Rajissimo - Homemade ice cream all year round

Rajissimo is an ice cream shop that cares about the good ice cream. They take pride in making the ice cream ourselves, we have therefore visited them, for a talk about making ice cream, doing business, and finding the right pace to develop. 

A happy collaboration

We are pleased to be able to tell about Nader, and share his story, which, despite opposition from childhood, today operates a well-functioning and successful chain. We got to know Nader and Rajissimo a few years ago when he approached Qred for the first time. Since then, he has used our loans when development is happening fast and he wants a buffer, or the bailouts have been waiting for him. 

Motivation

Rajissimo started in 2005, with a desire to give the ice-eating consumer a better experience than the ice cream you just have to take the lid off. The first store opened in Nygade and has since grown at rocket speed up to today 8 stores. 

His interest in ice cream started even when he was a teenager, and has since only grown. As a child, he got the interest in making money. He grew up with his mother who could not Danish and 4 siblings, he therefore began to collect bottles and sell Christmas cards to contribute to the family's income.

Later, he sold some of his toys, and the dream of making money was created.  Alongside school, he worked part-time in an ice cream parloin, and when paradise came to light, he believed that it could be done better, and thus the idea of being an entrepreneur and the dream of a Ferrari was created.  He set himself a goal that at 25 he would have bought his first Ferrari, and he succeeded. At the age of 24, Nader went out and bought his first and currently his only Ferrari. It taught him that it may not necessarily just make it all more fun to drive around in an expensive car, it was therefore swapped out, and the money was instead invested in further developing the company and concept.

Can you sell ice cream in winter?

There is an ongoing development, because the stores are open 365 days a year, and it is rarely ice that has the greatest demand in winter when we are running around with mitts and large scarves. Therefore, one day the idea came he was sitting in a nearby café on a winter's day. He sat with a friend and drank a cup of coffee, while he was struck by the sweet smell of burnt almonds. There he decided that he would acquire a station to make burnt almonds, and triple his daily turnover in the cold winter days. Since then, Churros has also joined in to warm up the busy guests. 

The right pace

Today Nader has 8 stores, primarily in Copenhagen, and one in Odense. It also means that Nader today has a store manager in each store who is a full-time employee, otherwise it is primarily part-time employees, his employees range widely both in the amount of hours and in age. Here they range from the 14-year-olds who come by for an hour or two after school, and up to 60-year-olds who contribute stable labour and from whom he enjoys being able to learn new things every day. 

In addition, the chain consists of an employee who saves and helps the various store manager, so there is always a place to go if questions or doubts arise. 

It also means that Nader can focus on what he likes, thinking ahead, innovating and developing his concept. 

After a few years of going fast, he has now also learned that it can go too fast, especially when it comes to being in control of the quality and taste. He has tried bubbletea, but chose to pull the product out of stores again, only to have the products that he is passionate about. 

So today, when accounting and other administrative tasks are over, he enjoys being able to regenerate ideas and try out new tastes. 

As we sat and talked, I wondered how he got the idea for the different flavors Nader was preprinting. He stated that he goes for a walk in nature, a trip down through copenhagen, or a trip out to eat, and here he gets the inspiration for which taste he will otherwise test. 

But no matter how many different flavors he has tried out, the classic strawberry and vanilla ice cream is still the biggest hit among customers. 

As Nader has become an increasingly experienced entrepreneur, he has learned along the way that despite there being something he doesn't think is funny as accounting, it must continue to be looked after, and it does not help to postpone it. Likewise, he has learned the power of outmanicing, and knowing his own boundaries. The managers have thus also been hired because Nader is not passionate about having to go and control the day-to-day operations, but instead loves to come out and talk and say hello to his employees. There is therefore also great expectation that the company will continue to grow, is that it is necessary to have an operating person who is passionate about day-to-day operations, so that he himself can free up some time and effort to focus on the next step. He has therefore decided to slow down to get a handle on the daily things. Improvements and development of the existing one, even if it is difficult not to jump into the possibilities when there are interesting rooms available. 

A piece of advice

Nader says if you're going to be an entrepreneur, you have to get into it. It's perfectly okay not to have a full customer analysis, you learn it. As long as you are flexible so that you can develop your business in line with customer demand. 

The ice needs to go even further beyond national borders

In recent years, the good publicity of Rajissimo has also reached abroad, where several of the major travel blogs have recommended the store in Nyhavn as a go to if you are in Copenhagen.

And we look forward to following Rajissimo on the progress towards the dream of abroad. 

If you want to read more about Rajissimo, or see where you can find them, please visit their website here!