A Canary Wharf cafe owner claims it is "the only place in the world" doing what it does but has faced "extortionate" rates in its first year.
Our sister site London Now reported that Yummzy was opened in 2025 by Jolie Pascu.
Jolie is type one diabetic and since a young age struggled to find sweet treats that suited her dietary needs.
She birthed the idea, alongside her husband Adrian, of selling keto, low carb, sugar free, gluten free and vegan food and drink originally in 2017 before opening the first Yummzy store in 2018 in Greenwich but closing it at the beginning of Covid.
On Saturday (February 7) Yummzy celebrated its first birthday in Cabot Square, Canary Wharf.
“Yummzy has been great over the first year – as a brand we’re growing and we’re still passionate about working with local people and being inclusive with what we do," Jolie told this paper.
“All of our food is inclusive for everybody except those with nut allergies.
“I still believe we are the only place in the world doing what we’re doing.
“Some places specialise in keto and some specialise in being vegan but we’re still the only place that does all of this and does it so well."
Jolie revealed some of Yummzy's best selling products over the year including the carrot cake, the sausage rolls, the burger with a vegan egg which "shocks" people, and Jolie's invention of the 'focaccini' - a mix between a focaccia and a panini.
“We haven’t exactly been busier than expected unfortunately because we are in a quiet part of Canary Wharf so our footfall is down to people who heard about us online," Jolie said.
“Our demographic is very mixed from young people to elderly couples but all in all, it’s people who want good food or want to eat something that won’t affect their allergies or negatively impact their health.
“We do have some loyal customers but it’s not as community driven as Greenwich. But we do have some customers who we see over and over again which is great."
However Jolie also claimed the first year hasn't been without difficulties.
A new coffee shop opened near to Yummzy and gave away free coffees for a few weeks, which Jolie said "almost killed" the business.
"It was almost the nail in the coffin," she added.
“A big challenge has been business rates because they are extortionately high," she said.
“It’s very hard to compete against franchises and there are quite a few around here.
“It was hard but thanks to some media coverage and influencers mentioning us on social media it helped us get through."
She said that due to the strict dietary requirements of the ingredients used at Yummzy, costs of production aware always high.
“It’s great but it’s also our painful point because our costs are really high because of all our ingredients being clean, organic and not contaminated.
“It contributes to our success but it’s also why our costs are so high compared to if we didn’t care about these things."
Jolie claimed that she has had online orders from celebrities including "models and footballers" over the first year but has to be "discrete" over their identities.
Despite facing challenges such as rising business rates and fierce competition in Canary Wharf, Jolie is eager to expand the Yummzy brand via a franchise in the near future.
“We would love to franchise and we’re ready for that kind of thing because we know Yummzy would do well in other parts of UK or London," she said.
“We wouldn’t be able to run two locations at the same time so we’d love someone to franchise with us."
Tower Hamlets Council did not respond to a request for comment.
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