About Us - Czap Consulting

Our Story

Czap was founded in 2015 by Michael Henderson, a veteran of New Zealand's hospitality industry with over 20 years of experience managing cafes, restaurants, and breweries across the country. After witnessing countless food and beverage businesses struggle with operational inefficiencies, Michael realized there was a significant gap in the market for specialized consulting focused on the unique challenges of New Zealand's hospitality sector.

Starting with just two clients in Hastings, Czap quickly built a reputation for delivering practical solutions that generated real results. As word spread about our data-driven approach and hands-on implementation support, demand for our services grew rapidly. By 2018, we had expanded to serve clients throughout the North Island, and by 2020, we had established a presence across New Zealand.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for the food and beverage industry, but it also highlighted the critical importance of operational excellence. During this period, we helped dozens of businesses pivot their operations, optimize their delivery and takeaway services, and implement safety protocols that maintained customer confidence while minimizing impacts on efficiency.

Today, Czap is recognized as New Zealand's leading operational consulting firm for food and beverage businesses. Our team has grown to include specialists in various aspects of hospitality operations, from kitchen workflow optimization to staff training and development. While we've evolved and expanded our services, our core mission remains unchanged: helping New Zealand's food and beverage businesses thrive through operational excellence.

Mission & Values

At Czap, our mission is to strengthen New Zealand's food and beverage sector by bringing operational excellence to businesses of all sizes. We believe that well-run local cafes, restaurants, and breweries create vibrant communities, preserve culinary traditions, and provide fulfilling career opportunities.

Our Core Values:

Integrity

We provide honest assessments and recommendations, even when they're challenging to hear. Our clients trust us to tell them what they need to know, not just what they want to hear. This commitment to truth builds lasting partnerships based on mutual respect and shared goals.

Practicality

We focus on implementable solutions that deliver real-world results, not theoretical ideals. Our recommendations always consider the unique constraints and opportunities of each business, ensuring that our solutions can be successfully executed in the real world.

Collaboration

We work alongside our clients' teams, not above them, respecting their knowledge and experience. We believe that the best solutions emerge when industry expertise meets operational analysis in an environment of mutual learning and respect.

Continuous Improvement

We are committed to ongoing learning and development, both for ourselves and our clients. The food and beverage industry is constantly evolving, and we ensure our knowledge and methodologies evolve with it through research, industry engagement, and rigorous performance measurement.

Our Team

Meet the experts behind Czap's operational excellence

Michael Henderson

Founder & CEO

Michael brings over 20 years of experience in New Zealand's hospitality industry, having managed multiple award-winning restaurants and cafes before founding Czap. His practical knowledge of operational challenges and solutions informs our hands-on approach to consulting.

Michael holds an MBA from the University of Auckland and is a certified hospitality management professional. He regularly speaks at industry conferences and contributes to hospitality publications.

Olivia Chen

Operations Director

Olivia specializes in restaurant workflow optimization and staff development. Before joining Czap, she managed operations for a group of five restaurants in Wellington, where she implemented systems that reduced costs by 18% while improving service quality.

With a background in industrial engineering and hospitality management, Olivia brings a unique analytical perspective to operational challenges while maintaining a deep understanding of the human elements that drive successful service.

David Taumaunu

Brewing Operations Specialist

David joined Czap after a successful career as head brewer at several craft breweries across New Zealand. His expertise in production efficiency, quality control, and taproom operations has helped numerous brewing clients optimize their processes.

David holds brewing certifications from both New Zealand and international brewing institutes and maintains close connections with the craft brewing community, ensuring our clients benefit from the latest innovations in brewing technology and methodology.

Emily Watson

Data & Analytics Lead

Emily leads our data analysis initiatives, transforming operational metrics into actionable insights. Her expertise in point-of-sale systems, inventory management software, and business intelligence tools enables our clients to make data-driven decisions.

With a background in statistics and business analytics, Emily has developed several proprietary methodologies for analyzing restaurant performance and identifying improvement opportunities that now form the backbone of our analytical approach.

Our Achievements

Making a measurable impact across New Zealand's food and beverage industry

120+

Clients Served

We've worked with over 120 food and beverage businesses across New Zealand, from small family-owned cafes to award-winning restaurants and rapidly growing brewery chains.

22%

Average Efficiency Improvement

Our clients experience an average 22% improvement in operational efficiency, translating to reduced costs, improved service speed, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

85%

Client Retention Rate

85% of our clients return for additional services or ongoing support, reflecting our commitment to building lasting partnerships that deliver sustained value.

Industry Awards

We've been recognized with three prestigious industry awards for our contributions to New Zealand's hospitality sector, including the 2022 Best Consulting Firm from NZ Hospitality Awards.

18%

Average Profit Increase

Our operational improvements lead to an average 18% increase in profitability for our clients within the first year of implementation, without compromising quality or guest experience.

35%

Staff Turnover Reduction

Our staff development and operational systems help clients reduce turnover by an average of 35%, creating more stable teams and reducing recruitment and training costs.

What Our Clients Say

Real feedback from food and beverage businesses we've helped

Czap's operational assessment transformed our cafe. Their practical recommendations were easy to implement and delivered immediate results. Within three months, we reduced wait times by 40% while serving 20% more customers with the same staff. Their data-driven approach and industry expertise were exactly what we needed to take our business to the next level.

Rebecca Thompson

Owner, Sunrise Cafe, Auckland

As a growing brewery, we were struggling with consistency across our production process. The Czap team helped us implement quality control systems and production scheduling tools that eliminated batch variations and improved our efficiency. Their understanding of both the technical and business aspects of brewing operations was impressive, and their solutions were practical and effective.

James Cooper

Founder, Coastal Brew Works, Wellington

Working with Czap completely changed how we think about our restaurant operations. Their team took the time to understand our unique challenges and created custom solutions that respected our brand and culture. The kitchen reorganization and staff training programs they implemented increased our dinner service capacity by 35% without sacrificing quality or overwhelming our team.