Ugly Duckling grew from a ghost kitchen into an Oslo burger favourite

Ugly Duckling began as a ghost kitchen with a simple ambition. Founder Axel Skrelset wanted to make burgers that people would love, talk about and come back for.

Word spread quickly. Demand grew, and what started as a kitchen focused on delivery became one of Oslo’s most talked-about burger concepts.

The food, the brand’s personality and the care behind every burger gave customers something to remember and recommend to their friends. That reputation grew from the work Axel and his team put into each order.

Axel brings together a chef’s attention to food and an entrepreneur’s understanding of what makes a restaurant matter to its customers. He cares about the meal, the service and the people who make both possible.

He is open-minded and generous with his knowledge, happy to share experiences, ideas and his enthusiasm for the restaurant industry. That willingness to learn and exchange ideas is part of how he approaches the business.

For Axel and the team, the customer experience comes first. Every burger, every interaction and every order matters. Great food deserves great service, and that belief has helped Ugly Duckling stand out in Oslo’s competitive restaurant scene.

As Ugly Duckling became more popular, Axel began looking beyond the ghost kitchen model. The next chapter brought opportunities to reach more customers and develop the concept further.

It also brought more to manage. Preparing food, looking after employees, serving customers, handling suppliers and developing the brand all competed for the same hours in the day.

Ugly Duckling was already using another restaurant system. As Axel planned the next stage, he explored alternatives that could provide greater automation, better tools and support for the business as it grew.

He wanted more time for the food and the customer experience, with less of his attention tied up in administration. That search led him to ninito.

The goal was to make running Ugly Duckling easier, give Axel more control and take administrative work off his shoulders. With ninito, many tasks that previously needed his attention could be simplified or automated.

Accounting workflows, menu management, discounts, campaigns and daily administration became easier to handle. More of the work could be managed from the same place, giving Axel less to coordinate across his day.

The ninito team became part of that support. Help with setup, changes, questions and the small details of a busy restaurant meant Axel did not have to work through every system task on his own.

For someone whose days are full from morning to evening, those changes matter. Axel could spend less time managing systems and more time with the restaurant, his employees and his customers.

For restaurants choosing ninito today, that kind of help has a clear place in the offer. Pro and Enterprise include ongoing menu, campaign and loyalty changes at no extra charge. Support from our own team in Norway is included 24/7 across all plans. An entire team behind the restaurant, with no evening, night or weekend support surcharge.

The webshop became another important part of Ugly Duckling’s setup. With ninito, customers can browse the menu, order directly online and preorder their favourite burgers ahead of time.

That makes ordering more convenient for customers and gives the team a clearer view of incoming orders. They can organise the work around busy periods and look after the experience from the moment an order arrives.

For Ugly Duckling, the webshop adds a direct sales channel under its own brand. Alongside central menu management, promotions and automated workflows, it helps Axel and the team manage more of the business from one place.

Axel and the Ugly Duckling team continue to do what made the concept popular in the first place. They make burgers they are proud of, take care of their customers and bring their enthusiasm to the restaurant every day.

With ninito supporting the work behind the scenes, daily operations have become easier. Less administration, simpler ordering and tools that fit the way the team works give them more freedom to concentrate on the restaurant.

Axel built the brand, its reputation and the affection customers have for Ugly Duckling. ninito is proud to support him and his team as they take it further.