Hong Kong-based fast-casual restaurant chain Treehouse has unveiled a new location in the heart of Causeway Bay, which features a more localised menu and communications strategy and eco-friendly store design, as it looks to drive growth in a tough economy post-Covid. “Causeway Bay is our strategy to approach the broader local community, as our previous stores were always very strong in the central marketplace and had a greater appeal to both locals and international expatriate communities,” Treehouse founder Christian G. Mongendre told Inside Retail.The new strategy comes after the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought international travel to a halt and saw the rise of “shop local” movements in many markets around the world. Mongendre believes that Causeway Bay is the perfect location to test out a more localised approach.“We’ve done things like reviewing our price points, having all of our communications translated into local dialects, including our social media operations, and our next shop would be in Kowloon, so it’s all about making the brand more accepted among locals,” he said.Treehouse founder Christian G. Mongendre Creating a nicheAs Hong Kong’s leading green restaurant, Treehouse offers a carefully curated menu of ethically sourced, unprocessed whole foods, and caters to various dietary preferences without any preservatives or artificial sweeteners. In keeping with this, the Causeway Bay location, brought to life by Stefano Tordiglione Design Studio, includes a number of eco-conscious design elements, such as recyclable aluminium, renewable wood, lead-free eco-cement and upcycled appliances. The business diligently reuses and repurposes anything that is still functional. According to Mongendre, Treehouse has created quite a niche in the marketplace, as the speed and execution of its menu offerings together with its high level of quality differentiates the business from other fast-food offerings in this space.Treehouse’s menu is influenced by a variety of Asian cultures, including Japanese, Korean and Cantonese cuisines, and this has also helped the brand cater to a wider set of consumers.“We’ve been able to bring an added sense of differentiation and added value to Hong Kong consumers. In terms of sustainability, we are also very committed to how we compost our food waste and being eco-friendly. That’s made us really stand out from the rest,” he said.Times are toughLife as a restaurateur in Hong Kong has definitely become harder after the pandemic. Mongendre said that the economy is moving slowly, and the overall situation is worse today than it was during the pandemic.“Honestly, I think a lot of restaurants are struggling at the moment, and in our case, the niche plant-based marketplace is actually shrinking, so that’s not a good sign. I’m still optimistic about the long-term prospects, but in the short-term, the reality is pretty rough,” he stressed.Nonetheless, he still believes in the concept of his brand, and wants to continue to grow the business in Hong Kong and Asia more broadly.“I would say more people are travelling out of Hong Kong at the moment, so things are slow, but we are seeing encouraging signs from repeat customers, even some who have been close to the brand for the past three years, so we are still optimistic,” he elaborated.The challengesSince launching the business 12 years ago, Mongendre said that the process of sourcing ingredients has definitely improved, but there are still challenges that crop up from time to time.“Once upon a time, it was hard to get quinoa or kale, but now there are a lot of choices, lots of suppliers. Of course, Hong Kong imports around 95 per cent of its goods, but China is local, so we’ve got great suppliers from China and Hong Kong too,” he explained.For example, the company sources its organic tofu from New Life Foundation, a rehabilitation centre for people with mental illnesses. The product quality is not only great, it’s also fully in line with the brand’s ethos and ideology.“We also have a carbon-labelling program to fully inform our customers about the sustainable nature of our products, and perhaps the highest carbon footprint comes from a high quality organic flour from Germany that we use to make our sourdough bread,” he said.The futureThe brand’s focus is now on introducing new and exciting dishes. Keeping prices low will be another key focus, but at the same time, it will need to juggle this with maintaining quality.“We want to make things more affordable, have more rotation with our dishes, and also collaborate with more physical fitness brands to really build a community around our offerings as well,” he revealed.Looking ahead, Mongendre said that Treehouse  will utilise more open kitchen concepts, where customers can view what is happening behind the scenes.“Food transparency is key, consumers are becoming more informed about what they want, and we are focused on our eco-friendly credentials but also on creating dishes without any preservatives or unnatural ingredients,” he said.Ultimately, Mongendre hopes that plant-based restaurants will continue to expand in the future. He believes that customers are becoming more open and accepting of vegan options.“Having more competition will only grow the markets, and make it more exciting and vibrant. I do hope more international players come into this business in Hong Kong. I think this plant-based scene is going to become more commonplace and inclusive in the future,” he concluded.