A new business bringing genuine Italian food and products direct to your door has got off to a flying start.

The Green Italian is the idea of business partners Simone Ippolito, who comes from the Calabria region of Italy, and Rebecca Clark, from Portugal, pictured right.

Trading in the online business only started at the end of last month with Simone, who moved to the resort five years ago, saying the response had been “way beyond our expectations.”

He said: “The idea came to me in the lockdown.

“Why not bring the very finest Italian products to people?

“We source everything from Italy and it’s all vegan.

“We have seven types of honey, 12 types of pasta, eight types of cheeses, six types of spreadables as well as organic extra virgin olive oil, sundried tomatoes and aubergines and so much more.

“It’s giving people an original, high quality Italian food experience with fresh and really tasty foods and products delivered directly to their door.

“The response has just been amazing and we are working hard to keep up with demand.”

The Green Italian launched by providing the catering for a private birthday party for 40 people.

“It was a baptism of fire for us but was a great success,” said Simone, 28, a 6ft 4in former basketball player in Italy who created the hospitality app, Capp.

“We have now launched a range of hampers costing £30, £40 and £50 which are perfect for anyone who loves Italian food and are delivered free.

“The hampers consist of nothing but locally sourced varieties of pasta, organic green and black olives, organic extra virgin olive oil, five fresh organic spreadables and our award winning fresh and mature goats cheese.

“All of our breath-taking Italian produce is from zero kilometre farmers, produced and sourced in house and mostly made by hand.”

The first public official launch night of The Green Italian’s dinner experience is at Back Yard in Bournemouth on August 13 at 6.30pm.

The evening includes a drink of choice, followed by green Italian platters to start and a main course of red lentil and wild mushroom lasagna.

Guests will hear how and where The Green Italian sources its organic vegetarian and vegan produce and why it is so special as a brand.

Tables will be in either four or six but smaller tables can be arranged.

Full booking details can be found here.