University of Huddersfield Graduate has new take on takeaways.  Enterprising
student Leon Doyle aims to become a takeaway tycoon… without
cooking a curry, frying a fish or packing a pizza.Instead, Leon helps existing takeaway owners boost their businesses by including their menus in a glossy brochure which is widely distributed throughout an area. Customers then pick and choose and take up a range of special offers. The idea has already been a success in test areas. And business experts were so impressed by Leon’s concept – known as The Master Menu – that he represented the University of Huddersfield at the nationwide competition Venurefest in February, at which he was invited to travel to Manchester to pitch his idea to TV’s Dragon’s Den judges. Leon, aged 23, has recently graduated from the University of Huddersfield’s Transport and Logistics Department. He explains how the idea for The Master Menu evolved… “You walk in after a hard day’s work and you are greeted by ten to fifteen leaflets and tatty menus on your doorstep. Certainly that is the case if you are a student. Most of the menus go in the bin or are used just once because they are so cheap and tatty. So I wondered what would happen if I compiled all the local takeaway menus into a tidy magazine on good quality paper.” After research among local takeaway owners, Leon went ahead with his idea – and The Master Menu appeared in the Headingley area of Leeds. It includes takeaways that offer fish and chips, pizza, Indian and Chinese food and kebabs. “I wanted to get all the cuisines in there,” said Leon. And the takeaway owners are not concerned that their menus can be compared with others in the same publication. “I did some research, and 99 per cent of people put all their takeaway menus in the same drawer or the same cupboard, so they are in direct competition anyway.” Takeaway owners in Headingley who signed up for The Master Menu saw their sales increase significantly. Leon’s aim was to roll out his concept to all 42 student towns in the UK – students are the biggest consumers of takeaway food – and then expand The Master Menu as a franchise. But after going up against the Dragon’s Den judges, Leon has decided to tap into an even more lucrative market. “The Dragons were really helpful, and made me realise that a franchise wasn’t the best way forward, so now I employ people on a commission basis,” he explains. “And I’ve just embarked on a partnership with one of the biggest online takeaway order companies in the UK, so I’ll be effectively opening The Master Menu up to absolutely everyone – not just students.” Now Leon is in the running for the Huddersfield Business Awards New Business of the Year prize, in recognition of his hard work and great business sense. Leon has been helped by the University of Huddersfield’s Business Mine – a free, on-campus service which offers a wide range of advice to students or recent graduates aiming to start their own enterprise. |