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Company type | Private Company |
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Industry | E-commerce, Retail |
Founded | 2006 |
Founder | Andrew Smith, Shane Dryden |
Headquarters | Cape Town, South Africa |
Area served | South Africa |
Key people | Andrew Smith, Shane Dryden |
Number of employees | 150+ |
Website | yuppiechef.com |
Yuppiechef is an online retailer of kitchen and homeware products founded in 2006 by Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden in Cape Town, South Africa. [1]
Originally run from Smith’s home, Yuppiechef was one of a few experimental e-commerce projects initiated by the co-founders, who were running a web development agency at the time. Initially, the first Yuppiechef deliveries were packed and shipped from Smith's lounge. [2]
In 2010, Yuppiechef gained significant media attention through guerrilla marketing that made use of a national marketing campaign by retailer Woolworths called ‘Woolies Lovebirds’. [3] [4] [5] [6] A misspelled URL on Woolworth’s marketing material, allowed them to register the URL, and post a ransom note asking that Woolworths match any donations by Yuppiechef’s customers to a local charity they supported at the time.
Known for their handwritten cards [7] and fanatical customer following, [8] Yuppiechef is considered one of the pioneers of e-commerce in South Africa [9] and has been named the best eCommerce store in South Africa from 2010 - 2015. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Twelve years after starting its online store, Yuppiechef opened its first brick & mortar stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg. [16] In October 2017, the first of their physical retail stores was launched. [17] The company has subsequently opened two more stores in Cape Town. [18] Yuppiechef is now headquartered in Westlake Business Park, from where they also operate a store.
Yuppiechef was sold to Mr Price in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. [19]
Smith and Dryden launched their next business, Brave Hardy, in 2023 [20]
![]() | |
Company type | Private Company |
---|---|
Industry | E-commerce, Retail |
Founded | 2006 |
Founder | Andrew Smith, Shane Dryden |
Headquarters | Cape Town, South Africa |
Area served | South Africa |
Key people | Andrew Smith, Shane Dryden |
Number of employees | 150+ |
Website | yuppiechef.com |
Yuppiechef is an online retailer of kitchen and homeware products founded in 2006 by Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden in Cape Town, South Africa. [1]
Originally run from Smith’s home, Yuppiechef was one of a few experimental e-commerce projects initiated by the co-founders, who were running a web development agency at the time. Initially, the first Yuppiechef deliveries were packed and shipped from Smith's lounge. [2]
In 2010, Yuppiechef gained significant media attention through guerrilla marketing that made use of a national marketing campaign by retailer Woolworths called ‘Woolies Lovebirds’. [3] [4] [5] [6] A misspelled URL on Woolworth’s marketing material, allowed them to register the URL, and post a ransom note asking that Woolworths match any donations by Yuppiechef’s customers to a local charity they supported at the time.
Known for their handwritten cards [7] and fanatical customer following, [8] Yuppiechef is considered one of the pioneers of e-commerce in South Africa [9] and has been named the best eCommerce store in South Africa from 2010 - 2015. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Twelve years after starting its online store, Yuppiechef opened its first brick & mortar stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg. [16] In October 2017, the first of their physical retail stores was launched. [17] The company has subsequently opened two more stores in Cape Town. [18] Yuppiechef is now headquartered in Westlake Business Park, from where they also operate a store.
Yuppiechef was sold to Mr Price in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. [19]
Smith and Dryden launched their next business, Brave Hardy, in 2023 [20]