Vapiano expanded too fast, lost €101M in a year, and COVID finished it

Vapiano was founded in Cologne, Germany in 2002, offering Italian fast-casual dining with an open-kitchen concept where customers watched their pasta and pizza being made. The concept was popular and the chain expanded rapidly across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, reaching 230 locations worldwide by the late 2010s.

In 2017, Vapiano went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at a valuation of about €553 million. The IPO was meant to fund further expansion. But the company was already overextended. Rapid growth had come at the cost of profitability — new locations cannibalised sales at existing ones, and the cost base was too high for the margins the concept could generate.

By early 2019, the stock had lost 75% of its IPO value. The company reported a net loss of €101 million for 2018. It announced plans to slow expansion, close unprofitable locations, and revamp the concept. But the damage was done — the chain was carrying too much debt and too many underperforming restaurants.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Vapiano was forced to close almost all its restaurants worldwide. With no revenue coming in and no cash reserves, the company filed for cash-flow insolvency on 20 March 2020. Insolvency proceedings opened in Cologne on 2 April 2020. In June 2020, Vapiano was bought out of insolvency by a group of hospitality investors at a fraction of its IPO valuation.