Manifesto Market - Startup of the Year

Company: Manifesto Market, Prague, Czech Republic, Europe
Company Division/Group: Manifesto Holding
Company Description: Manifesto is a new generation food hub transforming ordinary and underutilized places into memorable experiences, offline and online. Manifesto creates curated, tech-enabled food halls and a viable gastronomic ecosystem for independent restaurants and ghost kitchens. Launched in Prague in 2018, Manifesto values sustainability by using reversible design and is 100% powered by renewable energy.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Startup of the Year - Business Services Industries

Nomination Title: Manifesto Market

Manifesto Market is a new generation food hub that is 100% powered by renewable energy, founded in 2018 by entrepreneur Martin Barry in Florenc, Prague. It is now experienced by 1.4 million visitors in a span of 6-7 months yearly, while Prague only has 1.3 million residents. With the mission to transform ordinary places into memorable experiences, Martin created an area for people to socialize and enjoy themselves in a sustainable way. What was once a pre-developmental no-go zone is now a booming tech-enabled hospitality center, lying at the intersection of food and beverage, real estate, technology, and culture. There are plenty of diverse food hubs, from established restaurants to ghost kitchens to street food stalls, to choose from. At Manifesto, one is to expect quality Czech beers, international cuisine to enjoy, and programs such as musical performances, summer cinema and even igloos in the winter.

Innovation has always been a value for Manifesto. The first location opened became the first place in the Czech Republic to be completely cashless, and even one of the first in Europe. Manifesto started as a team of 4 people and had recently expanded up to 70 in 2020.

In just a year of operation, Manifesto Market opened its second location in Smichov, Prague in summer 2019. The market grew from 27 to 42 rentable units. In the beginning of 2019, seed funding of 2.3 million was raised to grow the team, expand operation and develop technology/ digital products. Manifesto has created around 280 jobs since its start and has put on 400+ events as a gift to the community. Manifesto will open a 500-seat market in Prague later this year, and has a LOI signed for new locations outside of the Czech Republic, in Germany and Belgium.

Manifesto has been successful in its pandemic response. Manifesto rolled out a revolutionary marketplace delivery model that allowed customers to pick food from multiple kitchens in one bag. We observed that 78% of our customers combine food from at least 3 restaurants and 4 out of 5 customers order over 2 meals.

Since 2019, Manifesto has been recognized for its customer experience, sustainability, and unique architecture. It won awards such as MasterCard Retailer of the Year for Best customer experience and 2020 TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice. Recently, Manifesto competed as a finalist for the Internorga Future Award 2021 for hospitality brands making outstanding efforts at reducing their environmental footprint.

Manifesto was mentioned in 500+ articles, podcasts, and other media since 2019 such as FDI Intelligence, Eater, Forbes, and Monocle. Digital footprint is also something Manifesto has become very successful on, reaching around 31 million users in just a few years.

Competitors include brands that have been in the game for a long time - Eataly,TimeOut Market - as well as recent ghost kitchen chains. Manifesto places emphasis on pushing technology forward, its design, sustainability practices and its experience given to the consumer. Unlike dark kitchen chains, Manifesto is focused on the CX online and in-market and builds a direct emotional relationship with end customers.

During the pandemic, Manifesto increased net revenues by 5%, even as turnover dropped by 25%. Manifesto’s EBITDA doubled from 2019 to 40% in 2020. This was largely due to cost optimization resulting from technology driven property & tenant management, digitalization of labor force management and enhanced procurement process through detection of red flags. Manifesto leverages the power of being a love brand to get better conditions. Currently piloting the digital transformation of financial management, Manifesto will automate reporting and processing of revenues and expenses.

Manifesto became the only brand capable of binding orders from multiple restaurants in the marketplace in one bag. The model developed in record time of 4 weeks excelled on all major delivery platforms and became its USP. This was beneficial to the tenants, and their 100+ employees, who otherwise would have to shut down and lose their jobs- as they had in other locations. In fact, jobs were created through the pandemic by Manifesto, with 40+ people hired in 2020. Even the smallest sustainability practices have proved to be successful: by switching to glass, Manifesto saved 760,000+ single-use cups.

Essential links

Website of the Company: https://www.manifesto.city/
Website of the marketplace: https://www.manifestomarket.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/DuzooAzzr18

Appendix – Data and visuals https://www.dropbox.com/s/de3cud0lpxder4n/Manifesto%20Stevie%20International%20Business%20Award.pdf?dl=0

Social Media

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Manifesto.market/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/manifesto.market/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/manifesto-market
Crunchbase https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/manifesto-market

In the news
Monocle The Entrepreneurs reported on the genesis of Manifesto, and the covid response https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-entrepreneurs/484/play/
EU Startups: Top 10 promising startups to watch https://www.eu-startups.com/2021/03/10-promising-startups-from-the-czech-republic-to-watch-in-2021/
P-Three: Manifesto included as a new generation F-hub Report
https://www.p-three.co.uk/f-hubs-2021-report
Financial Times: Why cities are keen to taste the rich Manifesto's urban promise https://www.fdiintelligence.com/article/74620
Seznam: Food industry transformation - a case study of Manifesto's delivery, a year on the market https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/rok-covidu-ve-stravovani-od-vydejovych-okenek-k-virtualnim-restauracim-149539
The New York Times: A Prague food market spans the Globe
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/travel/manifesto-market-prague-review.html
Rockaway Capital Insider: Always ask harder questions than anyone Interview with the Founder https://www.rockawaycapital.com/en/2021/03/rockaway-insider-with-martin-barry-ceo-of-manifesto-market-always-ask-harder-questions-than-everyone-else/
Modern Restaurant Management: Manifesto records record revenue after reopening https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/return-to-revenue-manifesto-market-realizes-record-income-after-reopening/
Forbes: Manifesto expands to the opposite bank of the Vltava river https://forbes.cz/manifesto-se-rozsiruje-na-druhy-breh-k-narodnimu-domu-na-smichove/
Designboom: Martin Barry's Cultural markets expand https://www.designboom.com/architecture/manifesto-martin-barry-interview-cultural-markets-expand-11-03-2019/
Dezeen: Prague food market in shiny metal cabins https://www.dezeen.com/2019/11/03/chybik-kristof-manifesto-market-prague/
Czech Gastronomic Podcast: Founder Martin Barry about covid response, customer experience and impact-driven business vision https://open.spotify.com/episode/2j7AF1NzMQLFF5N6AOehh8?si=7ANTsPOSQjWc2dg01SVy8w
Vestbee Startups to watch https://www.vestbee.com/blog/articles/interesting-startups-from-czech-republic-to-watch
For more media please see https://www.manifesto.city/news