Bologna-born Indegno has ambitions to share its authentic Italian street food offering in locations across the UK, after launching in Shoreditch this month.
The brand specialises in the Crescentina – a traditional, dish consisting of fried dough that comes filled with authentic Italian ingredients, including mortadella sausage made in Bologna, grilled porchetta, and melted scamorza cheese.
Co-founder Andrea Liotta tells MCA that London has always been the next step for the brand, after growing the brand to three sites in Italy over the last four years.
Indegno has seen strong trading despite the impact of the pandemic, with turnover having grown 187% year-on-year in 2022.
Alongside a personal affinity with the city, Liotta sees a gap in the market for the Italian street food concept.
“Market wise, we are the only ones selling Crescentinas to go. I think actually we are the only brand selling this concept outside of Italy,” says Liotta.
Indegno partner Federico Benatti adds, “This is definitely a test.
“Given the success of the product in Italy, if we had that certainty about London, we would have started with multiple openings.
“We still need that confirmation about the product being appreciated as much as it is in Italy.”
Rallied by the challenge of introducing a new concept to the British tastebuds, the pair have one ambition, to make the UK “fall in love” with the Crescentina.
“We’re spearheading the modernization of Italian street food, which is lesser known on an international scale”, says Benatti.
“It’s a gamble because this is not the usual pizza or pasta that you think about when you think about Italy.”
Long term, Indegno has ambitions to expand its footprint and is considering locations including Manchester, Liverpool, alongside further openings in London, including Camden.
Eventually, the brand will “expand our horizons” to include other countries in the EU, however the UK is its firm focus for initial expansion.
“We’re definitely focused on the UK right now”, Benatti adds.
Speaking about challenges in bringing the concept to an international market, Liotta says that Brexit was a “huge hurdle” to overcome.
“In terms of even having a store manager at the store that can legally work here. That was a huge process.”
“The import, export side of it, was also surprisingly hard to put in place.”
The brand’s UK food offering largely mirrors its Italian counterparts with key ingredients imported from its home country.
There are early-stage plans to bring some culinary “fusion” to the offering, Liotta says, with conversations around introducing the flavours of British staples such as the English breakfast.
Choosing Brick Lane as the brand’s inaugural location was an easy decision he adds, with some synergies between Indegno’s Bolognese neighbourhoods and the “trendy” Shoreditch.
The brand was also drawn in by the consistent footfall in the area, adding “it’s also one of the few areas, where you can find places that are open even after midnight.”
Indegno plans to capitalise on a late-night consumer in Shoreditch and is seeking a 2am license for the property, in line with the popular day parts at its Italian sites.
Liotta says he hopes to maintain the warm welcome of Indegno’s heritage in Shoreditch.
“We want people that come to us, to experience what it’s like to be in Bologna.”
“The staff that we have, they’ve shown so much initiative and are passionate about what we do,” adds Benatti.
