K-MÄRKT

THE RESTAURANT REBELS RETHINKING SUSTAINABILITY

INNOVATIONS

OF THE WORLD

FOR TODAY'S BIG THINKERS
Stockholm 3D Cover

As Featured In:

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

Stockholm 3D Cover

As Featured In:

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

Since its founding in 2014 in Stockholm’s historic Garnisonen building, K-märkt has been rewriting the rulebook for what a modern, sustainable food company can be. From its very first day, the brand has challenged the industry with one radical idea: great food at scale can – and must – coexist with true sustainability. Today, K-märkt operates restaurants, matcafés, bakeries, catering and in-house dining solutions across Stockholm. Their model? Smart systems, bold ideas and full transparency.

But K-märkt isn’t just another eco-friendly food business. It’s a laboratory of ideas, a culture of courage, and a company determined to do things differently. “We never wanted to polish the same apple,” says co-founder and CEO Jens Dolk. “We wanted to plant a new kind of tree.”

No Menu. No Waste. No Compromise.

One of K-märkt’s most talked-about innovations is the elimination of the traditional menu. Instead of planning dishes around demand, the chefs at K-märkt work with what’s available, seasonally – often using surplus. Their “Chef’s Choice” concept lets the kitchen lead, creating meals based on what needs saving, not what sells best.

Rather than ordering from suppliers, K-märkt calls them to ask what they have too much of. This simple shift turns the whole supply chain on its head – and helps reduce food waste both upstream and downstream. Guests don’t get to choose what they eat – but they get something better: food that’s relevant, surprising, and responsible.

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Mood Managers – Happiness as a KPI

At K-märkt, sustainability isn’t limited to food. It’s also about people. One standout initiative is their inclusion of “Mood Managers” – employees with Down Syndrome who perform regular tasks in the restaurants while playing a crucial social role in team dynamics and the guest experience.

It’s not just a feel-good story; it’s a blueprint for a more inclusive workforce. “They lift the whole room,” says Jens Dolk. “They aren’t here to entertain – they’re here to show us how a team should feel.”

Weird Ideas Welcome

K-märkt isn’t afraid to look strange – if it helps make a difference. The company has built its brand on embracing “odd ideas” that others avoid. Whether it’s using leftover disposable items from other companies, repairing cracked plates and cups or designing pricing models that reward guests for not overfilling their plates, nothing is too weird if it works.

Circular Thinking in Every Step

From upcycled interior materials to reimagined supply chains, K-märkt operates in loops. Their teams constantly ask: What can be reused, reshaped or reborn? That mindset doesn’t just reduce impact – it sparks creativity and breeds solutions that others never see.

A perfect example? Wine sauce. At one location, K-märkt partnered with a wine cellar that regularly hosts tastings – and is left with dozens of half-empty bottles. Instead of seeing waste, the K-märkt team saw opportunity. They collected the leftovers, blended and reduced them – and ended up with what many guests now call the best sauce they’ve ever tasted. Waste turned into wonder. That’s circularity in action.

Avocados and Ugly Truths

K-märkt’s sustainability philosophy is refreshingly honest. While many businesses promote local produce as the gold standard, K-märkt takes a more nuanced approach. It is all about ”We Fight Food Waste” and that means that a surplus rescued avocado flown from Peru is more sustainable than a locally grown carrot says Dolk. “Context matters. Dogma doesn’t.”

This pragmatic mindset has earned K-märkt the respect of both the industry and the media – and helped it shift the conversation around food waste from shame to innovation.

From Stockholm to the World

Since 2023, K-märkt has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Sodexo Sweden – a move that combines K-märkt’s creative firepower with Sodexo’s global reach. Together, the two companies aim to scale K-märkt’s groundbreaking methods beyond Sweden, offering Sodexo’s international clients a new model for responsible dining.

“Our goal is to infect the world with our virus of good ideas,” says Dolk. “And partnering with Sodexo gives us the platform to do just that.”

A Trendsetter Before the Trend

Back in 2014, the term “food waste” was barely part of the public conversation. Today, it’s a global sustainability headline – and K-märkt is credited as one of Sweden’s earliest and loudest voices. As Dolk puts it with a smile: “Sometimes timing is everything. We just happened to be weird in the right direction, at the right time.”

Jens Dolk, CEO and Co-founder

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