Gjøse says Pink Fish, which has been designed by Portland Design in London, was ‘travelised’ from the start. “Airports are ideal locations alongside busy high streets and shopping malls,” he says.

“Research shows that people on the move are hungry for healthier options without compromising on quality or taste, which we are more than happy to provide in the form of fresh and contemporary Norwegian salmon dishes with flavours from all over the world.”

In the following Q&A, Gjøse details how the concept came about and what makes it so exciting, and reveals why Pink Fish is so timely in an evolving airport food & beverage channel.

Pink Fish has a very exciting story that has shaped our concept from the start. Co-Founder and Chef Geir Skeie is passionate about Norwegian seafood – arguably the best seafood in the world. He had founded three successful seafood restaurants already, but had this dream about a concept that would allow him to show all the delicious flavours you can create with seafood to the world.

By chance, we were introduced, and sat down with our third partner Svein Sandvik. It was instant magic. We quickly saw that we’d like to make something down to earth, something that was scalable and easily accessible, and that a fine dining/casual restaurant was not the way to go.

After pairing up with Portland Design, who’ve been involved from the beginning, the fast-casual concept Pink Fish was born. We’ve chosen to focus on Norwegian salmon, as it is already renowned for its superior quality all over the world. It is also easy to source all year, all over the world at consistent quality which is very important for delivering the same Pink Fish quality in any restaurant in any market at any given time.

Pink Fish is thoughtfully designed, with bright colours and a clean Nordic feel. It has many distinctive features that pop out and are immediately recognisable as Pink Fish. We use an icon inspired by a salmon head (or tail – depending on how you look at it) in all communication, and have it featured prominently in each restaurant. We only use digital menus, with high visibility to showcase our delicious food and to communicate differently through the meal day.

Our menu is inspired by Geir’s travels around the world. Our burgers, salads, wraps, hot pots and raw bowls each have one American, one European and one Asian flavour. In this way, we can serve a wide variety of flavours in a way that is easy to communicate, and we can showcase all the different tastes we can add to the hero product, the Norwegian salmon.

Geir’s goal is to showcase the excellent quality Norwegian salmon to the world, and for us, the best way to do that is to show how easy it is to use salmon in dishes you may already know and love, but haven’t really thought of as a match for salmon. To accomplish this, we’re sharing our recipes openly, both in our restaurants and online to allow our customers to cook their favourite Pink Fish meal at home. By doing this, we’re also showing just how easy it is to cook great quality, tasty food from scratch.

Fast casual and fast food concepts within seafood are extremely underdeveloped, and Pink Fish really offers something unique. We deliver high quality food, in compostable and environmentally-friendly packaging. Speed of service is extremely high and the concept is ‘future ready’ – meaning we are delivering on our customers’ needs, both physical and digital.

We’re working towards a goal that in ten years Pink Fish will be a well-known brand in the world. We’ve said that we want to open 1,000 restaurants internationally; but who knows – it may be many more! We are in dialogue with different potential joint venture and franchisee partners, and our first international restaurant will open in Asia in the first quarter of next year. We have already set up support offices in both Singapore and China, and they will support our growth and operations in those markets.

Absolutely. Pink Fish is designed to operate at high street locations with high footfall, urban shopping malls and traffic locations such as railway stations and airports.

The travel food & beverage channel has many exciting opportunities, and it seems travellers are becoming more interested in more varieties. They are seeking more quality and healthier options, without compromising on flavour and quality.

Pink Fish was ‘travelised’ from the start, and both my experience in operating at airports for over ten years and Portland’s insight in this channel mean that there are many thoughtful details featured. These include power outlets at every table and custom-made tables to offer easy access and make it easier to fit luggage. Also, as a fast casual concept we deliver premium quality food quickly, which is important for people on the go.

Portland Design have been crucial to development of Pink Fish. We’ve worked closely with [Managing Director] Ibrahim Ibrahim, [Director of Environments] Lewis Allen and the whole Portland team from idea to concept realisation. Needless to say, their expertise in travel-oriented brands together with our experience and vision has contributed to the excellent fit Pink Fish is for travel locations.

I believe it’s a bit of both. Research shows that travellers are increasingly interested in quality and healthier options, and a wider variety of brands. However, it’s difficult to make those choices when only traditional brands are on offer and burgers, pizzas and sandwiches are all over the place.

When new, exciting brands become available in travel locations, it will greatly impact the way travellers eat, and the wider range of options will definitely drive a change in behaviour. We’re happy to see that we’re not alone, there are a number of excellent new brands popping up in travel locations worldwide these days, and it’s crucial that landlords make it a little bit easier to come into locations. I often see that their tenders are extremely complex, meaning ‘normal’ F&B operators don’t have the skills or capacity to attend.