tHE MARK MCC
SUPERSONIC
MARKETING PODCAST

Today we catch up with restaurant and hospitality royalty… Shamil Thakar who is the Co-Founder and Head Babu at Dishoom. We all want to know how they do it, we all want to know why there’s queues around the block and we all want to know how Shamil and the team have built such an incredible culture. Dishoom really is the envy and the benchmark for great hospitality.

I am here today doing a podcast with a new friend, Tom Lionetti-Maguire who is the founder and CEO of Little Lion Entertainment. Now if you think you haven't heard of Tom and Little Lion Entertainment then I bet you, you have because Tom actually runs the Crystal Maze Experience which took London by storm.

My next guest is Jonathan Swaine, who is the MD of Rank Group Retail and the ex MD of Fuller’s Inns & Hotels. We talk about his career, being a former marketer and what it takes to be a great leader as well as looking into the brave new world he’s entered which covered bingo, casinos and online gaming - so lots to talk about!

Today I’m really excited because I’ve got someone very important who’s a new friend on the Supersonic Podcast today, it’s Alice Woodwark who is Managing Director at RA Group (or Restaurants Associates as some of you may know them which is part of the larger Compass Group).

I’ve got another incredible episode for you from the Supersonic Podcast… the amazing chef Matt Gillan. He’s one of the most celebrated chefs in the UK who’s worked his way up through the ranks through Gordon Ramsey, South Lodge and many other great schooling grounds. He worked hard from doing the dishes to being owner, founder and chef at the Heritage in Sussex which he can’t wait to open again.

Tom Oliver is the Director of Oliver's Cider and not only does Tom and his team make the most incredible craft cider… he is also the tour manager for The Proclaimers. We managed to talk a little bit about that, a little bit about the current Covid situation but most importantly about making incredible cider.

Today I’ve got a really special guest on the podcast… it’s the incredible Sarah Willingham. Sarah is well-known on TV with things like Dragon’s Den and also The Restaurant with Raymond Blanc, but Sarah is also a great entrepreneur, insightful investor and a financial expert in her own right. Sarah works with amazing companies and brands like Craft Gin Club, Tonkotsu, London Cocktail Club and many more.

Today I’m speaking to Steven Alton who’s the CEO of the BII who are there to inspire, educate and support all licensees and give them a voice to protect our real national treasures, the Great British pub and bars all across the country. Steven and his team work tirelessly to serve 8,500 members and help them grow their businesses, make hospitality a more attractive proposition as a career and guide the industry during tricky times.

Today I’ve got the great opportunity to chat to one of the trailblazers in the industry: Chris Miller from the White Rabbit Fund. We go deep into how Chris started from Millie's Cookies and moving into Soho House… all the way to what he’s doing with White Rabbit Fund. We discuss what makes a great brand, what he looks for in an investment and what opportunities you may have to grow your business.

It’s a wet and windy day in Brighton at the end of April but today I’ve had something that’s absolutely brightened up my day which was talking to David Wolenski & Carl Clarke of Chick 'n' Sours and CHIK'N.

Today’s podcast guest is Harry Hugo from the influencer and social media agency, The Goat Agency. If any of you spend any time on LinkedIn you might have seen The Goat Agency with their daily vlog that is getting tens of thousands of views every single day.

A look back at the previous six months from myself, Mark Wingett and Mark Stretton. We sit and dig a bit deeper into what is really going on in the hospitality industry… the highlights, the lowlights, the people we should be shouting out to and things to be grateful for.

Simon Potts of The Alchemist has built an incredible brand from the ground up where he’s repositioned something to stand for something great. It’s so exciting to talk to someone who has done the proper work and delivered it through every touchpoint. Those of us who know The Alchemist will know that it’s a creative cocktail bar and restaurant that is still creating waves every day, week, month and year… and leaving a lot of it’s competition behind.

My guest today Mark Selby from Wahaca. He’s a real titan of the casual dining industry and has a great story of matching theatre with great food, great hospitality; and matching the warmth, vibrancy and colourfulness from a far away.

Today we’re coming live and loud from Walthamstow E17 and we’re speaking to the incredible entrepreneur Grace Regan. Grace started a restaurant from her home called Spicebox, and was giving up every single night that she had and all of her social life to serve up the most amazing vegan Indian food to all of her neighbours and friends.

Today’s guest is a real legend in the beer and retail space already… a superb scotsman who also has his fingers in a few pies that could be billion dollar ideas. I’m talking about James Brown… or JB as he’s known to a lot of people… from Brewdog and also the co-founder of TipJar.

Today’s guest is just a whirlwind of knowledge of all things TikTok - she’s a real expert in this area, a huge influencer in her own right and also works creating content for Jungle Creations. Vicky Banham is my guest today, and she’s given some amazing tips and 101s about how to get involved in TikTok, everything you wanted to know and how you can get started.

My next guest is Matt Grech-Smith, who is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the golf competitive socialising brand Swingers. He was the first which is really interesting and we talk about his journey from putting on events and music nights all the way to an agency, being bought by VCCP and what it’s like when that happens and you’re now working inside a huge ad agency. Follow the success story from there to the birth of Swingers. It’s really great insight from an impressive gamble - taking on high rents, big spaces to fill and big fit out costs to cover! They’ve got some exciting expansion plans, and Matt talks about what it means to be a CEO, how you can split your life between the UK and other territories and how weirdly… he’s not that big a fan of golf!

