Further Information

Intro

Eldstæðið (The Hearth in English) is a professional kitchen space and food incubator for entrepreneurs and independent producers. Eldstæðið's unique space is located in Reykjavik. It is the first of its kind in Iceland.

Our aim at Eldstæðið is to create successful entrepreneurial culinary ventures by building on the benefits of a shared ecosystem. By sharing costs of common provisions and a single space, we ensure nothing goes to waste while fueling each other with enthusiasm and energy in a community space!

Eldstæðið kitchen will be fully certified for food production. Alongside the kitchen area we also offer a shared office space, a coffee room, a meeting room, wifi (obviously), among many other perks! This is to make sure you are also nurturing the business side of your project! You can count on the steady support of an industry-specialized team that will guide you every step of the way. The Eldstæðið space is open 24/7, which means that yes... you can work even at midnight and if you need to contact us we´ll get back to you -we are that passionate!

You will be inspired to thrive in a creative environment with other entrepreneurs who, just like you, want to innovate in the kitchen and bring something different to the table!

What is Eldstæðið?

Eldstæðið can be quite challenging to pronounce if you are not a native to the vikings´ language, so just think The Hearth. In the old days in Iceland, every turf house had a spot in the corner, where a fire burned all day, this was ´the hearth corner´. This spot was where family members, friends and acquaintances gathered around the warm fire to eat, chat and simply share being together. This same spirit of sharing and community gathering guides the culture behind Eldstæðið´s kitchen space.

Why a Shared Kitchen Space in Iceland?

Creating any business is challenging enough, so when you add to that the fact that the cost of entry to the Icelandic food market is very high, launching a food business in Iceland becomes extra challenging for entrepreneurs and independent producers. By offering a shared kitchen space we can lower this cost, benefiting everyone involved, including the consumer.

This project was born out of our founder´s personal experience as an entrepreneur in the business. Eva Michelsen, the woman behind Elstæðið says in her own words:

“I have been producing sweets and confectionery for over 10 years now. When I first started however, I just didn't have the funding to open up my own space and I had to rely on simple test kitchens with limited facilities. This made it tough to move fast and effectively which is something you need to build a successful business. Throughout the years I´ve met so many people who are in the same situation as I was back then and I figured there is indeed a real need for such a space! I´m really excited just to imagine what we could achieve for the Icelandic industry if we keep fueling start-ups in the food business and creating value for our country.” - Eva Michelsen

The idea first sparked in the fall of 2017 and we managed to test the concept exactly a year later through the Nordic Kitchen Workshops which were held over one weekend in three different capitals: Reykjavik, Helsinki and Stockholm. It was an incredible experience and a real hit!

We are currently working on getting the best deals with vendors and large suppliers. Our aim is to keep ingredients, logistics and marketing costs at the lowest possible point for our entrepreneurs through this shared ecosystem. This, in turn, will make it possible for projects to be market-ready (or table-ready) much faster and result in competitive retail prices for consumers. A win-win situation for everyone!

The Team holding the pots and pans

Eva is the founder and motor of the project, she comes from a family of bakers and is very passionate about her sweets and pastries. She started with a food blog, Kökudagbókin (The Cake Diary) over a decade ago and later launched her own confectionery company called Michelsen Confections which serves food markets, made-to-order and special events. She has been working with co-working spaces such as the Ocean Cluster House and the Center for Quality of Life at St. Jo for the past 8 years and has seen first hand how the shared ecosystem can benefit everyone involved!

Berta is an advisor for the project, she is the CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster and runs Grandi- and Hlemmur Food Halls in Reykjavik.

Bryndís specializes in multimedia and presentation of visual material along with marketing on various platforms. Bryndís is an advisor and assistant to Eldstæðið and those participating in the shared kitchen space. She can assist with professional photos, videos and more. She has an eye for details, is great at seeing the big picture and full of creativity and solutions!

Julie may come from a different country but she has been in Iceland for over a decade, working in tourism as well as with wines and spirits marketing. Her contribution to Eldstæðið´s community is through support on all things branding and graphic design with her Finnrós Design team.

Eldstæðið Space, Tasting Room & Benefits

The Eldstæðið kitchen is located in Nýbýlavegur 8 in Kópavogur, center of the greater capital with quick and easy access to the main highway.

At the Eldstæðið space we offer a shared office space for all the must-do paperwork and business brainstorming, a conference room which serves the dual purpose of being an ideal space for meetings or seminars and also serves as our Tasting Room for experiencing and sampling. You could think of the space as a one-stop shop or good starter pack for food entrepreneurs and small producers!

At Eldstæðið we also aim to work with wholesalers, distributors and grocery stores, we want to contribute to ease the access to ingredients and prime materials, prompt the distribution and trade of ready-to-sell products.

Where we are at...

Find the right space and location - Check
Renovate the facilities - In progress
First test run of kitchen - estimated in June 2020
Epic grand opening launch party - August 2020

... and why we need you!

Setting up a fully equipped and licenced kitchen is costly for sure, but the benefits that will stem from it are so valuable that it is worth the effort. We´ll manage to actually lower the cost of entry to the food business for entrepreneurs and producers all the while creating more value and bringing innovation to the mix.

The proceeds from this crowdfunding campaign go to cover the core high quality equipment and their installation.

Our aim is to offer 4 work stations. The ideal scenario is made of 2 cooking stations and 2 prep stations in the kitchen. The cost of one cooking station is approximately 15.000 EUR and with your contribution we can guarantee one fully equipped cooking station. This includes an industrial oven, stove and necessary utensils.

The approximate cost for Eldstæðið is 100.000 EUR.

Want to help further?

There's no such thing as too many cooks in our kitchen!

We have room for more hands on deck and we want to expand our network. If you are a marketing guru, food lover/guru, investor, or if you have something to contribute to our project you can get in touch with us anytime at info@eldstaedid.is.

Even if you are just curious about the project or have some words of encouragement, we´d be thrilled to hear from you! :)

Additional info

Website: www.eldstaedid.is
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eldstaedid
Instagram: http://instagram.com/eldstaedid
E-mail: info@eldstaedid.is
Phone: 776 7007