HUNDREDS of Swindon residents are reaping the rewards after signing up for a new year health kick at The Core.

More than 400 people have already signed up for the popular Old Town juice bar’s three-, five-, seven- or 10-day juice detoxes this month with staff members churning out more than 200 bottles for customers every day.

Kris Talikowski, who owns the bar in Devizes Road, which will soon complete expansion work to include a raw food restaurant, said: “We started taking pre-bookings in early December and we’ve been flat out since the new year.

“I think it’s the word of mouth effect, as last year we had over 2,000 people try a programme. Those that took part did it to improve their health, lose weight, gain energy and then their friends ask them what they’ve been doing, as they want to feel the health benefits too.

“It’s not just about weight loss and detoxing though, we also support people with conditions.”

Last year, Kris raised £10,000 through 'crowfunding' to pay for an expansion of his healthy eating empire and build a vegetarian and vegan raw food restaurant on the premises, but recent pressures on the business have delayed plans to open.

He said: “We’re about half way through our refurb plans. We’ve got 90 per cent of our new prep kitchen ready. Most of our new furniture is being built off site so we don’t have to be closed for long. It’s been so busy in January with programmes it’s slowed down progress but we are definitely still opening, just it’s now likely to be February instead.”

Kris has also been busy working on developing programmes to help customers deal with specific conditions, and last month ran an experiment with six people suffering with a range of health issues including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, who were each challenged to try a 30-day juice and raw foods plan in a bid to improve their symptoms.

Kris said: “We wanted to do something special, plus show that a plant based diet can help improve some major conditions. We’re turning the experiment into a mini-film.

“It’s timely that GWH are closing their doors to new rheumatology patients, as I think something different could be done to help people.

“With the people we’ve helped change their diet, it’s shown us there is a link between people’s diet and health conditions.

“Hopefully the test group will inspire others to learn more about which fruit and vegetables can help. We run workshops every fortnight to do exactly that, so anyone that wants to learn more can come along.”