In 25 years, Tasty African Food have grown to become the largest West African food chain in the UK, with 23 branches around southeast England.
Ask Head of IT and Business Analysis, Seun Olaimeji, about their pastries and he’ll tell you they’re “the best in the UK” but it’s another mix of ingredients he spends his time considering when it comes to business transformation.
The Challenge
Tasty African Food came to us with some big goals:
- Streamline inventory management across all locations.
- Increase employee productivity with robust, easy-to-use workflows.
- Boost financial performance with better cost control and margins.
- Access accurate real-time data and use it to make better decisions.
Seun points out that as pioneers in their industry, “There’s not really a playbook for us to follow…there are not many African restaurants that are doing what we’re doing.”
The Solution
We were able to find some big savings in the first two months.
Annual staff meal costs were a major cost driver. By implementing tighter cost controls and monitoring, we reduced unnecessary expenses and improved profitability – some sites saw reductions of over 75%.
We also saw high levels of unaccounted waste; reducing this was a significant opportunity for savings, and eliminating the need for manual waste tracking helped restaurants efficiency.
“Nory’s insights have made a real impact. Peter shared a report that revealed unaccounted waste in our pastry range—products we didn’t even realise were there. It helped us spot where we were losing money, adjust limits, and make smarter, more effective decisions.”
When buy-in is the key to success
Seun was keenly aware investing in technology was necessary to drive growth. That also means he was aware of a key ingredient for success: Choosing a tool that aligns with the team’s needs and culture.
“Before Nory, we tried a few other software solutions to improve our operations, but they were often too complex. Most kitchen and restaurant staff don’t care how fancy a product is—they just want something that works and is easy to use. That’s what Nory delivered: simplicity, clarity, and the right insights without overwhelm.“
With our help, Seun understood the benefits and had a strong vision in mind, which helped get buy-in across the business, and make roll-out easier.
“To get buy-in from my CEO, I mapped out our entire operation and pinpointed where we needed support. Nory made it easy to match those gaps with clear solutions. That visual clarity helped build a strong business case—it wasn’t just ‘we need software,’ it was ‘here’s exactly how this will solve our problems.”
It also required thought about how to handle change management sensitively and positively. Here’s how Seun laid the groundwork:
- Created a project management plan, which outlined the changes with a visual representation.
- Communicated an inspiring vision.
- Formed leadership teams to make people feel part of the process.
- Clearly communicated the benefits to staff, for example, finishing up faster, and making fewer mistakes.
- Took advantage of having two months of Nory free to showcase it. As Seun told his CEO: “There must be some serious value in it…they must be very confident in it.”
- Used a phased approach, starting with equity stores, then used their success as proof of concept for franchises.
- Celebrated ‘quick wins’ from high-performing regions to spread the message and build momentum.
“We didn’t need to incentivise our team—making their day-to-day easier was enough. Tasks that used to take hours now take less than 30 minutes. That alone is a powerful motivator.”
Supporting and empowering people
Once Nory was up and running ,the next goal was getting people comfortable with the technology and excited about the possibilities. Here’s how good training was at the heart of that:
- We provided a two-week testing period for staff to familiarise themselves with Nory.
- We produced short, focused training videos that offered bite-sized pieces of digestible content.
- Line leaders were empowered to make decisions “so there was no space for learning anxiety,” in Seun’s words.
- Being able to clearly articulate the why, where, and how of Nory, allowed people to buy into it from day one.
- Seun says teams understood “This was not a thing that was just coming and going but something that was a new wave of operations.”
- 24/7 support to fix or explain things immediately. Knowing that there was always someone available reduced anxiety.
“With Nory, it wasn’t just about the product—it was the people. They were patient, open-minded, and genuinely committed to making it work for us. Other companies dropped off when we didn’t give immediate feedback, but Nory stayed close, kept the conversation going, and adapted the system to fit our needs. That made all the difference.”
Big Plans for bigger success
Thanks to their partnership with Nory, Tasty African Food have seen high adoption across all their locations. Demand-based ordering, and inventory insights have been particularly popular.
Because Nory’s AI learns from Tasty African Food’s data, our forecasts are already within 1.5% of actual sales, meaning they’re highly reliable – further boosting confidence among staff.
“Nory gives us clear data we can share with senior stakeholders—like monthly reports on waste, ordering accuracy, and platform usage. It helps us see what’s working, make better decisions, and keep the whole team aligned.”
Seun’s jump into AI reflects the fact that Tasty African Food recognises the importance of technology to staying ahead of competitors: “AI is probably the most important tool you need today to stay ahead,” he says, “With the way things are moving, if you aren’t using AI properly in your business, you would probably struggle to compete.”
They want to scale as fast as possible to be in every part of the UK, push into supermarkets, and integrate a payment gateway, all of which they trust Nory to help them do. As Seun says, “If anybody can do it, it’s us.”