Since the idea was cooked up in 2011 by four school friends on a rooftop in London, Burger & Lobster has become a dining favourite in the UK capital.
The idea behind Burger & Lobster is to focus on two main ingredients, perfecting them to the absolute best they can without any other distractions. Today, Burger & Lobster has nine restaurants in London, two in both Singapore and New York plus five franchise sites across Europe. Plans to open sites in Europe and Asia are in play, but in the meantime the Burger & Lobster team explain how its partnership with Sybron has completely removed any issues and ‘distractions’ with their cleaning and hygiene requirements.
“Simplicity is at the core of Burger & Lobster,” explains Dino Sura, Managing Director of Burger & Lobster. “Simplicity with respect to quality food and service. To do this we need partners who don’t have issues but who run like clockwork, and are honest and transparent.”
Finding the right partner
Following a supplier review, Burger & Lobster began working with Hygiene Service Partner Sybron – based at Crammond Park in Harlow, Essex – in September 2020. “When reviewing our suppliers we wanted to improve the quality of the cleaning products, but the service and price were key factors. The environmental aspect of Sybron’s products was a huge benefit and the other aspect was ‘are we saving money?’ – which we are!,” adds Dino.
“But, it was the humbleness from Sybron that we especially liked and their ethical and sustainability ethos. They are a family operated company like we are, and although we might not be related, we feel we are connected. Sybron shares a philosophy with Burger & Lobster that ensures all the team feel a part of the company, and that alignment was key for us.”
Beyond the normal standard practice
“Sybron is the only supplier to tell us that prices have gone down,” continues Dino. “Normally, when I get emails from suppliers it is nothing but price increases – that feels like it is standard industry practice. But not in the case of Sybron. So much so that I had to share one of their monthly updates on social media which informed us of price decreases and further reductions to be passed onto us the customer.”
George Mason from Sybron adds, “The positive feedback we’ve received about our monthly industry updates reassures us that we are doing right by our customers. As our market shows signs of stability, our team is working extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure that falling prices are passed on — something I believe contributes to the long-lasting partnerships we build with our customers. This is a very challenging time for the hospitality industry and I’m pleased we’re able to help where we can and hopefully set an example for others to follow.”
Innovation for sustainability and efficiency
Sybron provides cleaning and hygiene products to the nine London restaurants including its innovative SyBio range which replaces harmful, non-renewable chemicals with adaptive technology that cleans, disinfects and protects surfaces. All the restaurants also recently began using Sybron’s new SySoft bamboo toilet tissue following a trial at the Soho venue.
Bamboo is the single fastest growing plant on the planet and at 3-5 years old it is 30 times faster growing than trees. It generates 38% more oxygen and removes more carbon dioxide from the air than trees.
For Burger & Lobster there are more benefits with SySoft bamboo toilet paper. Agi Zawadka, Operations Director adds, “SySoft toilet tissue is thinner therefore reducing blockages and it’s plastic free packaging meant we were reducing our plastic waste – which is crucial for us. The delivery of all items from Sybron are spot on with no issues or problems for us to deal with.”
A transparent approach builds growth
“If there was an issue with Sybron then I would know about it at the weekly Tuesday team meeting, but in all the time we have been partnering Sybron, no issue has come up,” adds Dino. “Communication is very strong with Sybron. They are very open with everyone in our business and make it easy to contact them. They even started a WhatsApp group with the head chefs so they can easily converse with a dedicated Sybron contact without disruption to the busy kitchens.”
Head Chef at the Threadneedle restaurant, Ahmed Oubaha adds, “Sybron is part of the Burger & Lobster family and has consistently been available and responsive in addressing our needs. Their support has been essential in ensuring reliable deliveries and price updates particularly during challenging times including valuable assistance in overcoming operational hurdles.
“Sybron’s services and products have greatly benefitted our team and restaurant. The Sybron products are easy to use, saving us time and effort in daily operations. They also contribute to maintaining a hygienic environment, making it easier for our restaurant to meet cleanliness standards without exceeding our budget.”
The Service and the team
Commenting on how the successful partnership works, Dino explains:, “This partnership slots directly into the two aspects that are top of our CEO’s agenda: the service and the team. Simply put, if we look after our team then everything else will flow through. We empower our teams to make their own decisions but we need to ensure we give them the right suppliers to help.
“Sybron really help us to deliver our own agenda by looking after our team and we cannot fault their pro-active approach particularly with problem solving. One such challenge was to provide the Soho restaurant with new specific products for its first opening after refurbishment. By mistake, we made our order for high quality soap for the washrooms at the last minute on the Friday night, and everything we needed was delivered Monday morning with no issues or delays.
“Sybron is a partner who really put themselves out there by communicating directly with the general managers and head chefs of each restaurant. By building these relationships, Sybron is now so in tune with each restaurant’s service requirements and calendar of events and keep us up to date with any product changes, changes in order dates and prices, and planning around events and holidays.”
Growth is in motion
With its growth in motion, Burger & Lobster’s plans are to remain specialists by not expanding too far, and by continuing to challenge themselves. “We continue to reflect on the culture of the business and one of our challenges this year – apart from the restaurant refurbishments – is to challenge our team to determine our culture after 12 years in business. We asked them how they feel so we can gauge the motivation and positivity and how we can support all our teams going forward.
“Our partners are very central to this, and Sybron has embedded themselves right into the heart of Burger & Lobster and we are completely confident in their partnership, transparency and support as we move forward to our next milestones.”