Foodie has got his snack chain all wrapped up

"I wanted to do food, because food is quite stable and if you get it right you get regular customers coming in. Everybody always has to eat," he says.

Croydon-born Haque had long wanted to run his own business and decided to give up his job as a management consultant at KPMG when his firm offered voluntary redundancies in 2002.

"There was a lot of travel and variety, but ultimately I wanted to learn more about how real businesses worked. I wanted to be at the coalface, coming up with something new, making decisions and recruiting staff."

Despite having several ideas for a catering business, they never got past the planning stage and, after a while, he returned to contracting. "I couldn't get the finance together and to make it move, you need to really believe in it and put everything on the line for it, but at the time I had some contracting offers which came through."

It was not until several years later that Haque decided to start a wrap business. His inspiration came after witnessing the success of burrito chains, where the wrap is made in front of the customer, while on a trip to Chicago.

"I was wondering why there were none of these places over in the UK. It is such a good product, it is big and fills you up. Typically I used to eat tuna sandwiches or a soup every lunchtime and I thought it would be quite nice to do something different."

Haque and his business partner refined a model and managed to acquire a store on Bishopsgate opposite Liverpool Street station. It cost £500,000 to set up the first store and the money came from savings and a £200,000 bank loan, which was secured against their houses. "Compared to now it was probably a bit easier to get a loan. If we were doing it today, property would be cheaper but then again you wouldn't be able to raise bank finance at all."

The store opened in May 2006, and despite having taken a substantial financial gamble, Haque was confident. "If you believe in the concept you have to make it work. I was always convinced people would like the product."

Haque says he listened to a lot of customer feedback, which helped him to streamline the menu. "We spent the first few years refining the menu and just staying alive."

He also discovered the business might benefit from using the kiosk model, which employs fewer people and uses hot cabinets to keep food warm so customers can be served instantly.

However, it was at this point that the company faced its biggest challenge. "We got the kiosk on Broadgate Circle in January 2009, but then everything went pear-shaped. We still had the store, and the credit crunch happened. We couldn't get any finance in and there was a cash flow issue. We came to the East London Small Business Centre and we applied for a fund and got £15,000 to help get the kiosk up and running. It was a crucial time for us and luckily the funding came through.

"Going from the first to the second store is what makes most businesses go bust."

Eventually, the store opened in June 2009 and has become highly successful. Haque learned from the experience and decided that future expansions would utilise the franchise model.

"We thought franchising might be the best way to move forward. Now the business is franchised, a franchisee will come to me with between £80,000 and £100,000. They pay us a franchise fee of £25,000 plus VAT and they set up a kiosk or a store and then they pay us a royalty every month and it is a very good model and a very profitable model. They pay us 8% of their sales and 2% goes to marketing." With this model in place Haque believes the company can expand without getting into financial difficulty.

"Getting franchised makes it much quicker and they have their own money and motivation and they run it very well because it's their own business."

Two new stores have been set up in Goodge Street and by Embankment and another two should open in Farringdon and the Strand in the next few months.

"We're planning a big roll-out. We are looking to expand around Greater London, Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester and, later on, internationally."

Crystal Palace-supporting Haque admits he finds it hard to fit in hobbies. "I find that to make the business successful. You have to put a lot of time, energy and effort into it. Sometimes that extra 10% or 20% that you put into it relates to the fast growth."