Happietaria Groningen

What Happietaria Groningen does

Happietaria Groningen is a seasonal pop-up charity restaurant in Groningen, Netherlands, established in 1994 as part of a national Happietaria concept that began in 1993. The organization operates for approximately one month each year (13 November to 11 December 2025 for the most recent edition) at Henri Dunantlaan 2, serving meals prepared and served entirely by unpaid student and church community volunteers drawn from four Christian student associations (C.S.F.R., GSV, Ichthus, and NSG). The organization is an action of Tearfund (Stichting Tearfund Nederland), the Dutch arm of the international Christian development organization, which has officially overseen Happietaria since 1 July 2017.

There is no proprietary technology platform underlying the operation. Core activities are managed through a Happietaria Management Team (HMT) of eight student volunteers for the 2025 edition — covering chair, HR, venue, treasury, sponsorship, head chef, kitchen management, and PR roles. Distribution runs through direct reservations, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram), and word-of-mouth within the Christian student community, supplemented by gift certificates (from €20) and direct donations via Tikkie or bank transfer to Stichting Tearfund Nederland. The product is a single experiential offering (a temporary restaurant) with ancillary modules (gift cards, donations, volunteering).

Happietaria does not generate revenue in a conventional sense; all dining proceeds are donated to Tearfund, which allocates them to Community Development, peacebuilding, and sustainability projects in countries including Uganda, Haiti, and Indonesia. Sponsorship and in-kind donations from local businesses defray food and operating costs, maximizing the donation yield. The 2025 Groningen edition raised a record €134,000, against which peer city chapters have raised between €9,300 (Papendrecht 2026) and €50,000 (Delft 2025) in recent years. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; gift certificates start at €20 and are sold via email contact with the treasurer.

Name

Happietaria Groningen

Legal name

Stichting Tearfund Nederland

Website

https://happietaria.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Happietaria Groningen is a seasonal, student-volunteer-run pop-up restaurant that operates for one month annually in Groningen, Netherlands, raising funds for Tearfund's global community development projects. It serves the Dutch Christian student community and general diners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Restaurant / Nonprofit Hospitality

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gala, Fundraiser & Nonprofit Event Catering (THAHAKAF)

Keywords

• Charity pop-up restaurant
• Volunteer dining service
• Nonprofit hospitality fundraising
• Community meal donations
• Student volunteer restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Restaurant dining revenue: Revenue is generated from guests dining at the pop-up restaurant. The full proceeds (after covering food costs via sponsorships and in-kind donations) are donated to Tearfund's Community Development projects in Oeganda, Haïti, and Indonesia.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Happietaria Groningen operates a temporary pop-up restaurant staffed entirely by volunteers from Christian student associations in Groningen, Netherlands. The restaurant opens for approximately one month each year, serves meals to the public at fixed menu prices, and donates all net proceeds (after food and operational costs are covered by sponsorships and donations) to Tearfund's community development projects in countries such as Uganda, Haiti, and Indonesia.

Product overview

Happietaria Groningen is not a technology product but a charity pop-up restaurant initiative. It is a single offering — a temporary restaurant operated entirely by student and church volunteers — with no modular or platform-based architecture. The core product is the pop-up restaurant experience, supplemented by volunteering opportunities, gift cards, and donation mechanisms. Each city operates its own independent Happietaria under the Tearfund umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Happietaria Pop-up Restaurant
• Gift Cards (Cadeaubonnen)
• Charitable Donations & Sponsorships

Quantifiable outcome

• €134,000 raised in 2025 (record for Groningen)
• +13 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TearfundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2017Happietaria is an action of Tearfund since 1 July 2017. Tearfund is a Christian development organization that helps people in need during disasters and conflicts and strengthens churches and communities to jointly tackle poverty and injustice. Tearfund provides organizational support, guidance, quality oversight, and handles the allocation of raised funds to global projects (Community Development, peacebuilding, sustainability).

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Happietaria Amsterdam: Amsterdam's Happietaria chapter, which raised funds for Tearfund's Inspired Individuals program in Zimbabwe. Operates with the same volunteer-driven pop-up structure in a larger urban context, providing a useful urban-scale comparison to Groningen's mid-size city operating environment.
• Happietaria Gouda: Gouda's Happietaria chapter raised a record €24,000 in 2025 in its established 'So What' venue. Identical pop-up charity restaurant model with student volunteers, directly comparable to Groningen in scale, donor mechanics, and operating constraints.
• Happietaria Wageningen: Another city chapter of the same Happietaria/Tearfund pop-up charity restaurant concept, operating in Wageningen with a student-volunteer model, sponsor-funded costs, and proceeds directed to Tearfund community development. The most direct operational and structural comparable to Happietaria Groningen, distinguished only by city and supporting student associations.
• Happietaria Rotterdam: Rotterdam's Happietaria chapter, which raised €28,458 in 2023. Same operational structure, target donor base, and Tearfund affiliation as Groningen — useful for benchmarking on scale and sponsorship strategy.
• Resto van Harte: Dutch non-profit that operates neighborhood restaurants serving affordable community meals with volunteer support. Closest external comparable: volunteer-staffed, mission-driven food service in the Netherlands with similar reliance on local sponsors and community goodwill, though operating more continuously than Happietaria's seasonal model.
• Happietaria Utrecht: Happietaria's Utrecht city chapter — same Tearfund-affiliated pop-up charity restaurant model, run by local student volunteers. Utrecht also operates on the same one-month seasonal basis with all proceeds going to Tearfund, making it one of the closest operational peers to Groningen.
• Happietaria Leiden: Leiden's Happietaria chapter raised €45,000 in 2024 for Tearfund's Syria agricultural rehabilitation work. Operates the same seasonal student-volunteer pop-up model and is one of the higher-performing comparable chapters.
• Happietaria Nijmegen: Nijmegen's Happietaria chapter, in its 14th edition in 2026 with a target of €25,000. Long-running and most-established peer, sharing the same operational playbook, volunteer structure, and Tearfund beneficiary pipeline as Happietaria Groningen.
• Happietaria Delft: Delft's Happietaria chapter, in its second edition in 2026 at Lijm & Cultuur. Operates the identical pop-up charity restaurant format with proceeds funding Tearfund peacebuilding projects, directly comparable to Groningen's community-development focus.

Emerging players

• Karma Kitchen: International pay-it-forward restaurant concept where meals are offered free and guests are invited to contribute to the next guest. Comparable to Happietaria in the volunteer-staffed, donation-driven, experience-plus-impact positioning, though operating as a more continuous restaurant rather than a one-month annual pop-up.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HappietariaGroningen
• Instagraminstagram.com/happietariagroningen/?hl=nl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/happietaria-groningen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Happietaria Groningen