A FORMER school teacher whose allergy led her to create a range of health-food snacks, said seeing them on supermarket shelves was “surreal”.

Steph Croft-Simon’s “Nom” bars went on sale in 80 Tesco stores during the summer and the grocer looks set to stock them again after Christmas.

From next week, online supermarket Ocado will start selling them to its customers.

Ms Croft-Simon, 26, from Headington, cannot eat dairy products and after struggling to find healthy snacks, decided to make her own. It took a year to perfect the recipe for the Nom bar, which is organic and free from dairy and refined sugar.

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The ex-Headington School and D’Overbroeck’s College pupil is also celebrating being named a semi-finalist in the Venus Women’s Business Awards.

She quit her sociology teacher role at d’Overbroeck’s last summer to concentrate on her firm, based at Boundary Business Park, Garsington.

She said: “There is only me, so I have been working day and night to get everything done.

“I’ve been roping in friends and family to help me box-up the bars and load them on to pallets.”

The bars, which cost £1.49 to £1.59 and come in three flavours – original, banana and cocao and raspberry. They are also sold through Figs health foods in Wantage, Eggs Eggsetera in Botley Road, Summertown-based online health store Evolution Organics, South Moreton Boxing Club and Planet Organic’s six London shops and website.

Ms Croft-Simon added: “It’s amazing to see my Nom bars on shelves. It’s so surreal.”

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