A treat-style food-to-go concept is looking to target travel hubs as part of its UK-wide expansion, British Baker can reveal.

Moodog, set up two years ago by Phil Abbott, former managing director of BB’s Coffee and Muffins for 12 years, currently has four operating outlets selling a mixed offering of doughnuts, pastries, hot dogs, ice creams and milkshakes.

The privately-funded firm is opening a fifth store in Wood Green, north London, next week and a further two sites based in motorway services in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire and Baldock, Hertfordshire, this year.

Abbott told British Baker that the business’ product range suited the demographic of travel hub locations: “It’s just where there is a congregation of lots of people, just for traffic and the busyness. We like the idea of being in the transit sites, so airports, and we are looking at signing up two sites at railway stations.”

Moodog’s existing sites include an outlet at Cobham services in Surrey, and outlets based in shopping centres in Falkirk and Romford, as well as Luton, which opened as the company’s pilot store back in December 2010.

Speaking about whether he would look to open franchise outlets under the Moodog brand, Abbott said: “Not sure yet, I have had previous experience in the franchise business with BB’s Coffee and Muffins and we built up a chain of around 200 stores. I’m not too sure about that, but I’m quite happy at the moment to have joint venture partnerships with the managers as partners.”

Moodog is additionally looking to expand on its offering with the introduction of new cake doughnuts, which will be made fresh in-store along with the rest of its product ranges.

Abbott also heads up the Italian-style Sorriso Café and Coffee Shop business, which serves a mixture of fresh pastas, breakfasts, made-to-order sandwiches and hot drinks.

“We have four outlets, soon to have five, and in January 2013 we will be opening another two, so that will take us to a total store count of seven,” explained Abbott. “We see a market for fresh baked food, with an emphasis on quality breakfast and lunch.

“We have just opened a new outlet in Wood Green and we are opening another in Baldock in around two weeks’ time. We would think our offer is more food-led than coffee-led, but we’re still very much focused on great coffee.”

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