Simon Wilkinson is now the CEO at Bryon but before that he was doing great work consulting on quite a few brands, and Casual Dining Group before that... and I guess most famously with the La Tasca turnaround and successful sale. We could’ve talked for an awful long time, there's so much great stuff on what it means to be a leader, what it means to be a CEO, what it means to turn around a business, how you should hire and what you should do to stop the flow of cash out of a business.

Today I’ve just met the absolute whirlwind that is Whitney White Myrus from Eggslut, The Halal Guys, COFE App and Orange Buffalo. Whitney absolutely rocked in like a tornado with bright yellow Dr Martens on… with the Eggslut branding obviously. We just hit it off straight away, he had so much to say that it could’ve been 2-3 hours because there’s so much to get your teeth into.

Today’s episode is with Mark Palmer, who actually superseded me at Pret. He’s a wonderful human being, such a considered and polite guy but boy, is he dangerous in terms of marketing strategy and executing plans brilliantly. Mark’s had an amazing career so far, from United Biscuits to KP Snacks, to Burger King, Green & Blacks and Pret. At the moment, he’s at Cawston press, which he co-founded; LA Brewery, which is a kombucha brand which you can find at Leon and Wagamama; and also chairing Union Coffee which is just the most caring and incredible coffee brand out there.

I’m in Soho Radio today to run through some sessions, including a real star today who is Alex Reilley, the Chairman of Loungers and Cosy Club. I am really chuffed that Alex agreed to come on the podcast… he doesn’t do a lot of these things but he can offer such a masterclass. From starting from not much at all with some hospitality experience in the ops side of things, and then taking a chance and putting everything on the line to launch Lounge (as it was back then in Bristol) and growing it to 165 different independent feeling outlets.

I’m so excited to have Will on the podcast, he’s such an exciting, happy-go-lucky and positive guy who’s made a great culture within the business. He’s one of those guys that you meet and you’re so happy for everything that he’s achieved and everything he’s doing to grow the company through people, love and quality ingredients. If you haven’t been to Hawksmoor, go (and make sure you check out the Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew cocktail). It’s definitely one of my regular restaurants.

We’re just in the middle of Veganaury and we’ve got an opposite episode for you… maybe call it ham-anuary… as we’ve got the amazing George Rice who is the founder and MD at snack company Serious Pig. I’m really interested to know his story and how this all happened, I don’t know loads about the brand yet but what I have seen are great with superb tone of voice, superb branding, superb name and an great little brand book on their website. I also got an amazing bag of goodies sent to me which is stocking the snack cupboard, so as we come to the end of Dry Jan and Veganuary I’ll be pigging out when it comes to February no doubt.

Today I’ve got an amazing guest who is Kenny Blair, who literally served me my first pint. Kenny now owns Buzzworks and he is here to tell us why Buzzworks, what makes it so great  and what the strategy is going forward. They’re just about to open site 12 so wishing them well with that - I think you’ll get a lot of inspiration from Kenny as he is a great leader who is almost sponge like in terms of always being open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, new concepts and great new ways to make customers happy. 

I’m in the middle of recording sessions at Soho Studios just at the end of Poland Street and I have an amazing next guest coming up - which is a little off piste somewhat for a marketing podcast. I’m got Suzie Welch who is the Group Chief People Officer at ODEON Cinemas. I’m really excited to talk to her and find out everything that makes that business tick, how the brand is reflected internally and how she grows and manages a great culture that is fanatical about film.

Today I’m excited because I’ve got three major podcasts in a row and I really think they’re going to bring you some great ideas and add value to your brand. I’m here at the new home of the podcast at Soho Radio Studios with my next guest who is actually an old friend and I’m so glad that he gave up his time to come talk to me today. It’s Kevin Hydes, who is the Chief Commercial Officer of Tim Hortons - the home of amazing coffee and baked goods. You’ll get to learn a lot of Tim Hortons as well as how interesting a task it is moving to a new job when you’ve been somewhere else as Kevin was at Costa Coffee for years bringing the amazing cups and ‘7 out of 10 people prefer Costa’.

It’s just after the Christmas and New Year break and I’ve been so lucky that Alison and Rich from Avocado Social came down to Brighton to Platform9 at Hove Town Hall to record the third of our ‘social media tips for the year’ podcast. I really hope it will give you some great thoughts about what you should be concentrating on for the year and tips to share with your teams to improve your business. We think there are 20 tips in there but we lost track around 13… enjoy!

Today I’m so excited because I’m going to meet some people who I’ve gotten to know quite well over social media - and that is Biff & Andy from Biff’s Kitchen. They’ve made great strides in making veganism cool and I can’t wait to hear about how their story began and the partnerships potential they have that could make Biff’s an absolutely iconic household name. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hopefully you have a drink in hand! Last night we went out and had some food at Soho Bill’s before our recording of the 2019 Year in Review. There was so much to get through, we got a little tipsy, said what was on our mind and had a bit of fun… hopefully it resonates with you.