Joe Fogel: The VaioPak Group

Joe Fogel, 31
Company: The VaioPak Group
Web: www.vaiopak.co.uk

At an age when most people are thinking of little more than their next big night out, Joe Fogel was moving into the cut-throat business world.

Aged just 20, he formed The VaioPak Group to capitalise on the yawning gap in the market for printed cups and custom-printed food service packaging.

10 years on, the business has grown into a conglomerate comprising nine separate companies, encompassing everything from paper cups to takeaway bags. Clients are stretched across 23 countries and turnover has risen to £5.5m.

VaioPak’s burgeoning client list includes the biggest names in retail, including M&S, Red Bull and Tesco, as well as a number of smaller enterprises. Growth has been rapid, reaching 25% in 2017, and now Fogel is eyeing further expansion, having recently opened a US office and production facility in Chicago to capitalise on America’s huge food-to-go market.

The expansion will be extremely environmentally friendly.

The government may have rejected plans for a ‘latte levy’ on disposable coffee cups, but VaioPak has wholeheartedly embraced the green agenda with the reEco cup, which is lined with a revolutionary calcium carbonate solution rather than plastic, meaning the cups are fully recyclable.

Using VaioPak’s retained earnings Fogel has branched out into property, and the portfolio will soon encompass 49 units and a current value of £10m. Little wonder Fogel has earned a string of accolades, including being named Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Lloyds Growing Business Awards in 2015.

The company has also been recognised for its inspiring success, shortlisted for a string of gongs including Disruptor of the Year in the British Small Business Awards.