From one café to five: How Wolt Capital, powered by finmid, helped 44Brekkie expand

About 44Brekkie

44Brekkie is a Berlin favorite that started as a cozy neighborhood café in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg. In the early days, it was a traditional breakfast spot: avocado toast, eggs benedict, and all the brunch classics. But when Berlin entered its second COVID-19 lockdown, people were either stuck at home or out on walks, and they needed something easy to take away and enjoy on the go.

The founders quickly realized: nobody wanted scrambled eggs in a paper box. That is when 44Brekkie pivoted. They created the now-iconic egg drop sandwich: an indulgent, portable meal that hit the sweet spot between comfort food and convenience.

Challenge: Growing pressure from overnight success

44Brekkie's pivot to egg drop sandwiches created breakout demand almost overnight. "It was the best thing we ever did," said co-founder Gonca Sapci. "We had queues forming at our place."

Yet success brought new pressures. 44Brekkie had the vision and the customer base, but growing demand meant scaling operations faster than their cash flow could support. The team needed bigger kitchens, additional staff, and new equipment to maintain quality while growing fast. Plans for new locations were already on the table. 44Brekkie needed new capital to scale, but it had to be fast and accessible.

Solution: Enter Wolt Capital, powered by finmid

44Brekkie discovered Wolt Capital through their Merchant Account and accepted a capital advance offer in minutes with funds arriving within 24 hours. Payments were automatically tied to 44Brekkie's sales on Wolt's platform, ensuring flexibility and minimizing risk.

Results: Expanding from one to five locations

With merchant cash advances from Wolt Capital, powered by finmid, 44Brekkie was able to accelerate the rollout of four new cafés without delaying expansion plans or stretching operational budgets.

What started as one café in 2020 has grown into a thriving multi-location brand, with lines out the door and loyal customers in every corner of the city. And behind that growth was a team that not only battled through a pandemic, but also managed day-to-day challenges, from unexpected repairs to tricky neighbors, without ever losing their drive.

Their next goal? Stepping back from the kitchen to focus on strategy, partnerships, and bringing the 44Brekkie experience to even more corners of Europe.

A partnership that scaled

Access to capital is a critical challenge for restaurants as nearly 29% of restaurants close because they cannot secure the needed funds. Through a partnership with finmid, Wolt Capital addresses this gap and enables eligible Wolt merchants to access capital quickly and flexibly.

So far, more than 27,000 Wolt merchants across 14 countries have received a cash advance opportunity, and over 80% have renewed their initial advance, showing clear demand and trust. With a Net Promoter Score above 85, merchants are not only using the product, but they are recommending it.

Curious to see how this could work on your platform and enjoy similar benefits as Wolt? Book a demo!