Have you noticed the new retro dessert house in the heart of West Croydon?
I sat down with owner and Croydon resident Azhar Rehman for an interview on his recent business venture.  The owner calls Kaspas, which additionally has a branch in Purley Colonades, " a cool and fun dessert house offering an opportunity to indulge in tantalising Italian gelato ice-cream, waffles, crepes and much more, we hope to appeal to absolutely everybody !"
The first branch opened in 2012 in Purley  soon followed by the West Croydon branch opened in April 2013 . The Mr Rehman originally started off as co-owner of Creams in Norbury in partnership with family and then decided to part company to begin his separate brand, Kaspas. Whilst there is some misconception that Kaspas is a copy of Creams, in actual fact it was inspired by Mr Rehman's first co-venture, Creams. 

Here is what he had to say:
Why did you chose begin and expand the Kaspas brand in Croydon?
" Kaspas was inspired by a lot of travelling around, we saw that there was a real gap in the market, at the time no real dessert house existed, that was affordable or local. Going abroad to other countries such as America and Italy, from there we found inspiration, we picked bits here, bits there and bits there"

When asked what he would tell aspiring entrepreneurs who are thinking of setting up a business, owner and Croydon resident said: 
"Don't be scared of taking a risk, in these kinds of business ventures it can require a lot of resource and that can put people off when trying to start a business, but you have got to be willing to lose to make a gain.  It's hard to get the products right, to get the set up up to scratch, it took a while in the beginning, a lot of trial and errors , general teething problems"

What do you think has been the key to Kaspas success?
" Firstly, I think the key has be realising the gap in the market and number two the quality of our products, offering treats that are worth of being in an environment of this kind of  set up "
How does Kaspas entice customers in the winter?
"We  offer a whole host of puddings, waffles, crepes, war beverages and in fact our waffles are most popular"
What is Kaspas most popular attraction?
"It is seasonal, but I'll say our waffles have become really popular, people love the creativity too, the variety of toppings and treats. Our milkshakes too, but its our quality and our set up that separates us from similar parlours.
When asked what inspired the interior, the set up of the dessert house, Mr Rehman said "Its retro, we wanted to bring the feel of an old American dinner to Croydon, a mixture of the old and new."

What is Kaspas most important value?
" Our products are no GM, suitable for vegetarians, handmade and imported from the heart of Italy with no artificial preservatives. We try to do the best, our coffee  is fair trade because we want to help third world countries, to ensure they are fairly treated and paid, we have wide appeal to anybody and everybody. We achieve the best by staying true to where our products originate from."
The final question was what his aims were for the future, he responded "Just to grow, we aim to have five other branches opened by 2013. We have our Elephant and Castle branch opening by January 2013 and really hope to expand this in London and beyond."


Kaspas does really offer a fantastic indulgent treat and seems to be set for international success, when its a global brand remember it all  began in the very heart of Croydon!