Philip Christiaans – Brownies&downieS

Philip Christiaans is Formula Manager at Brownies&downieS, a lunchroom chain in the Netherlands and Belgium that accommodates employees with intellectual disabilities. As Formula Manager, Philip has been responsible for the growth of the chain for the past 8 years. Helping set up new locations, but also the growth within the organisation when it comes to strategic-, operational-, and commercial decisions. For the past 2 years, Philip has also worked as a coach, acting as a sparring partner for the entrepreneurs running the franchises. As of 1 September 2022, Brownies&downieS will be part of Albron, the largest independent food service organisation in the Netherlands.

In the past year, the chain has focused more on marketing and content. Everything is made in-house, and expertise in content, branding and management has been combined. Philip: “We were in the cockpit of a plane that took off very quickly, with a lot of turbulence, but now we are in more stable waters.”

satisfaction as the main driver

Brownies&downieS’ most important KPI for growth is the satisfaction of its entrepreneurs: “If an entrepreneur calls with an idea or problem, we must respond effectively and adequately. We monitor the satisfaction regularly and are conducting another study in September. In addition, we look at various commercial and culinary facets, and at the interaction on social media. We have a central marketing policy on a national level, but a decentralised policy on a local level. We chose this approach because, for each location, the employees play a key role. If we start doing nationwide directed marketing, a post with an employee taking their first order is not going to have the same impact as if that employee worked in your local Brownies&downieS. You lose that local connection.”

local marketing approach

“In addition, we find the feedback from guests very important,” Philip continues. “Our hospitality and atmosphere always receive a 9 or 10, but we also heard that we should do more fun promotions. That is why we started a loyalty programme in 2021. For every euro spend, you get a point, which you can use to save for rewards. It allows us to create a local database where we can generate specific activities. If Veghel organises a bingo night, we send a newsletter to the local guests. Unless something is national news, we deploy it on a local level. We are not an organisation that gives specific KPIs on marketing because we have a centralised policy on decentralised social media. It is about whether the entrepreneur is satisfied and we see and monitor good developments.”

“If the employees are fans of the company, they pass it on to the customer. At Brownies&downieS, our guests truly experience that unique brand feel.”

brownies&downies: a unique brand feel

According to Philip, the most crucial ingredient for growth is the concept: “All strong brands are born from a certain philosophy, and it starts with a strong concept. The second ingredient is telling a transparent and honest story. We have always said that we are a commercial company. We don’t depend on subsidies, but we do receive them. We invest back into care, but we are profitable. It is a very transparent story. The third ingredient is the impression you make, and the feeling people get. Until 2017, we had more of a snack bar look. We had a logo and a colour scheme, and that was it. We switched things around, an example is our menu booklet. Every hospitality concept says that you are entering their living room, but when you visit us, you actually are. People sit in a living room when they have a bit more time. At Brownies&downieS, you don’t come to eat a sandwich for a quarter of an hour. You take your time, and our menu booklet reflects that. It not only contains the menu, but every category, from drinks to sweets to lunch, has a picture of one of our employees. It contains stories, a quiz, and a colouring sheet. They are minute details, but it is about the impact you give to a brand, and we play into that favourable factor that we have. We operate from a fan strategy, which starts intrinsically. If the employees are fans of the company they work for, they pass it on to the customer. At Brownies&downieS, our guests truly get to experience that unique brand feel.”

“The catering industry is the most beautiful in the world. When people walk into your restaurant, you know they are going to spend money. You don’t get that in any other line of work.”

three key moments of truth

When it comes to the Moment of Truth, Philip identifies three key moments; entering the lunchroom, the drink, and the food. Philip: “When you enter one of our locations, how are you received? The catering industry is the most beautiful in the world. When people walk into your restaurant, you know they are going to spend money. You don’t get that in any other line of work. The second moment is the presentation of your drink. If you order a cup of coffee, you get a tray. Next to your coffee, you get a brownie, whipped cream, and a small liqueur. The tray is twofold, it is different from your standard coffee with a biscuit, but it is also easier for our staff to walk around with. The third moment is the food. People like to visit us because of the goodwill factor, we all want to do good and help others. If you then exceed that expectation by also having amazing food, that is when you have a unique hospitality experience. As an entrepreneur, you also have many moments of truth. Looking back, we have created several beautiful moments with a great deal of attention, but at other times, it just about went our way. You can make a nice video, but you don’t know how it will do. The moment of truth is also having a bit of luck that things work out at the right time.”

“The moment of truth is also having a bit of luck that things work out at the right time.”

providing a place to learn

When it comes to influencing these moments, Philip shares how the entrepreneurs are free in their operational management: “Of course, there are guidelines, and we have care colleagues who combine this operationally with how it should be organised in terms of care. But to me, those documents are dynamic. If an entrepreneur thinks that a certain approach is better and he can justify it, then he can. A good example is the Academy. People with intellectual disabilities go to school, follow an internship when they are 16, but their school career is over at 18. It is crazy how the people who need education the most, are given the least. We are not going to solve this with our academy, but we can offer our 1200 employees a place where they can continue to learn. Think of work-related training, social manners, but also leisure in the form of dating evenings for people with a disability, and parties. Taking that responsibility is important. We also steer this with the entrepreneurs. I find that more important than sales training. Of course, we look at data to try and stimulate sales, but it must always be in good harmony with the workability of the employee.”

“It is crazy how the people who need education the most, are given the least.”

creativity vs data

Philip shares how the company is working towards becoming more data-driven: “3 years ago, we made every decision on gut feeling. We started putting our sales data into power bi to see which products were performing well, and which were not. By adding menu engineering and making more calculations with real-life connections to suppliers, we can now monitor the margin continuously. The goal is for entrepreneurs to see their turnover at a glance, and how they are doing concerning KPIs. On the marketing side, we collect data on a local level with the loyalty programme. We are less concerned with data-driven marketing decisions than we are with data on an operational- and commercial level. But data is becoming more important, and we will make that connection to marketing in the coming years. However, the most important thing is that we can continue to react quickly. We will always keep that freedom and creativity. If marketers argue every decision with data, you get data marketers, and I want people with a passion for the brand. You might miss the mark sometimes, but that is also part of the job.”