Technopolis and Soupster join forces in unique restaurant collaboration – Soupster to develop Estonia’s biggest restaurant

Culinary experiences for employees will be a pivotal factor in attracting employees back to the office after Covid. Technopolis and Soupster aim to make lunch the high point of the workday with a unique international joint project in Estonia.

Technopolis and Finnish restaurant operator Soupster have agreed on a restaurant collaboration at the Technopolis Ülemiste campus in Tallinn. The new restaurant with its unique concept will open for customers in August.

The premium-quality restaurant will serve the nearly 12,000 employees in Ülemiste City. With seating for 400 customers, it will also be the biggest restaurant in Estonia. Soupster and Technopolis will closely monitor customer feedback and trends, and will continuously optimize the offering to meet the needs and price points of different customer segments.

“Our aim is to make the workplace lunch the high point of the workday. There is demand at the post-Covid workplace for high-quality culinary experiences that meet and adapt to customers’ needs. Soupster is an innovative and agile player in the restaurant and catering industry, which makes it the perfect match for Technopolis’ way of operating. We are extremely happy that Soupster’s first restaurant outside of Finland will open at our Ülemiste campus,” says Terhi Aho, Head of Concept Development at Technopolis.

Soupster has grown rapidly in recent years with a passion to expand abroad, although the Covid-19 pandemic put expansion plans on hold. Through the Ülemiste collaboration, Soupster and Technopolis will work in close collaboration to enter the Estonian restaurant market with a unique concept. As restaurants at campuses are an integral part of Technopolis’ offering, the collaboration allows Technopolis and Soupster to develop the service in the best way to support employees’ everyday work and meet customers’ evolving needs.

“We want to become the heart of Ülemiste City. To achieve this, we have to be agile and humble – to listen to customers and to improve continuously, not try to tell people what to eat. While we will bring high-quality, trendy cuisine to the workplace, a lot of our customers will seek traditional dishes, which we will also serve, using fresh, quality ingredients. Technopolis’ familiarity with the restaurant market in the Baltics and their long-term commitment to this collaboration provide us an excellent opportunity for success,” says Kim Heiniö, CEO of Soupster.

In addition to high quality and a broad offering, sustainability will be a top priority for Soupster in Ülemiste. The restaurant will be the first in Ülemiste City to offer discounted surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. The restaurant will favor local producers, strive to adhere to Zero Waste principles and monitor data on biowaste. In addition to workplace lunch, the restaurant will offer breakfast and coffee services as well as takeout dinner and catering services for the campus offices. Services are developed according to customer needs and feedback.

Ülemiste City is one of the largest business parks in Tallinn, located in the vicinity of the Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport and the Ülemiste railway station. Ülemiste is a Smart City with a range of services for almost 500 companies and nearly 12,000 employees. More than 100 events are organized in Ülemiste City every year. Technopolis is the leading workspace expert operating in Ülemiste City.

“During the pandemic, we’ve had the culinary opportunity to eat almost every dish imaginable from a box. I believe that people have had enough of this and are looking forward to returning to the lunch table with colleagues and friends. Soupster will end the long time of takeaway lunches at Ülemiste. We warmly welcome Soupster and believe that the restaurant will offer long-awaited options not only for employees at the campus but also other Tallinn residents thanks to its excellent location,” says Gert Jostov, CEO at Technopolis Ülemiste.

More information:

Terhi Aho
Head of Concept Development
Technopolis Holding Plc
+358 50 348 3904
terhi.aho@technopolis.fi

Kim Heiniö
CEO
Soupster Family
+358 40 544 4666
kim@soupster.com

Gert Jostov
CEO
Technopolis Ülemiste
+372 521 2344
gert.jostov@technopolis.ee