Frozen food chain Iceland is to trial a new type of store which sells fresh food, breakfasts and lunches alongside frozen goods.
The North Wales company is trialling its first Swift store in Newcastle, with the site set to open this week.
The new shop will open in a former Iceland store in the Four Lane Ends area of the city. It will have around twice the range of the former store, offering nearly 3,000 products.
The shop will sell fresh and frozen food as well as alcohol and tobacco, plus breakfasts and lunches. Iceland said that its "novel layout breaks down the traditional barriers between frozen and chilled food to provide a complete range of meal solutions".
It opens on Thursday and will be open seven days a week, from 7am to 10pm.
Iceland had registered Swift as a trademark last year, saying at the time that it related to 'mail order retail services'. Analysts said the move could allow it to rival competitors such as Sainsbury's, Ocado and Amazon in offering same-day food deliveries.
Matt Downes, head of space and format development at Iceland, said: “This is a really exciting trial of a completely new concept that we think will be ideally suited to this high traffic location.
“We believe that the much wider range on offer, Swift's commitment to faster and easier shopping, and the leveraging of group buying power to ensure great value, will all make this a convenience store with outstanding customer appeal.”
Iceland managing director Richard Walker has tweeted a picture of himself outside the store with the message: “An exciting week ahead.”
As well as its Iceland stores, the company runs the Food Warehouse outlets, both of which have an extensive presence around the country.
The company, which is based in North Wales, celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.
