Rap duo open supermarket to 'give back' to hometown

"We like to get involved with businesses that solve problems and give back to the community," says south London rapper Konan - one half of the rap duo Krept and Konan.

The two award-winning musicians are opening a supermarket in their hometown of Croydon to help better serve the area's diverse population.

The pair say Saveways is Britain's first large-scale supermarket, housed in 15,000 sq ft venue to meet the needs of Black, Asian, and ethnic communities.

They told BBC London they would always aim to start their business ventures in Croydon as this community had raised them.

Krept, whose real name is Casyo Johnson, said he "immediately" understood the need for such supermarket when it was pitched to him by their business partner and co-founder, Kaysor Ali.

"Having the experience of going shopping and having to go to multiple places have to go to here for my meat, here for my fruit and veg and then for certain seasonings I have to go here - not everything is in the major supermarkets," Krept said.

"They just have one world food aisle and it was like, 'imagine that, but a whole supermarket.'"

The supermarket will feature food and drink from various cultures.

While the 2021 Census recorded over 250,000 residents of black, Asian, and mixed ethnic backgrounds across Croydon and Sutton these communities remain underserved by small, often under-resourced stores, the pair said.

"I'm from Thornton Heath so this is my hometown," Konan, whose real name is Karl Wilson, added. "It's good to build the foundation where you started the foundation."

They became well-known for their music in 2013 when the duo broke the record for highest charting UK album by an unsigned act with Young Kingz.

Following that success, they won a MOBO award and a BET award.

Both were awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's 2020 birthday honours for services to music and the community in Croydon.

The supermarket is not their first foray into the business world, as they already own a dessert restaurant in Croydon and Krept has launched a skincare brand.

They join an increasingly long list of celebrities to launch business ventures in London, with the likes of Idris Elba and Ed Sheeran owning pubs in the city.

Krept said he felt like his mother's last hope while growing up as his dad was in prison and brother was getting into "a lot of trouble".

Asked what his advice would be to young people in similar situations he said: "Keep going. The reason why I say keep going is because 15 years ago there was situations that we could never have imagined getting out of.

"If we knew that someone [who] said, 'keep going, it's all going to be fine and you're going to work your way out of these situations', that would, you know, that would make the most difference to a 15-year-old me."

Saveways is set to open on 1 February.

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