Vincent McKevitt, Founder, Tossed Salad Bars

Picked as ‘The One to Watch’ in the Courvoisier ‘The Future 500’ announced in January 2008, Vincent Mckevitt is among a selected number of professionals tipped to be leaders in their fields. At the awards, Mckevitt, now 29, was named as the latest shining light in the restaurant and food industry.

A business studies graduate, and an advocate of healthy eating, choosing deli salads rather than fast food for his own lunch, Mckevitt looked at ways of enhancing the concept of salads as meals and adapting it to working lunches.

‘Healthy eating in the UK is seen as boring, because people immediately think of munching rice cakes and visualise small, tasteless salads – think of lettuce, celery, cucumber and tomatoes’ – said Mckevitt. ‘That’s not what healthy eating is all about’ he continued and quickly saw the market niche waiting to be filled.

He travelled to America, where the salad bar market is mature, especially in New York, and then to California to taste every smoothie ever conceived, and came back to the UK armed with a wealth of knowledge. Tossed was born. The first unit opened in Paddington, W2 in 2005, followed by second, also in Paddington in 2006, and after 18 months of consolidation, the big break came in 2007 when the third unit opened in St Martin’s Lane, WC2.

Today the ‘Salad Man’, as he calls himself, or ‘Boss for Tossed’, is at the forefront of the new ‘healthy fast casual’ market sector with his new generation of healthy eating venues, a flagship unit at Harrods102, the one-stop eating destination across the famous Knightsbridge store, a restaurant-style unit at Westfield London, Europe’s largest retail centre, and a first franchise in Baker Street, W1.

The concept is refreshingly simple, but it took someone like Mckevitt to give it a ‘twist’ and make it work. He has made salads big and tasty, packed with protein, hand tossed to order, indulgent, yet low in fat. They appeal to men, not just women. There is not a trace of full fat dressing in sight, no butter on baked potatoes and in sandwiches. It’s just that you wouldn’t know it, as everything tastes so very good. Instead of mayonnaise, yogurt is used to bind ingredients, low GI carbs feature heavily, farm assured and free range meat is used and all eggs are free range, soups are hand-made and low calories, and smoothies include superfood ingredients.

Mckevitt then injected an element of fun into the proposition, with the venues offering a quirky environment with vibrant communication, such as the silhouettes of fresh ingredients resembling rolling hills, and subliminal health messages on the walls, Astroturf grass on the floor, murals recreating the countryside or a park, to entice customers way from their busy, hectic lives and into the healthy calm world of Tossed.

Starting off just three years ago with a £30k loan under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme, he is now turning over in excess of £2m, taking a healthy bite from many sandwich bar groups. But he has proved that his formula works.

With impressive company ethics in respect of recycling and FairTrade, Mckevitt is now looking to expand quickly both in London and in UK cities, and expects to open up to 10 franchises by the end next year. www.tosseduk.com