Founders · Sri Lanka
A Sri Lankan food truck is now a 30-outlet brand in five countries
Abdus Salaam and his two brothers put LKR 600,000 into a 4ft by 6ft truck on Marine Drive in January 2019. Seven years on, Crepe Runner has more than 20 outlets in Sri Lanka, four in the Maldives, a store in Bangalore, a franchise in Qatar, and four national brand awards in a row.
In short
Crepe Runner is a Sri Lankan quick-service crepe chain founded in 2019 by brothers Abdus Salaam, Abdus Samad and Mohamed Suhail. It started as a single food truck with LKR 600,000 in capital, sold out daily, moved into stores during Covid-19 and the economic crisis, and opened its first overseas outlet in the Maldives in 2022. It now runs 30 outlets in four countries with South Africa next. Abdus Salaam, who started his first business at 18, has since launched the energy drink Hype Bam.
The story
Abdus Salaam was already a founder before Crepe Runner. In 2013, at 18, he started Clueman, a men's apparel brand made entirely in Sri Lanka that went on to sell more than 600,000 t-shirts. In between he studied business at Cardiff Metropolitan University, worked as an analyst at HSBC, and coached basketball at Thurstan College.
Food trucks arrived in Sri Lanka around 2015, and the brothers' first idea, in 2016, was a waffle truck. The version that launched in January 2019 was crepes. They had tasted French-style crepes overseas and saw nothing like them in Colombo's street food. Each brother put in LKR 200,000, and the LKR 600,000 bought a 4ft by 6ft truck parked on Marine Drive in Colombo 6, with capacity for about 200 crepes a day.
The truck sold out most days. Word of mouth and repeat customers gave them product-market fit within the first year, and the first stores followed in 2020, at Mount Lavinia and then Cool Planet in Maharagama. That expansion happened through the pandemic and the 2022 economic crisis, which is when the brothers built the standardised operations that let the concept be copied outlet by outlet.
The first international outlet opened in the Maldives in 2022, where there are now four. Bangalore followed, and Qatar became the brand's first franchise, the model it plans to use for the next markets. At the time of our feature Crepe Runner had 30 outlets across Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India and Qatar, with South Africa named as the next country. Its stated goal is 100 outlets in Sri Lanka at around 20 a year.
The recognition has been steady. Crepe Runner won the SLIM Brand Excellence SME award four years running, from Merit in 2020 to Gold in 2023, and the Asia Marketing Federation named Abdus Salaam Asia's Top Outstanding Youth Marketeer in 2022, against nominees from 17 countries.
Salaam has kept founding. Snack Entity, launched in 2022, is the group company. Hype Bam, an energy drink, started as a beverage line inside Crepe Runner in 2022, failed in its first aloe-vera-and-fruit-pulp version, and was relaunched as a standalone brand in 2024: five flavours, 250ml cans, 80mg of caffeine, and a place in more than 40 hotel, restaurant and cafe retailers, plus Keells and Spar. His own summary of the strategy, from an interview with The Morning: build the brand first, and then you are in business.
Timeline
- 2013At 18, Abdus Salaam founds Clueman, a made-in-Sri-Lanka men's apparel brand. It goes on to sell more than 600,000 t-shirts.
- 2016The brothers' first food-truck idea: waffles.
- January 2019Crepe Runner launches as a food truck on Marine Drive, Colombo 6. Capital: LKR 600,000.
- 2020 to 2022First stores at Mount Lavinia and Cool Planet Maharagama. Systems built through Covid-19 and the economic crisis.
- 2021 to 2023SLIM Brand Excellence SME awards four years in a row: Merit, Silver, Bronze, Gold. Asia's Top Outstanding Youth Marketeer 2022.
- 2022First overseas outlet in the Maldives. Snack Entity founded. First attempt at an energy drink inside Crepe Runner.
- 2024Hype Bam launches as a standalone energy drink brand.
- March 202627th outlet opens with Kandy Selection. Galle City Center announced.
- 202630 outlets across four countries. South Africa next.
Crepe Runner in numbers
Questions people ask
Who founded Crepe Runner?
Brothers Abdus Salaam, Abdus Samad and Mohamed Suhail, in January 2019, from a food truck on Marine Drive.
How many outlets does Crepe Runner have?
30 at the time of our feature: more than 20 in Sri Lanka, four in the Maldives, one or more in Bangalore, and a franchise in Qatar.
How much did it cost to start?
LKR 600,000, spent on a 4ft by 6ft truck.
What awards has it won?
Four consecutive SLIM Brand Excellence SME awards, 2020 to 2023, and the Asia Marketing Federation's youth marketeer award for Abdus Salaam in 2022.
What is Hype Bam?
An energy drink Abdus Salaam launched in 2024 after a first attempt inside Crepe Runner failed in 2022. Five flavours, 250ml cans, 80mg of caffeine, sold through more than 40 HORECA retailers.