In early 2024, Sebastian Bakker sold a minority stake in his business Cookinglife to investor Henk Jan Bijmolt (Veams). Not so much for more financial clout, but to take a professionalization step. "I needed a dot on the horizon and noticed that I needed a sparring partner.
Cookinglife has everything for the home cook: from pans, crockery, knives to glasses from well-known brands such as Le Creuset, Villeroy & Boch and BK. Sebastian Bakker invented the cooking store ten years ago, first as a webshop at the time. This was soon followed by a physical store in the center of Groningen.
Cookinglife grew in a decade into a business with three more physical branches in the Netherlands(Almere, Nijmegen and Veenendaal), five web shops in eight European countries, over 150 employees and annual sales of almost 20 million euros.
Especially during the corona period, Cookinglife experienced a huge growth spurt, partly because many hobby cooks suddenly joined the company. Yet that time also brought new challenges, such as keeping stocks up to par. Bakker: 'I was happy if I could get 1,000 spatulas from somewhere, so to speak.'
Knowledge and expertise
After the corona pandemic, growth flattened somewhat and the business entered a new phase. People could return to the hospitality industry and suddenly less time was spent at home. So it was time for the founder of Cookinglife to change course and professionalize things and further streamline processes.
Bakker: 'I noticed then that I had to do almost everything alone and that I could use a sparring partner who could help me. Especially in terms of defining the strategy and applying focus.'
Reason to bring in Henk Jan Bijmolt of Veams. Bijmolt is a serial entrepreneur and previously sold his online timber trade Gadero to investment company Egeria, after which he founded his personal investment vehicle Veams. 'I already knew Henk Jan from the days when I had my marketing agency and he had his affiliate marketing agency,' Bakker explains. 'We both originally came from the Internet world in Groningen and actually always kept in touch.'
Bakker also had conversations with other potential investors in the past, but with Bijmolt he ultimately had the biggest click. 'Henk Jan is simply a kei in the field of e-commerce and he is super sharp. Moreover, I was not looking for a bag of money, but for knowledge and expertise.'
More focus
Advisers did not have Bakker and Bijmolt when selling the minority stake. Except Trip Advocaten, which helped them legally structure the deal. Meanwhile, they are almost six months on since Veams stepped in as investor.
The future plan announced in the press release at the time is also nearing completion. What that exactly entails, Bakker and Bijmolt do not want to say too much about it yet. Except that, among other things, they are tinkering with the strategy and looking at the assortment.
Bijmolt: 'I have gone through almost the entire assortment of Cookinglife and I think we have to make choices. That means we may have to say goodbye to certain brands and products so we can put more focus. It will be quite a job to keep distinguishing ourselves from the many suppliers in the cooking equipment market, from Hema to Temu. Bakker complements him: 'You see that the 'baking' category is still lagging behind, while the 'dining' category, i.e. glasses and crockery, is still growing. I notice now that you have to try harder for growth.
Good team
Furthermore, since Veams came on board, Jacco Oosterhof, co-founder of e-Luscious.nl (known for Wijnvoordeel.nl and Koffievoordeel.nl) was appointed commercial director in April 2024. And Chris Prins was appointed financial director a.i. Bakker: "Because I can't keep doing everything on my own, Henk Jan insisted that I had to gather a good team around me. That that happened is also to his credit.'
They also have another piece of news: the webshop of Woldring Porselein, which is a household name in the north of the country, and whose bankrupt estate was taken over by Bakker in 2016, was recently closed and its assortment transferred to Cookinglife. Bakker: "On the one hand it's a shame, but on the other hand you have to focus and make choices.
There are no plans to open any new physical branches elsewhere in the country 'Stores are tough,' Bakker said. 'Rents are getting higher and higher and wages continue to rise as well.' Nor will new webshops be opened immediately in other European countries. Bijmolt: 'With the existing webshops alone, there is still a world to be won for Cookinglife in terms of e-commerce.'
