Luxury confectioner Urban Chocolatier has branched out from its Whitechapel roots to set up shop in Upton Park’s Green Street.

The newly-opened East Shopping Centre welcomed the new store to its retailers at an opening on Thursday.

Owner Ali Sadaqat, 25, said the business has already established a reputation in Newham with a strong start since the opening.

He put it down to the unique service Urban Chocolatier

offers.

“There’s not really anything else like us in east London, which is partly why we wanted to get involved with the shopping centre,” he said. “We wanted to be part of something new – this centre is the only one of its kind Europe and Green Street is the perfect location.”

The shop provides halal products but also vegan-friendly food, avoiding gelatine and alcohol in ingredients as a rule.

“More and more people want halal and vegan-friendly food these days – so we’re very popular,” he said.

Ali Sadaqat has said that part of his aim is to bring the spirit of Shoreditch to Upton Park.

“The location gives us a really exciting mixture of old and new, with some of the most established ethnic restaurants on one side and the West Ham football ground on the other,” he said. “We’re hoping to bring the quirkiness of Shoreditch to Green Street.”

The firm is less than two years old and employs 15 people at the Green Street shop.