Elevating the Everyday

Named as the world’s most Instagrammable café – the famous lifestyle brand EL&N began its journey in the heart of Mayfair, London in 2017 and ever since has been escalating the café culture scene with an innovative menu offering, unique interior design and the finest specialty coffee. Here, RLI converses with company Founder Alexandra Miller to learn about how the brand has grown and evolved since its inception.
The EL&N (Eat, Live & Nourish) brand was created with a vision to redefine the café culture scene by blending unique designs with a creative culinary menu. The inspiration behind EL&N came from the desire to build a strong brand identity and create a destination, not just another café. Instead their locations are immersive dining spaces that are Instagrammable, yet distinctively stylish.
When designing new locations that balance visual appeal with delivering exceptional food and drink experiences, the company ensures they design with purpose and that their interiors are carefully curated to create an inviting and visually stunning space; they are also designed to enhance the customer experience.
The food and beverages on offer are developed with as much creativity and intent as their interiors. EL&N listen to the needs of their guests and make sure they are constantly evolving to keep both the design and menu fresh, be it through collaboration menus or limited time seasonal campaigns.

The business keeps a check on global trends across the sectors of design, food and culture so that their offerings resonate with a modern audience as well as the customer base they already have. They prioritise listening to customers, understanding their evolving preferences and partnering with like-minded companies in the industry to keep things fresh. The household designs for which EL&N are known is a cornerstone of their identity and they like to set trends rather than follow them. By constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity they make sure every location in the portfolio feels unique and relevant.
“We feel it is a blend of stunning aesthetics, deliciously creative food and drinks and warm, personalised service that keeps our guests coming back,” highlights Alexandra Miller, Founder of EL&N. “Our teams are fantastic at rolling out meticulous staff training and strict quality control so that the product remains consistent. We also adapt to local cultures to create a globally recognisable but locally relevant brand experience.”
As the topic of conversation moves onto social media, an area in which EL&N excels, Miller explains that the medium has become the lens through which they design and market their cafes, ensuring every element – from interiors to menu presentations has that picture perfect moment behind it. She continues by saying that it is all digital storytelling; they have turned their customers into brand ambassadors and that one of the best parts of her job is seeing all the creative user generated content.

Like any business in 2025, EL&N is aware of its sustainability requirements and this is something they are really targeting for this year. They are already in the process of implementing small steps like the mindful sourcing of their ingredients, the reduction of waste and the ability to offer eco-friendly packaging where possible.
They continuously evaluate their supply chain to prioritise local and ethical suppliers while introducing plant-based options that align with customer’s core values. The overall goal is to create a positive impact without compromising the wider EL&N experience.
“This year we are focusing heavily on pop-ups and activations in locations where we do not have a presence yet as this is always a fantastic way to test the market and see how people respond to our concept.”
Since its launch in London eight years ago, the company has grown across borders and now operates in countries around the world. So what inspired Alexandra to take EL&N global?
“We always had the vision to take this company around the world. We were getting a lot of requests quite early on, in particular through social media to bring the brand to places like New York City, Dubai, Tokyo etc. It felt like the right natural progression for us to scale the brand in 2020 to iconic locations globally and connect with diverse audiences. We have learnt a lot along the way about how to localise a British-born entity and it has made us much more robust and adaptable.”

The first thing on the agenda when adapting to a new environment is tailoring the menu offerings, as it is pivotal to incorporate regional and localised dishes that are popular within the location they are in. When relevant they will also incorporate locally-inspired décor to offer something that guests do not expect when they visit their locations in places such as Kuala Lumpur or Johannesburg.
To assist in maintaining brand identity across multiple regions, their teams have implemented strict brand guidelines, training local teams extensively and collaborating with regional experts to seamlessly integrate the EL&N unit into the new district. The core brand is their bread and butter and nobody knows it better than their team, but leaning on local expertise has been crucial in ensuring they tap into new markets in the right way.
As our time with Alexandra begins to run short, we ask her about the year ahead and what is in the pipeline.

“This year we are focusing heavily on pop-ups and activations in locations where we do not have a presence yet as this is always a fantastic way to test the market and see how people respond to our concept,” comments the Founder.
“We will also continue to focus on building out the brand within the hospitality space. Last year we launched our first sister concept, The EL&N Deli & Bakery in Covent Garden and it has already exceeded our expectations, so much so that we are now focusing on rolling that out in new global destinations like Berlin and Dubai. We have some more sister brands on course to open this year so you will have to watch this space. It is going to be a pivotal year for our brand.”