Vincent McKevitt
Company:
Tossed
Job title:
Founder, MD and Top Tosser
How did you get into the sector:
When I have always been passionate about healthy eating, but as a bloke who likes big portions and a foodie who likes real food there was nothing out there that hit the spot. After I graduated from uni I was originally looking at the idea of setting up a buffet style salad bar. This took me on a research recce to the US where I pounded the streets of NY looking for ideas. Salad concepts were aplenty, but I didn't just want to do salads as I wanted to do a more rounded healthy eating offering. We brought in a bunch of other food categories, put a healthy twist on them and a cool brand and Tossed was born.
What do you enjoy about your role:
Every day is different and I am forced to wear many hats. In the morning I could be in tastings with our development chef who is working on new healthy items and in the afternoon I could be vetting new sites. I get to eat lots of yummy healthy food which is also great.
Career High:
Opening sites in both Westfield White City and Westfield Stratford was pretty cool. It was good to be part of such big and iconic launches.
What are your plans for the next year:
We have just opened our second shopping centre site in Westfield Stratford and have brought in some new cool products, mainly the low fat smashed frozen yoghurt counter where you can get a selection of low fat and fat free frozen yoghurts smashed in with healthy fruits and nuts or some naughtier treats.
We have a big product launch coming up for the winter which will see our hot offering become a lot stronger. We are launching the Hot n Healthier range, which is a range of hot food all under 500 calories.
We have more new sites planned for 2012.
What was the biggest break of your career:
Raising £1.5 million of VC investment in 2010 during the height of the recession. We were the only food business in our space to raise that amount in that year which shows the strength of the brand and the offering.
What are you most proud of in your career:
I don't get proud career wise as I don't think Tossed or myself are anywhere near where we are going to get to. The moments I am most proud are when I see the team together at the team parties. Many of our store based team are foreign students etc and Tossed represents their family away from home. To see the relationships develop amongst them makes me proud.
What advice would you give to people keen to progress in the industry:
Find a niche that you are passionate about, stick to your values, focus on quality and work bloody hard.
Who inspires you:
My mum is the only person who inspires me. She was the person who gave me my big work ethic. I admire what Jamie Oliver has done for eating habits in the UK. He gets a lot of flack, but he has changed the way many British households eat for the better.
What do you do in your downtime:
In my downtime I am a big fitness fan and like to hit the gym or go out running. I am also a big foodie and like to try out all of London's new eateries. I am planning on taking a sabbatical one day and eating my way around the top 100 restaurants in the world in one big long gastronomic holiday. I also continue the search for Mr's Mckevitt.
What question do you always ask in interviews:
Why should we employ you? We look for people who are passionate, fun and a little crazy. I am a big believer that you can't teach customer service. People are born with it or they aren't. Hire for personality, train for skills.
Tips that have made you a success:
I work very very hard. I listen to advice, but always make my own decisions and stick to them. I have good attention to detail. These days our success is more down to the team around me. I always work with people who are better than me and we have some amazing people in our Greenhouse (head office to you normal folk).