Double Award Success for 21 Year Old Entrepreneur

21-year-old entrepreneur, Joe Carnell, is putting healthy food on the map after winning two prestigious awards for the expansion of his young healthy eating company, ÜGOT. The 14-month-old business, which has opened two eateries within a year of each other at York and Newcastle railway stations, was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Newcomer of the Year category at the first ever Investec Food & Drink Awards, held in the House of Commons in London on 6 November. The annual awards were newly launched this year by the large London based investment firm, Investec, to celebrate the wealth of talent, drive and energy in the British food and drink sectors and ÜGOT were praised for their innovative concept of serving ‘honest food, fast’. Mr Carnell then went on to win Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the recent Press  Business Awards, which took place at York Racecourse on 20 November, launched to recognise businesses that have been exploiting new opportunities, creating wealth, employing more people and contributing to the region’s economy. The judges praised Joe for his ‘driving ambition to make a difference’ and for being a ‘very motivated young entrepreneur who has an appetite for observing urban life and translating his observations into his business activities’. ÜGOT launched its first site at York Station in October 2013, making a name for itself with its unique offering of healthy food free from additives and preservatives and specialising in catering for people with food intolerances. The company then opened its second eatery just 9 months later in July 2014 in the newly refurbished Newcastle Central Station, which had just undergone an extensive 8.7 million pound transformation. With plans to expand into Leeds in January 2015, Harrogate two months later in March, Newcastle city centre in June and then down to London later in the year, co-founders Joe Carnell and Jamal Edwards (also founder of the UK’s leading youth media brand, SBTV, and the face of PUMA, Google and Virgin) have rapid growth plans for ÜGOT. Mr Carnell says, ‘Being recognised nationally for something that started as a dream is truly amazing. I hope that I can inspire others and show them that it’s possible to achieve anything if you put your mind to it and just believe in yourself. My business partner, Jamal Edwards, has written a book about self-belief and it’s something we’re both so passionate about promoting and encouraging within young people. Jamal and I believe that food has the power to connect people and we want this to reflect through each one of our ÜGOT stores, giving customers a unique eating experience that embraces great music, innovative food and a real sense of community.’