Heart surgeon Christopher Davies had his "Eureka!" moment sitting on a camel in the Middle East when his tour guide opened a cool box and gave him a fruit float drink. "I had never tasted anything like it," he said. "I realised there was real market potential for the drink in the UK as it was so unique, but decided to make a healthier version without added sugar."

Back home, the Cardiff-based surgeon - who is now on sabbatical for a couple of years - came up with Frubob, a 100% natural fruit drink with real fruit pieces bobbing inside, in three different flavours: orange, pineapple and peach. It's called Frubob because that's what's happening in the can - the real fruit pieces are bobbing around, waiting to release their flavour.

The company, also called Frubob, started trading last year and was financed by Davies and managing director Patrick Duffy, who has experience working with major brands, including Dublin Zoo and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The product was launched last April - the first of its kind in the UK, according to Davies - and has a retail price of between £1.29 and £1.49. Although it is pasteurised, he believes that it tastes even better chilled and can be used in cocktails or as a mixer.

Launching fruit floats seemed like a natural extension to the rapidly expanding smoothie market, said Davies, who believes that because Frubob is pasteurised it is more versatile than an average smoothie.

"It is a healthy, fruit-based drink and is targeted at everyone from adults to children," said Davies. "It is a modern and trendy brand so it portrays the message, 'it's cool to be healthy' either to schoolchildren or to the more health-conscious lunchtime market."

The company aims for the brand to be on shelf this summer, targeting specialist coffee and sandwich shops and bars and restaurants.

"Our strategy is to work with selected partners that we would like to stock the drink in our initial roll-out stage," explained Davies, while the company also plans to do some field marketing and to sell Frubob online in special cocktail packs. "We want to be the leading brand in fruit float drinks in the UK and create a new market," added Davies. "It's what the doctor ordered."

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