From Zambrero stores to TV comedy: SS Group enters the media kitchen

From Zambrero stores to TV comedy: SS Group enters the media kitchen

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

It's the mantra young entrepreneurs Scott and Shae Chapman have been living and breathing since founding The SS Group just over five years ago.

Their journey began in franchising when the duo launched several restaurants within the Zambrero Mexican chain.

They quickly discovered an aptitude for hospitality and management, which they eventually passed on as sought-after consultants in the Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) space.

Where most would be content with just the one niche, Scott and Shae's hunger for greater things was insatiable.

With a background in media having previously worked for the likes of Morrison Media and Southern Cross Austereo, Scott led the foray into the next chapter.

"Our focus this year was diversifying where our money came from," he explains.

"We have grown our business to have multiple divisions - retail, where we own and operate four restaurants; also we do specialist bespoke consulting to a wide variety of clients from QSR retail through to national NFPs (non-for-profits)."

"Now media, which is split into two sections - We offer a full-service media agency which is about creative, buying and brand strategy. We also own a key stake in Mashed Pumpkin Productions."

This latest venture, Mashed Pumpkin Productions, is now on the cusp of its own success story.

Scott and Shae are working alongside talented director Jack Laurence to produce and promote a new TV series called Please Rewind.

Harking back to the likes of Clerks, the show follows two misfits who, in the age of streaming, continue to own and operate a video store.

"It's a lot of nostalgia for people of my vintage who spent their childhood growing up in video shops," says Scott.

"Our group was looking for something more creative to be involved in. After reading a couple of Jack's scripts, the funny nostalgia resonated with us and we knew we were onto a winner."

The show will be released this weekend and once the first season has wrapped up, Scott and Shae are angling for a deal with the major networks.

"Once we finish season one, we pitch to Screen Australia for season two and then to other networks, including Netflix."

The work with Mashed Pumpkin Productions is something The SS Group is particularly proud of and working on Please Rewind was the cherry on top.

While the bright lights of film and TV are beckoning, the pair continues to hit major milestones across the other businesses that are their bread and butter.

Not only do The SS Group Zambrero restaurants continue to achieve major financial success, to date they have also smashed philanthropic goals by donating more than 750,000 meals to people in need.

"We have spent the past four years working extremely hard within a franchise organisation," says Scott.

"Rather than succumbing to becoming 'franchise people,' we've instead worked the system which allows us to operate in a way that benefits us."

"We've been able to move into different areas without having an issue with the franchisor."

Having both come out of the corporate world, Scott and Shae drop this prime piece of advice when it comes to entrepreneurship: "Diversification is the way to go."

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