Luke Baylis Sumo Salad

Working in the US, Luke Baylis and James Miller weren’t surprised to be surrounded by an endless array of fatty, fast food stores. But, returning home, they realised the Australian fast food industry wasn’t any better at offering healthy, take-away food. They saw a gap in the market to create a healthy, nutritious fast food franchise. Raising capital for a new business idea is tough when you’re in your mid-twenties. Eventually, with financial help from private investors, the first SumoSalad store opened in Sydney in 2003. SumoSalad differentiated itself by offering genuinely healthy, delicious and affordable food, using only the best and freshest ingredients. Its web site offered nutritional information to support customers in sticking to a healthy diet. Driven by a cheeky, irreverent Aussie brand, created through guerrilla marketing, SumoSalad expanded quickly, with the first franchise store opening in 2004. Two years later, the company topped BRW’s Hot Franchise list. Luke’s strategy was to infiltrate major AB demographic shopping locations with high foot fall and seven day trading opportunities. Where franchising wasn’t immediately possible, Luke opened corporate stores in prime locations, with a view to selling later as a proven entity at a higher price. International franchising began within two years, first in Dubai and then in the UK and NZ. Today, with over 75 stores, SumoSalad is rapidly changing food courts around Australia and the face of the fast-food industry, in the process helping people with busy lifestyles to improve their diets and wellbeing. Luke’s strategy for the next five years is to grow outlet numbers by a further 85%, while also focusing on consolidating the existing business and building the profitability of the franchisees. He intends to achieve this by improving processes and providing a more versatile product range that is tolerant of seasonal changes.