Karsten & Kuiper
Karsten & Kuiper is a Den Haag-based catering and healthy food company founded in 2014, operating a retail store, Café Restaurant Pulchri, and event catering across 23 partner venues in the The Hague region.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersDen Haag, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Karsten & Kuiper does
Karsten & Kuiper is a privately held, founder-owned catering and food service company based in Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands, founded in 2014 by Dirk Karsten. The company operates four interconnected service lines from a production kitchen in Voorburg (Populierendreef 335): (1) a retail store ('Winkel') in the Zeeheldenkwartier neighborhood offering fresh, healthy takeaway meals 7 days per week from 11:00–21:00, with components starting at €6.00; (2) full-service event catering covering lunches, borrels, buffets, sit-down dinners, walking dinners, BBQs, and foodtruck services; (3) Café Restaurant Pulchri, a sit-down dining location at Lange Voorhout in central The Hague; and (4) Meetings & Events catering delivered at 23 partner venues across the region, including museums, theaters, and historic buildings such as Het Spaansche Hof, Fokker Terminal, Madurodam, and Koninklijke Schouwburg.
The company's underlying operating model is built on in-house food preparation using fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients with a stated emphasis on transparency around ingredient provenance. Technology infrastructure is minimal and outsourced: online ordering runs through the third-party Foodticket platform, catering inquiries are processed via a MiceOperations quote widget, and the website is hosted on Squarespace. Distribution channels include the physical retail store, the café-restaurant, on-location catering at partner venues, a festival-style foodtruck, bicycle courier delivery, and online ordering — all confined to the The Hague metropolitan area.
The revenue model is a mix of one-time retail transactions and quote-based professional services catering contracts. Customer segments split between individual health-conscious consumers (retail) and corporate, institutional, and private event clients (catering). The company describes itself as founder-led and bootstrapped, with no disclosed institutional investment, funding rounds, acquisitions, or external ownership. Operational scale sits in the 11–50 employee range, supporting a regional, single-metro footprint with strong venue-level distribution but limited geographic optionality.
Karsten & Kuiper firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Karsten & Kuiper
- Legal name
- Karsten & Kuiper
- Website
- https://karstenkuiper.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Karsten & Kuiper is a Den Haag-based catering and healthy food company founded in 2014, operating a retail store, Café Restaurant Pulchri, and event catering across 23 partner venues in the The Hague region.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Karsten & Kuiper industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Catering Services
- NAICS
- Caterers (722320), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing (311991)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Freshly Made Grab-and-Go (Sandwiches, Wraps, Salads) (CRAHAKAA), Cold Prepared Foods & Meal Components (Sides, Proteins, Family Meals) (CRAHAKAC)
Keywords
Where Karsten & Kuiper is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Den Haag
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Karsten & Kuiper business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Retail food sales: Freshly prepared meals sold through physical store in Den Haag for takeaway and delivery. Products available 7 days per week from 11:00-21:00. Deliveries made by cycling couriers.
- Catering services: Full-service catering for events including lunch, borrel (receptions), buffets, sit-down dinners (3-4 course), walking dinners (5 course), BBQ, and foodtruck services. Delivered on-location at partner venues or as delivery.
- Restaurant operations: Café Restaurant Pulchri located at Lange Voorhout in Den Haag city center, serving coffee, lunch, and dinner with seasonal menu featuring dishes like Surf & Turf and pan-seared sea bass.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Retail food components starting at €6.00 per item |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Catering services - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels4 records
Karsten & Kuiper product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Karsten & Kuiper prepares and sells fresh, healthy, in-house-made food across four service lines: a retail takeaway/delivery shop, full-service event catering (lunch, borrel, buffet, sit-down dinner, walking dinner, BBQ, foodtruck), Café Restaurant Pulchri for sit-down dining, and Meetings & Events catering at 23 partner venues across The Hague region. All food is produced at the company's Voorburg production kitchen using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients.
Product overview
Karsten & Kuiper is a catering and food service company founded in 2014, operating as a single unified offering with four interconnected service lines: a retail store (Winkel) for takeaway and delivery, comprehensive catering services for various event types, Café Restaurant Pulchri as a sit-down dining location, and Meetings & Events catering at partner venues. All food is prepared fresh in-house using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients, with delivery and collection available 7 days a week.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Winkel (Retail Store) Retail shop in The Hague offering freshly prepared healthy meals for takeaway and delivery. Customers can order warm or cold dishes 7 days a week, with monthly rotating components starting at €6.00 in vegetarian, fish, and meat options.
- Catering Services Full-service catering for events including lunch, borrel (drinks reception), buffet, sit-down dinner, walking dinner, BBQ, and foodtruck. All food prepared fresh in the Voorburg production kitchen using locally-sourced seasonal ingredients, delivered on-location or for pickup.
- Café Restaurant Pulchri
- Meetings & Events
Quantifiable outcome
- 10 years of continuous operation and growth since 2014
Companies that use Karsten & Kuiper
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Karsten & Kuiper technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Karsten & Kuiper partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- GreenBookingsminorGreenBookings contributes to better climate, more biodiversity, and healthy living conditions by planting trees for events and meeting venues in the Netherlands in cooperation with Life Terra. Karsten & Kuiper plants trees through their events to work towards a green and healthy world.
