LONDON
Cereal Killer founders Alan and Gary Keery didn’t expect their cafe to spark a protest but, undeterred, they’ve taken the brand from London to Dubai and the Middle East.
What inspired you to launch Cereal Killer?
Alan Keery: We were hung-over in Shoreditch and thought we just wanted to go for a nice cold bowl of cereal. After Googling “cereal cafe London” we discovered it didn’t exist and then we went home and started talking about what a cereal cafe would actually be like. We were getting so excited about it and thought, “If we’re getting this excited about it then surely other people will.” That was the moment we realised that we need to start this business.
What was your toughest challenge at the beginning?
Gary Keery: A lot of people thought it was terrible idea. I went on a small business course and got assigned a mentor who slated the whole business model and said: “No one will ever eat cereal after 10 o’clock, you’ll have to serve sandwiches”. We decided not to take his advice and it’s a good job that we did, because look where we are now.
What impact did the attack on your Brick Lane cafe last year by anti-gentrification activists have on your business?
Alan Keery: For the people who were in the cafe at the time it was very terrifying. The [protesters] said they weren’t intending to scare anybody but when you have people [wearing] masks and carrying torches it’s pretty intimidating. We had huge support from locals who said those people aren’t the voices of the community, and we had small businesses all over the UK sending us letters telling us we’re great.
Gary Keery: One of the reasons our story went viral at the start was because there were people that thought we were geniuses but others that hated us and were like “Look at what these hipsters twits are doing”, and they all shared that story. Because the story divided people, it made it go viral and that is what led to our success now.
People throw the word hipster around. But I grew a beard because I just couldn’t be bothered shaving anymore.
How do you feel about the hipster-bashing you get?
Gary Keery: We get called lots of things, hipsters, twits, geniuses, cringeworthy, inspirational. Whatever people want to call us, that’s fine.
Alan Keery: A lot of people throw the hipster word around and not in a nice way. It always seems to be used as a derogatory term for a young professional working in a creative business or an entrepreneur. People who want to look like hipsters will look like hipsters. But to be honest, I grew a beard six years ago because I just couldn’t be bothered shaving any more.
What’s been the reaction in Birmingham since you opened there last year?
Alan Keery: [The cafe] is in a good location in a shopping centre and we do get strange looks from people who walk past who haven’t quite figured out what we do, but there are cereal lovers all over the UK, so Birmingham is the perfect place for it. The reaction there has been great.
Cereal Killer cafe has launched across the Middle East (the cafe is now in Dubai, Kuwait and Jordan). How did that expansion come about?
Gary Keery: After we opened in London, a shaikh from Dubai was in our cafe and Snapchatted it and ever since then we started to get an influx of customers and requests from the Middle East. They don’t have that drinking culture over there the way we do, so places like our cafe would be the type that people would go to. We also have a cafe in Qatar opening in the next few months. You walk into one of our cafés over there and it feels like little bit of London in the Middle East.
What’s it like running a business with your twin?
Alan Keery: Being identical twins, that work, live and socialise together, it has its good and bad points. There have been times when we have almost drawn blood on each other, but being twins it’s all over very quickly and back to normal, something we couldn’t do with anyone else. We work well together, and most of the time agree on the same things — but we have the same vision and passion for the business, and that comes down to sharing DNA.
The biggest problem in the Middle East is that we can’t get Lucky Charms into it [the cereal contains gelatin and is not halal].
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt?
Gary Keery: One of the lessons I’ve learnt is about who to take advice from. You can’t always pay attention to everybody, you just need to follow your heart.
Alan Keery: I’ve learnt that the biggest problem in the Middle East is that we can’t get Lucky Charms into it because they’ve got pork gelatin in them. Everybody over there is always asking for Lucky Charms, but we can’t get it over to them.
What’s next for Cereal Killer?
Gary Keery: Since we opened internationally, a lot of people have taken notice of us. We’ve been in talks with people from most continents to spread the love of cereal and get Cereal Killer cafe into a few more countries.
Alan Keery: We’re not going to be everywhere. We’re never going to be a Starbucks. Our brand is a fun, exciting experience and makes you feel like a kid again. Cereal was locked behind closed doors in kitchens before, but now we are putting it out there for everyone to enjoy.
