The Thesis
Ember sits between brand founders and master franchisees. We discover culturally significant food brands in London, NYC, and Europe — and structure deals that take them into GCC, India, and Southeast Asia without compromising what makes them theirs.
The wedge thesis
Culture moves West to East. The most exciting food brands of this decade are being built in London, NYC, and Europe — and most of them will never cross the water. The brokers who could take them there still charge royalty cuts in perpetuity, move on relationships, and don't speak brand integrity.
Ember is the wedge between the founder and the operator. We identify brands with genuine cultural heat, run the demand-side process on our own books, and structure a single flat-fee deal that closes. No perpetuity. No slow. Founder-credible from intro to term sheet.
Partners in the wedge
Proof points
From first intro to a signed term sheet, Ember runs the deal end-to-end. The clock starts on a single conversation and stops when the operator has capital committed and territory defined.
[X] days median · intro → signed term sheet
Master franchise vs. area development, ramp-time by region, unit economics for MENA and India — the framework we use to draw a territory boundary and the numbers we benchmark against.
Pecking House is in market. The First Partnership is signed. Every claim Ember makes is anchored to a brand that actually opened or a deal that actually closed.
Every claim Ember makes is anchored to a brand that actually opened or a deal that actually closed. Pecking House is the proof that the wedge works in production. The First Partnership is the next proof in the queue.
Two case anchors
First Partnership — signed
Ember's first structured brand → operator deal. The announcement, the brand, and the operator behind the wedge in production.
Pecking House → GCC
The Brooklyn Korean fried chicken concept with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, an 8,000-name waitlist, and a GCC master franchisee waiting for it.
If the wedge above is what your brand needs, let's talk.
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