Food Delivery Franchise Opportunity with Phat Pasty

The Phat Pasty Co has won a major national award, crowned winners of the prestigious Lunch! Retailer of the Year Award held at Old Billingsgate, London at the Lunch! Contemporary food to go show on the 2nd October.

In 2008 this award was won by M&S and so for such a young company to be proclaimed national winners was seen as a great achievement and a brand to watch for the future.

This is the first time that a franchise-based business has won this award.

The judges commented that they loved the fact that the Phat Pasty Co continued to lead the way in professionalising the delivered to work lunch marketplace. This was a business that had taken a standard snack van idea and created a high quality, fun and funky offer to provide the very best of what is available on the high street, direct to customers at their place of work.

The Phat Pasty Co have led the way in innovation in this market, developing additional brands with Phat Potato Co, Phat Salad Co and Phat Buffet Co, all launched in 2009.

With the unique looking VW camper van styling, the Phat Vans creates a fantastic impact, backed up with a full range of quality hot and cold food including a range of genuine handmade traditional Cornish pasties, delivered each week from Newquay.

John Clifton, the Event Manager and spokesperson for the judges said “This year the competition for the award was fierce, however, all of the judges felt that the Phat Pasty Company were the runaway winners. This business has a great, innovative approach to a traditional lunchtime market place and is a brand to watch for the future. Their fantastic Phat Vans set the business aside from the traditional sandwich delivery business and show how the lunch customer can now have fantastic food delivered direct to the workplace’’

The original idea was conceived by Laura Clark who was looking for a business idea that could fit around her lifestyle as a working mum. Having worked in the restaurant and catering industry all her career, she wanted a business of her own to set up and operate. Supported by her husband, Paul, who has been in franchising for the past fifteen years, they developed a ready-made business that can be operated by franchisees working from home or from a small lock-up unit. 

The corporate operation in Milton Keynes now operates 4 Phat Vans in the Milton Keynes area and delivers to over 350 companies each day. The business also has a thriving buffet and office lunch business as well as catering at weekends for parties and events. Having trialled the franchise locally in Bedford, they are now focussed upon franchising the concept nationally and have just announced a major area development agreement in the North East with 5 Phat Vans committed into the Newcastle area.

This is a brand that is now expanding across the UK and territories are quickly becoming allocated. With a much smaller investment than a restaurant or café operation and the fast returns seen in this flexible business, this is an ideal franchised business opportunity.

Said Laura Clark, ‘’We are delighted to win such a major award in just our third year of operating the business. Last year M&S were the winners and so for us to win this year is amazing! We have a great team and are passionate about delivering the very best lunch to our customers. Everyone who sees the funky Phat Vans loves the business and loves our food. Our challenge now is to replicate this across the UK to create a Phat revolution in every town!’’