Pokawa, poke bowls and good vibes, a winning gamble being exported abroad!

Pokawa, the world’s most followed poke bowl brand on Instagram, has won the 2022 edition of the Les révélations de la Franchise competition. Co-founded in the summer of 2017 by Maxime Buhler (SKEMA 2018) and Samuel Carré (SKEMA 2017), it is also the first healthy-food chain to have brought the French these small rice salads topped with a mix of diced fruit, vegetables and fish. Maxime Bulher talked to us about this French success story inspired by the Hawaiian culinary tradition.  

How did your brand Pokawa come about?  

The idea for Pokawa came to us six years ago, after several trips with my business partner, Samuel Carré. We’d discovered these incredible poke bowls at a surf spot in Peru. We ate one for lunch every day. Back in France, they were impossible to find. So we started to come up with some recipes and to gather inspiration from what others were doing in the United States, especially in Los Angeles, with the idea of going into business together.

What are the Pokawa values?  

The most important Pokawa value is generosity. From the outset, we have put a large quantity of food in our meals. The first year, we made practically no profit. Our goal was first to introduce people to poke bowls and then build up a loyal customer base. Today, we try to take each person that comes through our door on an instant journey. The idea is to offer a break from the daily grind. We play with the decor and the customer service. Our employees are relaxed and cheerful when dealing with customers and they get to know our regulars. The restaurants are made of wood and decorated with exotic murals by Leona Rose. 

Poke bowls are Hawaiian. How do you explain their success in France?  

My business partner and I have grown up in the digital age. We know how to get the most out of social media. Pokawa started as a poke bowl delivery service. We had to be good at marketing. We delivered free food to some influencers, who very quickly spread the word. And besides that, from a more “technical” aspect, there was the delivery element. When Samuel and I were students, we worked in the evenings as bike messengers. So we knew the best practices for delivery, i.e. how to prepare the food, how much to sell it for, what areas to cover, etc. This helped us win market shares and get the brand known. To this day still, delivery makes up more than half of our turnover.

Pokawa is the world’s most followed poke bowl chain on Instagram. Is this the key to your success?  

I think social media is a brand’s first storefront. Customers now go on Instagram or TikTok to look for information about brands. We’re evaluated in two seconds flat, based on our number of followers. If we have a lot, the new customer is reassured and equates this with quality and a place they absolutely have to try.

You won the 2022 edition of the Les révélations de la Franchise competition. What sets your chain apart?  

I imagine that we won because we offer a profitable concept for a low outlay. We don’t need extraction. We cost practically three times less than a Pitaya or similar. The return on investment is very rapid – we are at less than two years. And there are very few franchises offering this. 

Pokawa also sells innovative and high-quality food options that cater to the expectations of today’s consumers. All of our ingredients are fresh and we try to keep to seasonal and local produce. We collaborate with very well-known chefs and influencers to boost our brand.  

In what ways is Pokawa an eco-friendly brand?  

We have introduced reusable packaging and are looking into other alternatives. By buying a bowl, our customers can receive discounts on their next visits. We’re also going to be selling water bottles that can be filled with filtered water for free. We’re testing these improvements in several cities. In Lyon, we collect all organic waste and make wallets or crockery from it. Fish skin, especially from salmon, can be made into leather. In Nantes, we also have an association that comes to collect our waste to turn it into fertiliser. We try to be as eco-friendly as possible to have a better impact on our planet. We’ve started to look into the possibility of using trout instead of salmon.

We’re also trying to reduce our avocado consumption despite how popular this ingredient is. It’s a matter of strategy. If we suddenly remove avocado from our menus, we’re going to lose a lot of customers and that is not an option. We have to gradually find alternatives. We want to use in-season ingredients, use a majority of French produce, and reduce our carbon footprint. 

How is your concept being exported overseas?  

We’re pretty draconian in our monitoring of franchisees and we spend time helping them manage their poke bar(s). We oversee these franchises by supporting them. As soon as a restaurant’s turnover drops, we call the franchisee and rectify the situation. It’s important to us that they’re profitable and satisfied with their partnership with Pokawa. We’ve locked in all aspects to ensure the franchise is a success. We have a long-term vision. We want Pokawa to become the world’s top healthy food brand. This can’t happen in just three or four years. 

Anyone interested in working with Pokawa can check if there is demand for poke bowls locally, wherever they are in the world. If there is, they can contact me directly to discuss possibly setting up a franchise. Since winning the first prize at the Révélations de la Franchise 2022, we have received a lot of queries. There are still some great areas up for grabs. We prefer to have ten franchisees with five poke bars each rather than 50 different franchisees, because to us it’s important that our franchisees are able to develop other outlets and contribute to our expansion plans. I recommend not waiting too long to contact us, because queries are coming in thick and fast.

In which countries can Pokawa restaurants be found?  

For the time being, we’re in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and even Medellin in Colombia. This year we’re going to be opening up in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. We offer options that are specific to each country. For example, in Belgium we have a franchisee who will be selling franchises himself, as he has already been successful at this for other chains. In Switzerland, it’s a franchisee who already owns other franchises like Five Guys. We have complete faith in him. In Spain and Portugal, we’re opening our first restaurant. We’re open to negotiating with major local players wanting to develop them.

In which part of the world is the concept most popular?  

In France, our poke bars in the major cities are the best performers. Big cities like Lille and Nantes have a fast-food culture that is quite incredible. And in my opinion, our poke bowls should do well in warm countries. But I do think that the success of a Pokawa poke bar hinges a lot on the operator. We offer fresh products and an innovative brand that is followed on socials. The final make-or-break element is the operator.  

What are your next plans for international expansion?  

Soon we will be trying to establish ourselves in Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Dubai, and Germany. Basically, anywhere where there is purchasing power. For the moment, all of our restaurants are profitable. We’re proud of this, and Pokawa is only just starting out on the international scene.

Contact: Maxime Buhler, Co-founder of Pokawa

Interview by Anne-Claire Voss for SKEMA Alumni