New shop Build-A-Box by Sweet City opens in Burnley's Hargreaves Street

Build a Box by Sweet City is the brainchild of Ashton Ferrari (33) and her partner Aidan Arnold (36) who only opened two months ago and already the business is booming. Ashton said: “We started with nothing and have built it bit by bit and so far it is going really well and beyond what we ever expected.”

The couple, who have been together for four years, came up with the idea to launch their own business after ill health meant that Ashton was unable to return to her full time job as manager of Cosy Coffee in Burnley. They hit on the idea of selling freeze dried sweets, a new way of consuming confectionery that has gone viral on Tik Tok. After forking out for a special machine that freeze dries the sweets they found their premises and opened just after Christmas.

And it has been an instant hit with customers at their shop in Hargreaves Street and also their 2.8k followers on Facebook. They run regular live competitions on social media that attracts people from across the UK and their website is currently being built. The couple want their shop, which stocks the hugely popular Prime drinks and a range of American sweets, to be a community hub and they serve coffee and have held a couple of fund raising events for local charities and also mother and toddler groups.

Ashton said: “We really want people to feel welcome here, that it’s a safe space for them and not just a shop.”