James makes Forbes 30 Under 30 with Skinny Food Co after rejecting Dragon’s Den

James joined University College Birmingham from Bournville School in 2008, first completing his National Diploma in Travel and Tourism, now the Level 3 in Tourism, Aviation, Events and Hospitality.

Spurred on to further his knowledge and skills, he then enrolled on the business and tourism degree at the University’s School of Business, Tourism and Creative Industries.

After graduating in 2013, he went into marketing and met Wayne, who was one of his clients. Both with family members who were diabetics, they decided to launch a range of zero or low sugar products.

“We went to a trade show and came away with £2,500 of orders, covering our £3,000 outlay, said James, who does the marketing while Wayne covers the designing and branding. “We knew we had something good on offer.”

At first, they had just a few products – ketchup, barbecue sauce and chip shop curry – all of which were gluten free, fat free, dairy free, vegan friendly, and diabetic friendly with no added sugars.

Today, the range has 300 different products – including sauces and syrups, spreads, low sugar snacks, flavoured coffees, baking collections, spice collections, takeaway sauces, noodles and pizza bases.

In its first year, the Skinny Food Co made £1.6 million turnover, £4.6 million in its second and is projected to have a turnover of £18 million by the end of April.

Early predictions by its accountants are that in its fourth year – by April 2022 – it will have amassed £30 million in sales.

And the adventure in business all started at University College Birmingham, which James said gave him the chance to gain “valuable work experience and lots of opportunities”. 

“While I was a student, I applied for lots of jobs and wasn't successful due to my lack of experience,” he said. “But the University gave me so many opportunities to help me to gain experience and make me more employable, which I grabbed with both hands.