O'Brien's to cool down with 60 juice bars in Ireland and Britain

O'BRIEN'S sandwich bars are planning to open 60 juice bars in Ireland and Britain over the next year.

The company, the largest coffee and sandwich chain in Ireland, said it has been testing the market at one shop in Dublin for the past few months and customers had been excited by the products.

As a result it would be looking to open 60 juice bars over the next year with seven to open up across the country later this month.

By the end of July, O'Brien's said it will have opened juice bars in Dublin, Cork, Clare, and Belfast.

Founder and chief executive Brody Sweeney said the introduction of a juice bar into the stores is a natural progression for O'Brien's.

"Our research and development team have created the concept for the British and Irish stores, as part of our five-year development plan.

"We have been working with dieticians helping us to enhance our product offering, and provide customers with an informed healthy choice," Mr Sweeney said.

"We have just launched into the stores our very first low-carb range and introduced a really popular wallet-sized calorie counter last year, listing the fat and calories of single servings of food and drink," he said.

The first British juice bar opens in Coventry later this week. O'Briens has also announced plans to shake-up its menu to respond to the growth in demand for low-carb food products.

The company said that a new range of low-carb food products would be incorporated into its menu.

The Atkins Diet has attracted strong following in Ireland and the move by O'Brien's into this area has been replicated by other food chains.

McDonald's has recently revamped its menu to respond to the threat from Atkins followers.