Case Study - TOCA Social - Enhanced MarketMan Service
TOCA Social, founded by former professional footballer Eddie Lewis, is the world’s first football-based social entertainment venue, offering a unique blend of immersive football games and a premium food and beverage (F&B) menu. Launched in 2021 with a flagship venue at The O2 in London, the business has quickly gained popularity, blending sports and socialisation in a fun and inclusive environment. With plans for further expansion across the UK, Europe, and the U.S., it was clear that a new strategy was needed to build a robust operational foundation, support its growing F&B offering, and manage its expanding network of venues.
The Challenge
As TOCA Social expanded, the limitations of its existing stock management system became increasingly apparent. The company faced several operational challenges and inefficiencies, including inconsistent stock control, limited reporting, and difficulty managing operational complexity across multiple locations.
“We committed the cardinal sin of not having our backend recipe archive in a place where it was truly good enough to be able to report. And then you spend your life trying to catch up.”
Their stock control system revealed a consistent gap between theoretical and actual stock, which, as Clifford explained, was “starting to hurt our margins,” making it more difficult to control costs and reduce wastage.
Additionally, Clifford pointed out that the old system’s lack of detailed reporting limited the team’s ability to “act on the data” and make informed decisions. “We needed to stop retrofitting old solutions and start fresh with something that worked,” he added.
Finally, with a central kitchen, multiple venues, and a rapidly growing business, the business needed a system capable of managing these complexities efficiently while providing the real-time visibility they lacked.
The Solution
TOCA Social needed more than just an inventory tool—they required a solution that could establish an operational foundation for their future growth. After meeting with the MarketMan team, it was quickly recognised that the platform offered the functionality and flexibility to address their stock management challenges.
“We wanted to partner with someone that was an out-and-out stock specialist. We needed detailed reporting, and MarketMan offered that simplicity combined with the functionality we were missing.”
MarketMan’s platform provided the tools needed to overcome these challenges. The system offered real-time stock visibility, detailed reporting, and ease of use—all critical to supporting the company’s growing needs.
Real Time Stock Visibility: MarketMan monitors stock levels across all venues in real-time, enabling the team to maintain accurate records and reduce wastage. Clifford noted, "With MarketMan, we finally had real-time visibility into our stock levels. We could see discrepancies and act on them before they became bigger problems. It was a game-changer for us."
Detailed Reporting and Analytics: The platform gave TOCA Social access to granular data on stock usage, wastage, and purchasing trends, empowering the team to make informed, data-driven decisions. "The reporting was the key," said Clifford. "We now had data we could trust, and it gave us insights into what was working and what wasn’t. This allowed us to make better decisions that impacted our bottom line."
Ease of Use: One of the standout features of MarketMan was its user-friendly interface, which made staff training quick and easy, minimising disruption to day-to-day operations. "The simplicity of the system was huge for us," Clifford emphasised. "You can get someone trained up in less than an hour, and they’re capable of using it right away."
MarketMan Professional Services, powered by Twice Baked
While the MarketMan platform addressed the technology challenges, the business recognised that its rapid growth required additional hands-on support to ensure consistent operational processes across all locations. To meet this need, they engaged MarketMan's Professional Services team, Twice Baked, and two of its members, restaurant cost control experts Eli Nadel and Markos Papadopoulos.
Clifford highlighted the importance of this consultancy, saying, “Eli and the team helped us build a system that wasn’t just about numbers it was about making sure everything tied back to the guest experience.”
Strategic Guidance: Twice Baked played an instrumental role in helping TOCA Social design and implement the MarketMan system from the ground up. Their involvement ensured that the team didn’t just focus on stock numbers but also aligned their operational processes with their broader business goals and customer experience.
An Extension of the Team: Twice Baked became deeply embedded in the business’s day-to-day operations, providing ongoing consultancy, running weekly one-on-one meetings with department heads, and ensuring SOPs were consistently followed. Their involvement extended far beyond traditional tech support–they acted as mentors and guides, helping instill efficient operational habits across the team, “Markos has integrated himself as part of the team. He joins our weekly stock calls every Monday, so I have full visibility of everything happening” stated Clifford.
Empowering Department Heads: Markos’s hands-on approach was instrumental in empowering department heads to take full ownership of their stock numbers and overall performance, transforming them into “mini business owners.” This shift in accountability was crucial to maintaining consistent results across all locations.
Daily and Weekly Team Support: To strengthen operational processes and structure, regular meetings with key team members were enforced, including bar managers and head chefs at all venues. These meetings went beyond MarketMan’s standard deliverables, encompassing everything from sales results to labour and guest experience, ensuring every aspect of the business remained aligned.
“We have one-on-one meetings every week with our bar managers and head chefs, and then we review the results with the GMs. We talk about labour, sales, cost of sales, and even guest experience. This was something Eli really pushed us to do.”
The Results
Combining MarketMan with its professional services resulted in TOCA Social seeing a 5% increase in gross profit on both food and beverage offerings since implementing the platform. This improvement was driven by better stock control, reduced wastage, and more efficient operations. Clifford proudly noted, “Our gross profit is at least plus 5% on both food and drink since we brought this in. That’s a direct result of MarketMan and the support we’ve had.”
Consistent stock control was another major win, with Clifford stating, “We hate surprises. Now, I know exactly what our stock numbers are before we even get to the end of the month.” With real-time visibility and consistent weekly reviews, the teams could maintain control over stock levels, eliminating surprises at the end of the month.
Training department heads to take ownership of their stock management created a culture of accountability, improving team performance across the board. “The department heads have full accountability now,” Clifford states, “they’re responsible for their own numbers, and they report them every week…That’s the way I want it to be.”
Finally, the detailed reporting provided by MarketMan allowed the business to make more informed decisions, ensuring they could manage stock efficiently and avoid costly errors.
“The reporting from MarketMan has given us the insights we needed. We can now make better decisions, and it’s had a huge impact on our bottom line.”
Looking Ahead
The business is on an exciting growth path, having recently raised $100m in a Series F funding round, with plans for new sites across Europe and the U.S.
By implementing MarketMan and leveraging the Professional Services team, TOCA Social successfully transformed its stock management processes, improved profit margins, and built a scalable foundation for future growth. The combination of innovative technology and hands-on support ensured they could manage their operational complexities as the business continues to expand.
The team is focused on refining its stock management process with the goal of achieving a perfect 100% match between theoretical and actual stock levels. They’re also expanding MarketMan’s reporting and invoicing capabilities within the finance team to create a fully integrated system, seamlessly linking every step from order to delivery. As they look to the future, the business will explore innovations in the hospitality tech space, including advancements in AI and automation, which MarketMan looks forward to being part of!
See MarketMan in Action
Discover how MarketMan can help your business gain real-time visibility, reduce wastage, and empower your team with data-driven insights. Register for a demo today to see how we can support your operational efficiency and learn more about MarketMan’s Professional Services with Twice Baked.