Ipswich's famous Hot Sausage Company has launched its own cook-at-home meal kit service in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
The much-loved food stand in Tavern Street launched the service due to a drop in sales over lockdown – with the handful of shops remaining open bringing a reduced passing trade on the high street.
Each box comes complete with sausages, buns, onion and cheese – alongside a selection of sauces and a how-to guide on how to cook the perfect hotdog. They can be delivered within the IP1 to IP5 areas, or collected at their stand.
Joshua Bavington-Barber, who runs the stall with his father Andrew, said he was inspired to introduce the kits after ordering similar boxes from companies like HelloFresh.
Mr Bavington-Barber said: "The idea came about from thinking about how we could try to diversify during the pandemic with our normal sales understandably down.
"A lot of things have moved online and I had previously ordered meal delivery kits like HelloFresh and I think that was the initial spark.
"Once I had the idea I mentioned it to few people who seemed to think it was a good idea so we went to our followers on Facebook and Instagram and got a excellent response.
"Lots of people said they would order and thought it was a good idea – so we went straight in ordered everything we needed and built the website."
The company ran a free trial for selected customers last week and received a "great" response, leading them to launch the service to the public on Monday, January 18.
Orders of boxes – which come in sizes for two or for families – have been coming in since.
Mr Bavington-Barber added: "We sent out a few trial boxes last week and the response was great so we’re pretty excited that it is actually live now and we’re getting orders.
"We really think we’ve achieved the experience you’d get from buying one on the street in the comfort of home."
The company is also continuing to take delivery orders for cooked sausages via Deliveroo and UberEats.
An Ipswich high street staple for more than 30 years, the family-run firm is also a favourite of Suffolk superstar Ed Sheeran.
More information on the service can be found on their website.
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