An industrial estate crammed with lorry drivers and office-based staff may not be the obvious place to open a vegan café.

But Sarah Negus, a deputy head teacher, is confident her newly-expanded venture Sip, a coffee and juice bar on Medway City Estate, will score top marks with customers.

Sarah's business, part of the SISU fitness centre opposite the fast food diner McDonald's, is offering healthier options with its plant-based menu.

And the energetic entrepreneur is determined to tempt non-vegans to try out the protein-packed shakes and smoothies and French toasts dipped in spices and maple syrup. There's also Beauty Tonic, a drink containing fruits and collagen, aimed at giving skin a boost.

Sarah, who has been vegan for 10 years, has converted a mezzanine space at her fiancé Matt Grimshaw's gym off Anthonys Way in Strood.

She said: "I always wanted Sip to be a plant-based coffee shop that wasn’t overtly vegan as sometimes I feel it puts people off trying things just because of the dietary tag.

"It’s going well so far - we could never offer food frequently before so now we have a bigger premises we can. Sip is for everyone - although we are health conscious and appeal to people that give thought to their diets, we feel everything on the menu is yummy including our waffles and French toast".

Sarah, who teaches special needs children at a school in Hoo, originally set up in a unit at the centre in 2019, but then lockdown dealt a heavy blow to her dreams.

She said: "It was horrendous. We still had overheads; you have to sell 100 odd coffees just to pay the rent of the coffee machine a month, let alone all the other bills.

"Trying to stand back on our feet afterwards was hard work and we are still feeling the impact, or it may be the fear around on the cost of living crisis happening. But it must be noted that our customers are the best.

"They have literally kept us alive and we are forever grateful."

She believes the health benefits are massive.

She said: "In regards to our juices and protein shakes-there are huge amounts of protein from decent providers such as Foodspring that make sure plant-based protein can be supplemented into people's diets whilst tasting good!

"As for our juices- we have a gut-friendly juice that contains ginger and turmeric with carrots and orange that help our insides to be anti- inflammatory and more settled.

"The super green smoothie has your five a day in one drink whilst tasting beautiful too. Our best seller so far is our Beauty Tonic that contains collagen - enough to see evidence-based results if you have it three times a week.

"We also have a low carb drink that is beautiful and silky, and perfect for someone trying to live a more keto (low-carb) lifestyle."

Sarah admits that being on the estate is unusual, but with the new independent entrance it's now open to everyone and not just gym-users.

And she's urging those who have not tried out the vegan way of eating to give it a go.

She said: "To anyone who thinks vegan is boring, I'd say come along to Sip and we'll change your minds.

"I feel strongly in preventing harm to animals for our taste buds. I have lived like this for 10 years and have never known so much choice in the UK."

Sip's manager is Matt's sister Rachel Grimshaw.

It's open between 8am and 4pm, to dine in or take-away.

Sarah said: "The whole place is a family business which we are proud of and I guess because we have each other it makes it a heck of a lot easier and way fun for me to hang out with my favourite people."