Smoothie bar chain on way

Oct 18 2007 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A FORMER newsagent has launched a chain of smoothie bars in the North- East after getting bored with his old job.

Jora Bassi will open his first Pura store in Sunderland at the end of this month.

The flagship branch will offer a wide range of smoothies, fruit juices and healthy foods.

Following a six-figure loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Jora is planning to spin out a chain of the smoothie bars over the next 18 months, with the next branches in Newcastle and Durham.

The opening of the first three sites is expected to create around 50 jobs.

The 42-year-old comes from a family of entrepreneurs and ran a London-based chauffeuring business before following his family up to the North-East three years ago to turn around a failing newsagent’s in Peterlee.

His mother, sister and two of his three brothers left London for the North-East in the early 1990s and now run a number of businesses in the region, including a chain of convenience stores in Durham as well Bassi’s Golden Chippy in Seaham and Mahils Indian restaurant in Peterlee.

He said: “My family has always been involved in running businesses, especially newsagent’s. However, as soon as I turned around the newsagent’s in Peterlee, I knew I had to take on something more challenging.

“No disrespect, but working in a newsagent’s can become a little boring after three years. Pura is a very exciting business to be part of.”

The entrepreneur is aiming to turnover £1m for each of the stores after one year of trading and hopes to be in a position to expand the chain on a national scale after two years.

Mr Bassi believes the smoothie bars, which will also stock hot soups and snacks, will be able to capitalise on the increasing popularity of healthier options on the high street.

He said: “The smoothie market is currently worth around £134m and I hope to capitalise on its growing popularity.

“Smoothies are becoming more and more common in London and in the South generally, with chains such as Crussh doing big business.

“I wanted to bring the concept to the North-East region, which has a traditionally poor image in terms of health, and do my bit in starting to change that.”

Mr Bassi highlights a report by a consumer research company which showed that Britons drank 34 million litres of smoothie in 2006, and estimates that this will treble by 2011.

He added: “Smoothies and fresh juices fit perfectly into the lives of today’s more health-conscious consumer and Pura will offer these as a real alternative on the high street.”