Peter Schatzberg is the founder and CEO of Sweetheart Kitchen. He helped Sweetheart Kitchen to grow to the position it is today. Furthermore, he works hard along with his team so that everyone in the UAE can enjoy delicious and great food at affordable rates. The Sweetheart Kitchen provides fast delivery, which makes them more praise-worthy.
Peter Schatzberg and his team are seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs who have high experience in their fields. From food making to delivery, their entire processes are smooth and reliable. The advanced technology and innovative cooking techniques make cooking faster and the food more delicious.
Let’s hear more about Sweetheart Kitchen in Peter’s words.
Explain the background of you and the company in detail.
Sweetheart Kitchen is a portfolio of 20 virtual food brands available for delivery only in the UAE and Kuwait on both Talabat and Zomato. The business is built on a proprietary tech stack that optimizes our procurement, production, and food assembly processes creating Supply Chain efficiencies (e.g., waste reduction, low menus prices, rapid prep times).
What are your goals?
We want to grow our business to 60 units in the GCC by 2022’s and be recognized in the region as having the best value for consumers in the food delivery domain.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?
We have a very talented and experienced team in the food delivery domain. Some of us have built various iterations of the virtual kitchen model on 3 different continents. Others are veterans from outside the food delivery industry and bring decades of Supply Chain, Legal, and Finance expertise to the team.
What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
The team has endured industry, startup, and geopolitical hurdles to achieve what has been built in such a short period of time. We possess a lot of fortitude and stamina and turn challenges into opportunities.
Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?
I did not become an entrepreneur to be the leader of a company. The opportunity to build a business in a foreign market was presented to me, and I saw it as a unique challenge to face in life’s journey.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Building an innovative business model in a foreign market that I have never even visited or developed relationships in has proven to be my greatest challenge when building this business. It is very rare for an entrepreneur first to launch and find a product to market fit in a country they have never been to before.
Peter Schatzberg, Give us one word that describes you the best.
Honorable
What makes you excited about Mondays?
Nothing. Every day is a working day.
What do you value most about your culture and vision?
Sweetheart Kitchen has over 400 employees from various countries, regions, and religions working together as a family with a common goal in mind. My values and integrity take precedent over our cultural differences, which I value most of all. The foundation for years of growth has been built.
Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
In 2020, our business struggled to grow order volume, gain margin and achieve strong platform KPIs (e.g., CTR). We made a pivot and started to emphasize “value for the consumer.” We removed underperforming brands, categories, and items while reducing prices to drive volume while allowing our COGS to increase significantly.
We were rewarded with much higher volume and achieved considerable price reductions from our vendors as we started to achieve procurement economies of scale. We continued to pass our savings onto the consumer and were rewarded with even more growth, improved margin, and great KPI performance.
What are the strategies of your company, and how do they stand unique from your competitors?
There are 3 pillars of our model that are unique compared to other virtual kitchen models. First, we build our brands ourselves, enabling us to make all decisions around product quality, process, discounting practices, and price without 3rd party involvement.
Second, we have a Supply Chain ERP and process flow designed exclusively for food delivery, and the optimization results in savings we pass to the customer.
Third, our procurement and production take place at the country level, giving us unique control over product quality as well as economies of scale in procurement, production, and product distribution.
What are the key values that helped you overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
Above all else, determination, perseverance, and patience were the most crucial values that helped me most overcome challenges. No incident, in particular, stands out as being memorable. However, I have found that nothing is more inspirational to a team than seeing its leader remain determined and undeterred through the most difficult circumstances.
Peter Schatzberg, How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
This business is just part of my journey through life, and I will inevitably leave the Middle East and return to my home. Under new leadership, I hope our company culture will endure and continue to grow. Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world? Our customers are getting a great product at a very affordable price. We offer a large variety of cuisines. Customers can enjoy Sweetheart Kitchen any day of the week, time of day, or area of the UAE, including Ajman, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
What services/solutions or products are offered by your company at par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?
We provide a plethora of cuisines to our customers so that they can enjoy deliciousness in every bite. Our services are spread across the UAE, and we provide cuisines at affordable rates. We aim to upgrade our business to 60 units in the GCC by 2022.
Website: https://www.byswhk.