- The Hague VenuescoreThe Hague Venues is a venue network partner of Karsten & Kuiper, providing access to event locations across The Hague region for catering services.
- Summa CollegeminorEducational institution partner for catering services.
- De Haagse ScholenminorEducational institution partner for catering services.
- HDMminorEducational institution partner for catering services.
- Sociétéit de VereenigingcoreHistoric society venue partner for catering events.
- Fokker TerminalcoreEvent venue partner for catering services at Fokker Terminal location.
- De BroodfabriekcoreVenue partner for catering events.
- Het Nationale TheatercoreTheater venue partner for catering services.
- Kunstmuseum Den HaagcoreMuseum venue partner for catering events.
- MadurodamcoreTourist attraction venue partner for catering services.
- Museum Beelden aan ZeecoreMuseum venue partner for catering events.
- European Hematology Association (EHA)coreMedical association venue partner for catering services.
- HVV Den HaagminorFootball club venue partner for catering events.
- ROC MondriaanminorRegional training center partner for catering services.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Karsten & Kuiper competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Compass Group Netherlands: Global foodservice and support services company with Dutch operations across corporate, education, and healthcare. Broader incumbent comparable to K&K's foodservice and event catering but across many segments and at much larger scale.
- Sodexo Netherlands: Global onsite services and foodservice provider with Dutch operations. Overlaps with K&K's catering and food services but at significantly larger institutional and corporate dining scale.
- HelloFresh Netherlands: Netherlands operation of global meal kit subscription service. Adjacent comparison to K&K's fresh, healthy meal positioning but operating as subscription meal kits rather than prepared meals or catering.
Direct peers
- Albron: Dutch hospitality and catering group operating restaurants, cafes, and event catering. Overlaps directly with K&K's combination of venue-based event catering and own-restaurant operations (Pulchri), though at greater corporate contract scale.
- Hutten: Major Dutch caterer and foodservice company serving corporate, healthcare, and government clients across the Netherlands. Directly comparable to Karsten & Kuiper's event catering and meal services, but operating at significantly larger national scale.
- Vermaat: Dutch hospitality company providing catering, restaurant, and event services across corporate, cultural, and leisure venues. Direct comparison to K&K's venue-based catering model and own-operated restaurant, though with broader venue footprint.
- Marfo: Dutch meal provider producing fresh and chilled prepared meals for healthcare, foodservice, and retail. Comparable to K&K's Voorburg production kitchen producing fresh meals, though focused more on institutional and retail channels than venue catering.
Emerging players
- Uitgekookt: Dutch online marketplace for fresh, chef-prepared meal delivery from local restaurants and chefs. Overlaps with K&K's healthy takeaway offering and local-chef positioning, though operating purely digitally across multiple Dutch cities.
- Délifrance: French-origin café-bakery chain with presence in the Netherlands offering coffee, sandwiches, and light meals. Comparable to K&K's Café Pulchri as a small-format cafe/restaurant operator with fresh prepared foods.
Regional players
- New York Pizza: Dutch pizza takeaway and delivery chain with nationwide locations. Adjacent comparison for K&K's retail takeaway channel and cycling courier model, though focused on pizza rather than healthy seasonal meals.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Karsten & Kuiper social profiles
Digital presenceKarsten & Kuiper financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Karsten & Kuiper leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Karsten & Kuiper funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Karsten & Kuiper M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Karsten & Kuiper
What does Karsten & Kuiper do?
Karsten & Kuiper prepares and sells fresh, healthy, in-house-made food across four service lines: a retail takeaway/delivery shop, full-service event catering (lunch, borrel, buffet, sit-down dinner, walking dinner, BBQ, foodtruck), Café Restaurant Pulchri for sit-down dining, and Meetings & Events catering at 23 partner venues across The Hague region. All food is produced at the company's Voorburg production kitchen using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients.
Is Karsten & Kuiper a public or private company?
Karsten & Kuiper is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Karsten & Kuiper founded?
Karsten & Kuiper was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Karsten & Kuiper based?
Karsten & Kuiper is headquartered in Den Haag, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Karsten & Kuiper make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Retail food sales are the primary driver. The others are catering services and restaurant operations.
Who are Karsten & Kuiper's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Compass Group Netherlands, Sodexo Netherlands and HelloFresh Netherlands. Direct peers are Albron, Hutten, Vermaat and Marfo. Emerging players are Uitgekookt and Délifrance. New York Pizza is listed as a regional player.
Does Karsten & Kuiper have an API?
No public API is recorded for Karsten & Kuiper.
What industry is Karsten & Kuiper in?
Karsten & Kuiper's product category is Catering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAGAH, Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly), with a secondary code of CRAHAKAA, Freshly Made Grab-and-Go (Sandwiches, Wraps, Salads). Its NAICS code is 722320 and its SIC code is 5810.