TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
It is our belief that as a small business growing in the current economic climate we must be choosing to work more sustainably. When we are making the decisions from the foundations, we ground ourselves with our core values - local, seasonal and sustainable. We are proud to be truly transparent in our practices, ingredients, decision making and our suppliers.
W A S T E
Waste is one of the biggest challenges in hospitality, and can come from a variety of sources - cooking waste, plate waste or out of date waste.
So, how do we manage waste?
Waste not, want not
We make sure we get the most out of our ingredients; using as much as the produce as possible in our soups, salads and dips.
Menu design
We have specifically designed our menu so that you can choose exactly how much you would like to eat. It means we have very little plate waste.
Training and communication
As a close team we continually refine how we work, taking in customer feedback and improving constantly. It means we are super accurate with our daily food output.
Flexible menus
We change our menus depending on what produce is in season, or according to what we need to use up. It means we're always on top of our stock control.
Proper waste disposal
We pay for our bins to be collected, so that all our food waste, disposables and coffee granules get industrially composted. Our glass, recycling and tetra paks get separately collected; meaning that we have very little that goes to general waste.
S T A F F
Team training is really important, and we regularly hold team meetings, whether that’s to talk through new menus, coffee training or allergen guidance.
Team wellbeing is high on the agenda, we work really hard to ensure that we provide a great working environment with flexible working hours, paid breaks and staff food - this also means our team get to try all our salads and cakes so they know how good they are.
D I S P O S A B L E S
We currently use Vegware as our suppliers for our takeaway packaging. At the moment there is no perfect answer; but there are very little places to dispose of packaging properly. On Winchester high street there are no facilities for the general public to throw away recycling + composting. So we do what we can to encourage people to use their own keep cups, with 25p off coffees; or 40p off lunch when a lunch box is used.
When customers order catering from us we provide the salads in Tupperware containers which they return to us.
I N G R E D I E N T S
As much as possible, we use organic and/or pesticide-free ingredients in our food. All of our dry goods come from a wholesaler called Essential based in Bristol. All our bulk dry produce comes in 25kg recyclable bags, and we try to ensure that we eliminate as much shrink wrap packaging as possible. Recently we have swapped out some of our cold drinks that come in plastic packaging to brands that get delivered in cardboard boxes.
S U P P L I E R S
We work with suppliers that share our values and passion for working with local partners. Not only does it feed the local economy, we all have the same goal - to help each other thrive. What we love is that our goods come hand delivered by the suppliers so we can ask any questions directly with them. Whether that’s customer enquiries, or guidance that can help with our team training, it makes it so much easier for us to improve our service.
C O M M U N I T Y
We love being in Winchester, with such a thriving community. It gives us so much joy to see friends bumping into each other in the deli; and we have a huge loyal customer base from local businesses. Pre - COVID we used to host networking events and local community meetings; and customers would base themselves at the deli for the day, using it as a meeting place. We really hope we can move back to our space being used in similar ways going forward.
G I V I N G B A C K
During lockdown we offered 50% off to key workers - that included teachers, reporters, emergency services; anyone who were required to work. We now continue to give 10% off to all NHS + blue light employees; together with students. We will look to see how we can continue to work with aligned charities.
L O C A L
It’s our belief that the more you shop within the local economy the better it will improve the economy. It is also a very easy way to gain loyal customers, and spread word of mouth. Any opportunity we can to use local businesses and services we will do - particularly independents. We also find that they will then go above and beyond to work with us, and can also respond to us much faster.
We've worked with or continue to work with:
- Our amazing bespoke fruit and veg stand > built by Cedar, Cutts and Moore based near Alresford
- The fit out of deli, including the bespoke counter > built by Woodlore based near Romsey
- Our incredible website, newsletters and online delivery order system > Hatty Parker based in Winchester
- Signs, banners and our branded barriers > Mint Signs based in Winchester
- Insurance company > based in Winchester
- Accountants > based in Southampton
