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Laura Davies is now at the helm of Benno Box<\/p>\nLaura Davies said she has since found her “calling” Laura Davies is now at the helm of Benno Box<\/p>\n
A young woman \u201cleft the high life\u201d in Dubai to return home to open a meal prep company. Laura Davies, from New Brighton<\/a>, moved to the city in the United Arab Emirates to pursue a career as a cabin Crew member of Emirates Airlines.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old lived there for several years but decided, for various reasons, that it was time to move back to where she grew up. Now, having readjusted to life in the UK, the former Slug and Lettuce<\/a> waitress claims she has found her calling.<\/p>\n Laura told the ECHO<\/a>: \u201cI moved to Dubai in March 2022, and what an experience it was. I got to live in one of the most dynamic and dazzling cities in the world \u2014 a place where the skyline looks like something out of a sci-fi movie and every day feels like an adventure.<\/p>\n \u201cLeaving was tough, but sometimes life pulls you in different directions. I missed family, friends and the deep-rooted connections you can only find in the place you grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n Wanting a new challenge in life, Laura decided to take over the running of Benno Box, a healthy meal company on Upper Parliament Street.<\/a> Founded in 2020, the brand offers high-protein meals, oat pots, and snacks, and during the past five years, it has supplied over 2,000 customers.<\/p>\n Despite the company\u2019s success, founder Andrew Kelly decided to relocate to America to pursue his running career. With Andrew looking for someone passionate about taking on the business, Laura stepped forward.<\/p>\n Whilst living in Dubai gave her \u201ca life of luxury\u201d, she missed home, and Benno Box was the ideal opportunity to fulfil her dream of working in nutrition.<\/p>\n Laura said: \u201cWorking for Emirates and travelling the world completely changed my outlook on food. Experiencing different cultures opened my eyes to flavours and ingredients I\u2019d never tried before.<\/p>\n \u201cI went from choosing convenience food to learning how to cook with fresh, wholesome ingredients, especially vegetables. That\u2019s why finding Benno Box was such a game changer for me, and now I\u2019m all about making nutrition easy and enjoyable for others.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComing back home was a culture shock at first \u2014 readjusting to UK life was tricky as Dubai and Liverpool are worlds apart. It\u2019s been so good to reconnect with family and friends and help people live healthy lives. It\u2019s like I\u2019ve found my calling in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Kelly, from South Liverpool, began the Benno Box journey after he pledged to stop drinking on New Year\u2019s Eve in 2019 – a promise he told the ECHO<\/a> he would keep to himself to the day \u201che dies\u201d.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old started drinking as a teenager. However, as he got older, he began to hate how it made him feel physically and mentally the next day. He told the ECHO<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019d go out to party, drink and be around the wrong crowd – people I shouldn\u2019t have been with.<\/p>\n \u201cI kept doing it every weekend, and I\u2019d be fed up with it, but I\u2019d still do it. I\u2019d drink and I wouldn\u2019t recover for days. I would make one bad decision with a drink, and it would lead to many more. I was exhausted doing things that weren\u2019t important to me.<\/p>\n \u201cOn New Year’s Eve, I had enough and I just said to myself I wasn\u2019t going to touch alcohol again, to the day I die. It was affecting everything in my life – my running, my training and my eating habits.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1745445251_497_0_BENNO44.png\")
Laura Davies is now at the helm of Benno Box<\/p>\n![\"Laura](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_BENNO42.jpg\")
Laura now spends her days making meals such as noodles, pasta, steaks, meatballs, and curries<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_BENNO1.jpg\")
The Benno Box team(Image: Andrew Kelly)<\/p>\n