Miguel Guevara and Mireya De-Jesus have gone loco.

But not down in Acapulco, as in the hit song by The Four Tops, but Wimborne Market.

Saturday December 12 marked the official launch of their new business.

The couple, who hail originally from Venezuela but now live in Wimborne, are the founders of Loco Pod, a healthy, plant-based food trailer.

They served a range of smoothies and bowls, all extensively market researched with friends and neighbours.

It’s the realisation of a plan first hatched after Miguel, 36, a qualified accountant, was diagnosed with tongue cancer last year.

He said: “I know my own body and have never suffered from ulcers before.

“But then I started getting them. Something was not right.

“I see it as a sign from an angel because when I went to the GP about the ulcers they then discovered the cancer.”

Miguel, who also has a MSc in Marketing from Bournemouth University, subsequently underwent two major operations and radiotherapy as well as minor surgery.

He’s now been given the all-clear.

Meanwhile Mireya, a lawyer who works for an international business in Bournemouth and also has a MSc from Bournemouth University but in International Business Management, had fallen pregnant with the couple’s second child.

Miguel said: “With all these things happening we decided that as a family we should look to the future.

“We didn’t have a very good lifestyle in terms of our eating habits and that’s when we looked at plant-based and healthy food.

“We can’t control everything in our life but we can control what we put in our body.

“2019 was a really hectic rollercoaster for us.

“Apart from the cancer I had been promoted to General Sales Manager at the cosmetics company where I worked and we had bought our first house in Wimborne.”

Mireya, 35, said: “Like many people, the pandemic has made us look closely at our home and business life.

“We wanted to do things differently.”

Miguel said that they had joined the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) and either obtained or were securing all the various environmental health approvals.

As for the smoothies and bowls, they had been ‘road tested’ in focus groups and on neighbours.

“They absolutely loved them and said how tasty and colourful they are as well as being healthy,” said Miguel.

“Loco Pod is dedicated to creating mixtures of powerful, organic plant-based ingredients that shift the way your body feels from inside.

“We wholeheartedly believe that having a good and healthy food will contribute to boosting your immune system but also feed your heart and soul.

“We want our bowls, smoothies and juices to be the fuel for staying strong, happy, authentic, and alive.”

Ingredients used include acai berries, one-inch round fruits grown on acai palm trees in the rainforests of Central and South America and which have a high antioxidant content.

Others include the tropical fruit pitaya (pitahaya/dragon fruit) which can strengthen the immune system.

The couple, who came to the UK in 2010 and then fell in love with Dorset, have two sons, aged five years and also ten months.

Both intend to carry on with their full-time jobs – Miguel is now a Key Account Manager with a tea company.

He said: “We’re both very excited about our new business.

“Apart from Wimborne Market on a Saturday and Sunday (8am to 2pm) we hope to be at other markets as well.

“Our aim is to eventually be on one site, hopefully near the beach.

“What we’re doing is very popular in California and other parts of the world.

“We’re sure people will love Loco Pod.”