Speaker Q&A (2018): Angelina Harrisson, Tossed
Want to find out more about this year’s lunch! speakers? Our new Q&A series will feature some of the biggest names in food-to-go giving their take on the latest big trends and sharing expert insights, strategies and advice. First up is Angelina Harrisson, food & commercial director at Tossed. She’ll be appearing in an exclusive opening day Keynote focusing on what’s next for technology in quick service food-to-go.
Which food-to-go operator do you particularly admire and why?
LEON’s branding is great, Itsu have amazing attention to detail, Pret are just monsters in the field and Protein Haus are really delivering on concept. Farmer J are also looking very interesting and we are watching carefully!
What do you feel is the key for operators to successfully compete against their competitors?
More and more brands need to be aware of delivering exceptional in-store experience. Social media continues to dominate the marketing fields but fantastic food, delivered consistently, will always be top priority for me.
What do you see as key trends for food-to-go in the coming year?
- Technology: using innovation in this sector to be faster, more accurate and make in-store teams more efficient
- Health: specific diets like vegetarian, high protein, gluten free etc
- Sustainability: use of plastics, recycling facilities
- Engagement: Making customers and your team feel part of something special and different
What’s your bestselling product at the moment?
Our Chipotle Salad has been our bestseller practically since day one of Tossed, our hot food sales are growing on average 30% year-on-year.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Leading a team. Seeing them grow in terms of confidence, knowledge and skill makes my job easier! That and praise for delicious food!
And the most challenging?
Keeping up! The industry is moving so quickly that we have to be on top of our game 100% of the time. You can’t afford to have a single bad launch or under-performing store or a weak marketing campaign.
How important is lunch! to the food-to-go sector?
It’s the only show I go to these days.
Describe the lunch! trade show in 3 words:
Relevant, exciting, informative.
Can you tell us a bit about your much anticipated session at lunch! 2018?
I’ll be walking the audience through how Tossed became the industry pioneer in tech led food-to-go and some of the challenges that we faced along the way.
Who or what inspires you to be even better?
My team – as a rule I tell them they need to be better than me!
My boss – He never stops challenging me to be the best.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Do what you love, Love what you do.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know:
I learnt to juggle for the team Halloween party to complete my costume as a scary clown.
See Angelina at lunch! 2018
Trials and Tribulations: The Road to Success as an Innovation Pioneer: 11.15am in Keynote Theatre 2 on Thursday 20 September.
