From New York to Singapore

If scoring a product placement in a successful movie is a dream of many companies, then Dean & DeLuca has probably hit its fair share of home runs. Remember the scene from Hannibal when Anthony Hopkins unwrapped a Dean & DeLuca box on the plane which revealed a human brain alongside his delicious delicatessen? As unlikely as that association with a serial killer film was, the blockbuster grossed US$350 million and gave a global audience a quick peek of the fine food brand. In ‘90s teen TV series Felicity, Keri Russell’s character works in the New York City coffee shop during her college days, while in Julie and Julia, actress Amy Adams, who played Julie Powell, could be seen blowing half her monthly pay check on boeuf bourguignon.
Such is Dean &DeLuca’s widespread reach that its president, Justin Seamonds, says many people often mistake the gourmet grocer as “having like 50 stores, but in reality, the size of the brand recognition is huge compared to the size of the business”. Today, Dean & DeLuca is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, with a modest domestic reach of six markets, six hybrid cafes, and one wine bar in New York, Washington, D.C, Napa Valley, Charlotte and Kansas City. Its international expansion is moving at a faster pace through partnership deals that have been inked since 2003: there are now 18 locations in seven countries including Tokyo, Kuwait, Bangkok and Korea. This June, Singapore foodies will be able to experience a slice of this New York icon: Dean & DeLuca will be partnering with Kitchen Language, the food and beverage subsidiary of Far East Organisation Singapore, to launch the first outlet in Orchard Central.
Excerpt from the May issue of epicure.