Andre Agassi fronts expansion plans for healthy Bistro-deli in UK

Health food brand Update 1 is to launch its first UK Low Carb Bistro-Deli in London this month. 

The site will be the first of 50 Update 1 franchises opening throughout the UK by 2019. The brand also plans to offer a home delivery service.

The Low Carb Bistro-Delis will open with an on-site bakery, and will offer “healthy fast food”, which the brand claims to be low-GI, low-carb, and free from added sugar and artificial flavourings.

The first UK deli will open in Walthamstow on 12 October, and will be followed by a further four openings over the next six months, including sites in Farringdon and Angel.

It will offer a range of 300-plus products, including bread, cakes and a gluten-free selection. The company said the range has a reduced carbohydrate content, and a low glycaemic index of below 30.

Andre Agassi, eight-time tennis Grand Slam winner recently signed up as an Update 1 brand ambassador to help the company’s expansion in the UK and throughout Europe. He said: “I have long believed that exercise, plus the right nutrition and diet, are essential to long-term mental and physical health. The obesity problem around the world is extremely worrying, so I am delighted and excited to be working with Update 1 to help people make the small changes that can make a big difference.”

Update 1 has over 100 grocery stores in Europe. The Update 1 Low Carb Bistro-Delis will differ from the company’s European stores in that they will be targeted at the convenience customer.

Norbi Ferenc Schobert founded Update 1 in 2004. He said: “Update 1 has been proven to help people lose weight without them needing to give up their favourite food items. With obesity a core issue to populations around the world, our aim back in 2004 was to make dieting easier, more enjoyable and less extreme in order to effect real change. With this first launch in the UK and our exciting plans in motion elsewhere in the world, we are excited to be another step closer to realising that dream.”

The company floated on the stock market in September to allow it to grow globally. It expects the weight-loss market will reach £220bn worldwide by 2017.