poke House: European poke/sushi fast-casual chain with presence in UK and continental Europe. Overlaps with Wasabi on raw-ready-to-eat seafood and bowl formats; operates primarily outside UK where Wasabi is concentrated, providing geographic complementarity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Wasabi_NYC
• Facebookfacebook.com/wasabinyc
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/wasabi-co-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/wasabiuk
• TikToktiktok.com/@wasabi_uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wasabi