Julian Metcalfe: British entrepreneur who co-founded Pret a Manger (sold for around 2 billion) and founded the Japanese-inspired healthy food chain Itsu.
What this episode covers
Julian Metcalfe joins Stephen Bartlett to trace how a difficult childhood, including his mother's suicide when he was seven and a distant father, shaped his obsessive drive and complex character. He argues that transparency, trust, affection and long-term thinking, rather than numbers or short-term ambition, are what truly build great companies. He recounts founding Pret a Manger in 1986 with a college friend, the cultural systems he invented like staff voting on new hires and giving food away, and how he later built Itsu as a fully private company to protect his vision. The conversation also covers losing control of Pret through private equity and a brief McDonald's stake, the tragic sesame allergy death that led to Natasha's Law, and discovering at 45 that he had a 19-year-old daughter, Celeste, who now works with him. Throughout, Metcalfe champions failure, risk-taking and affordable nutritious food as his life's mission.
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Hoffman Process
The Hoffman Institute
“i pushed myself therapy and and even doing this i think called the hoffman have you heard about it he's coming here yeah i did the hoffman he's kind of great”— Julian Metcalfe
The Ride of a Lifetime
Bob Iger
“it almost reminds me of um bob iger i read disney yeah bob iger's book about four-year-old that was playing at disney and a crocodile comes out”— Stephen Bartlett
Dragons' Den
BBC
“so even on i've watched on dragon's den it's interesting that you i've noticed you never put anyone down you somehow very human the way you deal with”— Julian Metcalfe
Big reveals from this episode
- Julian's mother committed suicide on Boxing Day when he was seven, leaving him with a deep, lasting loneliness.
- He pledged to show his entire team all company financials every quarter and revealed he has never taken a pound out of the business.
- He insists Pret's success was largely naive and unplanned, just hundreds of failures punctuated by moments of magic and bravery.
- After his co-founder retired with no paperwork between them, private equity and briefly McDonald's (a 30% stake) entered, changing the business.
- He built Itsu as a 100% private company specifically so he could never again be a minority owner forced to abandon his vision.
- At about 45 he discovered he had a 19-year-old daughter, Celeste, who now sits on the Itsu board and led its brand for years.
- The sesame allergy death of a young girl who bought a Pret baguette led to Natasha's Law, mandating far more food labeling in the UK.
Worth remembering
- From the first Itsu store, the company grew to around 76 locations.
- Julian says he felt completely unlovable for decades and to this day does not call his parents mum and dad.
- Itsu's menu is roughly 40% plant-based and most items are under 400-500 calories, aimed at affordable nutritious food for about seven pounds.
- At Pret, current store staff voted yes or no on a napkin to decide whether a job candidate was hired.
- Pret had 'buddy days' where staff could give away five to ten products a day to any customer to build long-term loyalty.
- A till button called 'the joy of Pret' tracked which stores weren't giving enough free items away.
- Pret never let sandwiches carry over to the next day and drove unsold food in a van to homeless people even when making no profit.
- Itsu holds a five-star health and safety record across every site, which Julian says no one else has achieved.
- Julian gave his college-friend co-founder half the company to leave his job and join him.
- Raw fish has fallen from about 90% of Itsu's sales to roughly 30-50% as the menu has been reinvented three times.