Interesting Alternative to ‘big chain’ Supermarkets
With no plans to expand, you can download Unicorn Grocery’s free Grow a Grocery guide to bring the same to your town!
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Indie shops can learn which plants and flowers are unsafe near pets, to know what not to sell to people with animal friends.
Unicorn Grocery (a food co-operative in Manchester)
Unicorn Grocery is a thriving Manchester food co-operative that is owned by its staff (who get paid a real living wage). All items are vegan (2500 foods) and fresh produce is from its own farm.
It also offers organic beers and eco-refillable beauty and household items, sold in plastic-free packaging. Salads and olives are sold in reusable tubs, and there’s even a soup cup deposit scheme.
Get discounts with the loyalty card. Prices are very good (due to no shareholders and most produce is local). A few items cost more (like homemade organic flapjack). The ‘Good Stuff’ apple logo indicates favourite companies.
A living roof to protect endangered black redstarts
It even has England’s first living roof on a commercial building, to support habitat of the endangered black redstart bird).
Read how to create safe havens for garden birds, and stop birds flying into windows.
Kindly Supermarket (Brighton’s zero waste vegan grocery)
Now this is more like it! Kindly (Brighton) is a big busy vegan supermarket that was founded by an Internet techy wizard, who got bored and decided he wished to do something with his money, to do good.
His aim is to ‘flip the supermarket model on its head’ and put planet before profits. His supermarket even offers vegan sandwiches in compostable packaging (handmade in Brighton).
Locals in Brighton can also order online, or just pop in the store to shop in person. It supports local artisan brands including local beers, to keep money circulating within communities.
The good news is that as a former techy entrepreneur, the founder has plans to take this model nationwide, to rival the big bad supermarket chains! But this time it will be business doing good, not harming animals or the planet.
People want to do good, but they don’t want to do it at the cost of either convenience or choice. We’re trying to bring in a food revolution, where we change the way we consume things. Shiv Misra (founder, Kindly Supermarket)
Vegan eateries don’t accept cash (as bank notes contain animal fat and plastic). Check sites for info on accessibility and being dog-friendly.
Infinity Foods (Brighton’s thriving community grocery)
Infinity Foods in the city of Brighton has been around since the 1970s. Democratically run by its workers, it offers a huge range of organic fresh produce, in-store baked bread, vegan groceries and natural beauty and cleaning products, along with a wholesale division.
Many items are sold in refill containers, so bring along clean dry containers to fill up, saving you money as well as packaging. The shop also avoids selling items made with palm oil.
There is also a Community Card, which gives discounts to regular customers. A portion of profits are donated to local charities, usually ones to protect Sussex wildlife or to help poverty and homelessness in Brighton.
Only assistance dogs permitted (due to food at nose level!) Vegan eateries don’t accept cash (as bank notes contain animal fat and plastic).
The Clean Kilo (Birmingham’s Zero Waste Supermarket)
The Clean Kilo (Birmingham) is England’s largest zero-waste supermarket, founded by a couple that use a tare system to weigh food in your own clean containers, so you never pay for packaging (which makes up a third of the price in normal shops).
Beautifully fitted, the shop includes chilled plant milk dispensers, and machines to make your own orange juice and peanut butter. Most food is organic and bought in bulk from local suppliers (even the crisps) and they use a reusable Brummie Cup that you can return after use.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Indie shops can learn which plants and flowers are unsafe near pets, to know what not to sell to people with animal friends.
