A Ukrainian Catering Business in Islington

Denyse Whillier is the founder of The Purpose Company, working with purpose-led founders and leaders at every stage of growth. Her approach - hope-centred strategy - combines the strategic capabilities she developed over eight years as a CEO with a commitment to building businesses that are aligned with their founder's purpose and values.

‍ Anna arrived in London in March 2022 through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, having left behind a successful catering business in Ukraine. She needed strategic support to figure out what was possible in a country she hadn't planned to live in - while carrying the hope of one day returning home.

"When I arrived in London, I didn't know if I was staying or going home. Denyse never rushed me to decide. She helped me focus on what I could do right now - the food I could cook, the people I could reach, the traditions I could keep alive. She gave me the space to make my own decisions and the confidence to trust them. By the end of our year together, I had a business, a team of Ukrainian women working alongside me, and something I hadn't expected to find so far from home: a sense of purpose." - Anna

‍I worked with Anna through Purpose-Led Business Coaching, pro bono for the first year, meeting monthly. The work was different from most of my client engagements - less about growth plans, more about helping someone make decisions when everything felt temporary. Anna didn't know how long she'd be staying in London. She desperately wanted to go home. Every choice carried a weight that most founders never have to navigate.

My job was to help her develop a vision of how things could be - one that honoured both her heritage and her new reality. We started with what Anna knew: the food of the Carpathian mountains, the culinary traditions of Eastern Europe, the recipes she'd carried with her. Many of the same ingredients grew widely in Britain, which gave Anna a beautiful way of connecting the cultures and traditions of her homeland with the produce of her new one.

We started with pop-up suppers - intimate, one-off dining events hosted at a friend's house in Islington, each for around twelve guests. The model was a deliberate choice. It gave Anna income and flexibility without requiring a long-term commitment while she was longing for home. Word spread through her friend's network. Pop-ups led to catering for informal parties and gatherings, which led to larger events and weddings.

Anna created work for other displaced Ukrainian women, finding them through networks in London and at home. She established a giving model from the start - for every booking, her company funded a meal for someone experiencing food insecurity through a Ukrainian charity. And she provided a taste of home to Ukrainian families in London at a time when that mattered more than words can say.

By the end of Year 1, Anna was running three pop-ups a week with additional bookings for events, parties, and weddings. By the end of Year 2, regular weekly revenue was around £8,100 - projecting more than £420,000 a year - before additional income from speciality markets and seasonal deliveries.

Anna's business continues to grow. We're now working together on the next stage - and I look forward to sharing more of her journey in due course.

Anna's journey is told in detail across a two-part case study series on my blog:

• Part 1

• Part 2

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If Anna's story resonates with you - whether you're building something from scratch, navigating a transition, or looking for the strategic support to take your business to its next stage - I'd welcome a conversation about what working together could look like for you. There's no pressure and no obligation. Just a conversation about where you are and where you want to be.