Yuppiechef.com
Private
Foundation2006
FounderAndrew Smith
Shane Dryden
LocationCape Town, South Africa
Area servedSouth Africa
OwnerMr Price Group
IndustryE-commerce
Retail
Num employees150+[citation needed]
Homepageyuppiechef.com

Yuppiechef is a South African retailer of kitchen and homeware products, based in Cape Town.[1]

Originally run from Smith's home, Yuppiechef was one of a few experimental e-commerce projects initiated by the co-founders, who were running a web development agency at the time. Initially, the first Yuppiechef deliveries were packed and shipped from Smith's lounge.[2]

In June 2008, Paul Galatis, a high school friend of Smith's, joined the company as its third partner and assumed the role of Marketing Director.[3]

In 2010 Yuppiechef won a gold Loerie and gained significant media attention through guerrilla marketing that made use of a national marketing campaign by retailer Woolworths called ‘Woolies Lovebirds’.[4][5][6][7] A misspelled URL on Woolworth's marketing material, allowed them to register the URL, and post a ransom note asking that Woolworths match any donations by Yuppiechef's customers to a local charity they supported at the time.

Known for including handwritten cards[8] with deliveries, Yuppiechef established and early presence in the South African e-commerce sector.[9] The company was named the best eCommerce store in South Africa annually from 2010 through 2015.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

Twelve years after starting its online store, Yuppiechef opened its first brick & mortar stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg.[16] In October 2017, the first of their physical retail stores was launched.[17] The company has subsequently opened two more stores in Cape Town.[18] Yuppiechef is now headquartered in Westlake Business Park, from where they also operate a store.

Yuppiechef was sold to major South African retail chain Mr Price Group in 2021, for an undisclosed amount.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Smith | Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans". Archive-za.com. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  2. ^ Barry, Hanna (2015-04-14). "What Yuppiechef can teach corporates about customer service". Moneyweb. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  3. ^ https://www.leader.co.za/article.aspx?s=6&f=1&a=5488
  4. ^ "Woolies campaign 'hijacked' | Sci-Tech | Sci-Tech | M&G". Mg.co.za. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  5. ^ Davis, Rebecca (2010-02-07). "Ambush marketers hold Woolworths to ransom, and get some lovin' in return". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  6. ^ "Adams & Adams Attorneys > Media Centre > News > Woolworths' lovebirds held for ransom". Adamsadams.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  7. ^ "eCommerce Contenders: The rise of Yuppiechef - MWEB Small Biz". Mweb.co.za. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  8. ^ Mills, Greg (2011-08-18). "Yuppiechef's recipe for customer growth". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  9. ^ Zeenat Moorad (2014-09-25). "YUPPIECHEF: Starting to sizzle nicely | Features". financialmail. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  10. ^ "How South Africa's top e-commerce store wins customer loyalty". Howwemadeitinafrica.com. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  11. ^ "2010 Winners". eCommerce Awards. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  12. ^ "2011 Winners". eCommerce Awards. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  13. ^ "2012 Winners". eCommerce Awards. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  14. ^ "2013 Winners". eCommerce Awards. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  15. ^ "2014 Winners". eCommerce Awards. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  16. ^ "This startling statistic shows why Yuppiechef is opening stores in malls". BusinessInsider. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  17. ^ "Yuppiechef is opening its first brick and mortar store next month". Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  18. ^ "About Yuppiechef's Physical Stores & Omnichannel Retail Strategy". www.yuppiechef.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  19. ^ "Mr Price purchase of Yuppiechef gets the go-ahead". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 2023-12-13.