Operator profile: Ole & Steen

Helen Hyland, senior growth marketing manager for Ole & Steen, talks Danish baking, rapid growth and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary with Genna Ash-Brown...

Carrot rye, gateau marcel, jam spandauer – just a few of the many and marvellous bakes one can find on the counter at Ole & Steen. It all started in Copenhagen in 1991, when third-generation baker Ole Kristoffersen opened a bakery with his girlfriend Jane, in a building known as Lagkagehuset (Danish for ‘layer cake house’).

One year later, in Jutland, West Denmark – a region that separates the North and Baltic Sea – Steen Skallebaek opened his first business, where he soon became well-known for his irresistible Rugbrød and Rundstykker (Danish rye breads and small rolls). The two bakeries, both alike in dignity, joined forces in 2008, the pursuit of quality and craftmanship causing their stars to align.

“Their first Lagkagehuset bakery was on Torvegade by Christianshavns Torvs, Copenhagen,” says Helen Hyland, senior growth marketing manager for Ole & Steen’s UK arm. “Now, with over 100 stores in Denmark alone, Lagkagehuset is a household name and stands as the embodiment of premium bakery.”

December 2016 saw the duo debut in the UK under the name Ole & Steen, settling on Haymarket, in the St James’s area of London, as their first destination. Fast-forward to today and the brand has branches in sought-after locations across the capital.

“Our clientele varies due to our locations,” notes Helen. “We have bakeries in the city, such as Canary Wharf and London Wall, which attract a working breakfast and lunch audience. Bakeries in more tourist-centric hotspots, such as Piccadilly, help us reach a visiting audience, although these also attract nearby office workers.”

In the heart of the city’s business district, the group’s Canary Wharf outpost, located at Jubliee Place, recently ushered in the group’s new grab-and-go concept. Catering to the high-traffic commuter area, its introduction brings speed and convenience to passers-by, offering an assortment of freshly baked pastries, cakes, breakfasts and lunches, pre-packed for those seeking their daily dose of hygge while on the move.  

Outside of the capital, the group has a presence in the likes of Windsor, Guildford, Richmond and Oxford. “We’ve also built and developed a new, state-of-the-art bakery in Leyton that will allow further growth in the UK,” says Helen. “This will enable the brand to deliver up to 80 sites.”

It took just two years for the company to double its estate here in Blighty, and with Hyland playing a key role in facilitating the group’s new launches, she could soon be eyeing up a potential opening in a town near you. “Our bakeries in the suburbs or outside of the M25 have much more of a family audience, but we find all our locations typically have good footfall. Because of this we have a diverse mix of customers, but they all share a love for a premium experience and quality food. The typical Ole & Steen customer tends to be, or have aspirations to be, affluent, with a curiosity for other cuisines and cultures.”

Any sweet-toothed wanderer with a hankering for Danish fare will do well at Ole & Steen. With the majority of its range being Danish-inspired, made with top-notch native ingredients and using traditional Danish techniques, these bakes are about as authentic as you can get outside of the country itself.

“Our recipes have been perfected over generations to make sure our breads and pastries are a cut above, using few, real ingredients – no ultra-processed – and long-fermentation, which is a particularly Danish or Scandinavian way of baking,” says Helen.

Techniques such as lamination are also long-standing in Denmark, she explains, and give the brand’s signature Danish pastries their ultimate flake.

“Our breads are typically Danish,” Helen chimes. “Rye has been the Dane’s ‘daily bread’ for over 1,000 years. We sell this by the loaf, but it also forms the base for our new autumn menu – it includes the open rye sandwiches [Smørrebrød], which is a classic Danish lunch.”

The Social is the brand’s best-seller. Designed to be shared, the bake serves seven in its entirety, but can also be bought as a half or served by the slice. “Although this is sold in our Danish bakeries, it has become an item we’re renowned for here in the UK – especially our Cinnamon Social,” Helen explains. “The recipe consists of a braided, sweet, soft-dough pastry, filled with vanilla custard, cinnamon paste and an icing topping. We launched our first Vegan Social in January – customers often find it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two!”

Ole & Steen is a brand with big ideas and even bigger aspirations ­– a desire to become the “world’s most-loved bakery” being one. To bring the ambition to life, outposts across Denmark, the UK and elsewhere must live by three key values, the first of which involves leading with the heart. “We are heart-made,” says Helen. “We believe that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly. So, whether that’s recipe development, our hospitality or sustainability initiatives, we put our hearts into it.”

The second is all about staying true to the brand, which, for Ole & Steen, means being both rustic and refined. “We do the simple things really well,” Helen adds. “We take rustic recipes and make them unforgettably delicious. We create beautifully designed spaces using long-lasting materials and deliver Danish hospitality, which is genuine and down-to-earth.”

The third and final value – to make the ‘everyday’ special – is, arguably, the most impacful. It is, after all, the ability to offer a product, service and experience unique that drives repeat custom from loyal clientele. This is something the Ole & Steen team is careful not to take for granted. As Helen concludes: “We look for the extraordinary in the ordinary and want our customers to feel special.”

And is the business of hospitality, is there any greater cause?

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