• Mount Charles enters franchise agreement to roll out six high-end, standalone Freshly Chopped outlets in Northern Ireland and Donegal • Deal sees six new Freshly Chopped stores to open over next three years creating up to 150 jobs • Mount Charles will open its first Freshly Chopped restaurant in Donegall Square West in August 2018

Freshly Chopped, Ireland’s leading and original healthy fast food retailer, has today announced a strategic partnership with Mount Charles, Ireland’s largest indigenous food service and business support services provider.

The deal sees Mount Charles take an exclusive area development contract to rollout Freshly Chopped across Northern Ireland and Donegal. Initially, the deal will see six high-end standalone Freshly Chopped outlets open across Northern Ireland’s high streets with the first flagship store due to open in Donegall Square West in August.

Gavin Annon, Head of Sales and Marketing at Mount Charles said: “We are delighted to announce this exclusive partnership with Freshly Chopped. As a family owned business with deep roots in the communities we serve, we always listen to what our customers want and continue to deliver innovative experiences. Today’s customer is focused on service and provenance, and Freshly Chopped, like ourselves, is an indigenous food company that uses the highest quality and freshest produce available.

“We are excited to be working closely with Brian and the rest of the Freshly Chopped team to develop a unique offering for our customers. The addition of the Freshly Chopped brand to the Mount Charles portfolio strengthens our ability to deliver healthier eating choices to the people of Northern Ireland.”

Brian Lee, co-founder and CEO of Freshly Chopped said: “When we founded Freshly Chopped six years ago, our mission was to make it as easy as possible for people to eat healthily. This partnership with Mount Charles will help us to continue our journey of bringing healthy fast food to more people across the island of Ireland. We’re confident that we have the perfect partner with Mount Charles, a company which takes a family-run and personal approach to its business. We’re looking forward to a successful roll out here in Northern Ireland and Donegal, which will be vital locations for Freshly Chopped’s expansion over the next number of years as we continue our journey.”

Founded in Dublin in 2012 by Brian Lee and Andy Chen, Freshly Chopped was developed to meet the needs of the growing number of Irish consumers who want a great tasting meal that is healthy, delicious, and fresh. The successful franchise business has 46 stores across the island of Ireland and has also recently opened an outlet in Cyprus. Everything about the distinctive grass clad interior exudes freshness and the visionary open theatre of food allows Freshly Chopped to offer a ‘create your own salad’ experience in front of the customer in minimum time. Crisp lettuce selections, garden fresh vegetables, salad dressings, and more than 90 ingredients are ‘chopped’ and freshly dressed into a unique salad bowl or in a sealed savoury wrap. Full calories are counted for each salad, wrap and sandwich and Freshly Chopped offers a delivery, collection, take-away and dine-in service, with fast meal service times. With all the Freshly Chopped flavours created by a skilled team in central kitchens, consistency of flavour is guaranteed across all outlets.