KERB has reported more than 8,000 dishes sold during its debut KERB Goes East event at Canada Water, marking the street food collective’s return to large-scale outdoor events.
Held on 8 and 9 August outside Corner Corner, the event attracted tens of thousands of visitors across the weekend and brought together more than 80 food and craft traders.
Created in partnership with Urban Garden Fair, KERB Goes East focused on East and Southeast Asian street food, craft and culture.
The event represented a return to the format on which KERB originally built its business. Founded in 2012 as an outdoor street food market, the company has since expanded into food halls, catering, events and hospitality operations.
Demand across the weekend resulted in several participating traders selling out or restocking.
Two Roosters sold more than 260 taster portions of its Hainanese chicken rice within three hours, while Old Chang Kee restocked twice to meet demand and Takohachi sold out of its takoyaki.
Top-selling dishes included the Taipei Tofu Bowl from Tofu Fun, Gado Gado from Borobodu, Mantou and Chicken Curry from Rice Bandits, Golden Salted Egg Hong Kong French Toast from Cantoat and Old Chang Kee’s Curry Puff.
The event also drove additional footfall to nearby Corner Corner, the multi-use food and culture venue operated by KERB and Broadwick.
Corner Corner recorded its best trading day to date on Saturday 8 August, supported by visitors attending KERB Goes East and its accompanying after-party.
Simon Mitchell, CEO of KERB, said: “Large-scale street food events were at the heart of KERB when we started in 2012, and KERB Goes East demonstrates just how much appetite there still is for them.
“For our traders, these events present a unique opportunity to test new dishes, reach thousands of new customers, and take meaningful lessons as they grow their business.
“For landlords, they create huge energy, drive footfall and give local communities a compelling reason to spend time in a specific destination.
“We want to do more events like this, and want to hear from landlords who want to create new pop-up destinations built around community, culture and great-tasting food from local independent food businesses.”
KERB Goes East formed part of Canada Water’s wider Round The Dock summer events programme, which has been developed to bring food, entertainment and cultural activity to the area.
Gareth Roberts, Head of Canada Water at British Land, said: “KERB Goes East brought together some of the UK’s most exciting independent food traders, creating a vibrant weekend that showcased the energy, creativity and diversity that make Canada Water such a compelling destination.
“Through partnerships with pioneers like KERB, we’re creating new reasons for people to spend time here, discover something different and enjoy the best of London’s food and cultural scene as part of our wider Round the Dock programme, with a packed calendar of free outdoor culture, entertainment and experiences for everyone to enjoy.”
Following the response to KERB Goes East, the business said it wants to stage further large-scale events and work with landlords on pop-up destinations centred around independent food businesses, culture and community.
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