Johal adds bite
Born in India but raised in the UK, Mark Johal was at the forefront of Britain’s burgeoning love affair with Asian foods in the 1970s – selling Chinese food to Chinese customers.
He admits it was a strange sell for a boy from the Punjab but the chop suey restaurants springing up all over Britain were the main customers of JK Foods, the small company Johal had just purchased with his father-in-law.
“Indian food is arguably the nation’s favourite now,” explains Johal, “but in the 1970s, Chinese food was a phenomenon.
“Because I was an Indian guy selling Chinese ingredients I really had to build my product knowledge quickly. I became passionate about quality ingredients and began to travel to China.”
Fast forward more than 30 years and Johal’s passion for quality ingredients is even stronger – even though he’s now managing a business with a turnover of £150m. Nottingham-based Hyperama Group is still privately owned and includes three major cash and carry outlets as well as the original but expanded JK Foods business, which supplies restaurants nationwide.
The jewel in the company’s crown is fast-growing ethnic food brand Tiger Tiger, which has built a loyal following amongst chefs for its premium quality, authentic ethnic products and is being launched into retail for the first time.
“From an embryonic stage in the ‘70s, we have built the business to be a major player in the marketplace. Our objective now is to focus on strategies to double our current turnover in the next five years if not sooner,” he says.
Johal’s expansion into the cash and carry business has proved very successful since the first one launched in 1992. There are now three in the UK, all are 50,000-140,000 sq ft buildings stocking a wide range of world foods.
But it is the growth of the Tiger Tiger brand that really excites him. “I’m a creative person, I prefer taking an idea and developing it, that is where the challenge lies,” he says.
“Many UK consumers want to replicate flavours at home. They are time poor and often find it difficult to source and portion control the ingredients to the quantities required. What we do with Tiger Tiger is present the consumer with a de-skilled, hassle-free method to replicate a Chinese, Thai or Indian dish.”
The brand is now on the shelves of several UK supermarket chains and is continuing to expand with new product development. Johal has such long established links with suppliers throughout the world that the company can take a product from concept to shelf in under 12 weeks.
He adds: “This is the challenging part that I love, establishing a brand and creating innovative new products. I may be 57 but I feel a long way off retirement. The food industry is a wonderful platform for a creative mind.” There are endless things we can achieve yet.”
