Fitness food brand Fr3shbox selling healthy pizzas and burgers

Billy Simons was due to open his first Fr3shbox site in Bournemouth today, selling his inventions Fitburgers and Cheatzas, as well as coffee and shakes.

Customers will be able to order them for delivery or collect them – and there is space for a small number of people to eat in with social distancing in place.

Mr Simons set up Fr3shbox in 2017, delivering healthy food to the workplaces of people who subscribed to the service. That side of the business has been put on pause after the pandemic drastically cut the number of people working in offices.

Welcome to Fr3shbox, where healthy meals are delivered to your workplace

Mr Simons said he had long wanted physical premises as well as an online business. “There are benefits of having a bricks and mortar store particularly in a place like Bournemouth, where some of our traffic is quite transient because we’re a hospitality and holiday town,” he said.

“I always knew a physical site was going to be the way forward. Back in the day, if you asked me how I wanted it to be, I would have said I’d want to be on the high street.”

Healthy food brand Fr3shbox goes national

He found his site on Queens Road – between the town centre and Westbourne – before the Covid crisis.

The pandemic delayed the project and prompted him to do much of the work himself, including the carpentry to install counters and tables.

His 10-inch Cheatza range uses free range meat, vegetables, protein cheese and a gluten and wheat-free base. Fitburgers use lean meat, high protein cheese and gluten-free seeded buns.

The business is also producing DIY meal kits which can be delivered nationwide and cooked at home – so families can enjoy making a pizza together, while people in self-isolation can cook for themselves.

Mr Simons is also launching a “one feeds two” campaign, with a meal donated to a local child or family for every one sold in the shop. The initiative is being carried out with Parkstone United Reformed Church, whose kitchens Mr Simons used when he first started his online business.

“Food insecurity is a big issue in BCP. it has been long before the pandemic but it’s been exacerbated,” he said.

The business is opening early to sell coffee, supplied by Bournemouth-based roaster Badhand, and will be open for food from 12noon until 9pm on weekdays and 10pm on Saturdays.

“I’m excited to bring our new offering to the community and provide something that people have wanted for a long time- a healthy takeaway that provides indulgence without the calorie guilt and at a good price point,” said Mr Simons.