Shop of the Week: Scoopaway

Gloucester Road has been home to health food shop Scoopaway for 34 years. Despite passing numerous funky little shops on the half-hour walk north of the city centre, Scoopaway manages to hold its own with a spotless green front and systematic rainbow display of netted bags.

The fantastic extent of carefully-arranged stock inside almost makes it difficult to know where to look. There are sweets, teas, dried fruits, spices and grains among the plethora of healthy goods, and people meander the aisles with quiet determination as they go about ticking off their handwritten shopping lists.

Owner Tim Kilburn began working as a manager in the shop in 2000, and eventually bought the store with his father-in-law in 2006. He now runs the shop with his wife, Sam. Together they employ nine staff, five of whom are full-time: an impressive statistic, given the shop itself is pleasantly small. “We’re in such a great position,” he says, adding that they need so many members of staff because of the shop’s popularity within the local, and wider, community. “Our shop is quite small, but we have a lot more employees than some of the others. The team is always kept busy.”

Tim Kilburn bought the shop with his father-in-law in 2006, having managed Scoopaway in the early 2000s

Scoopaway has been ahead of its time in terms of environmentalism, selling wholefoods without packaging where possible. Now Bristol has three dedicated waste-free shops that all opened in 2018, and retailer Better Food has introduced a plastic-free section of their St Werburgh’s supermarket. With ‘single-use’ declared the word of the year 2018 by the Collins Dictionary, it’s been a momentous time to run a low-waste shop.

Tim credits David Attenborough’s BBC series Blue Planet II for bringing the dangers of plastic to the forefront of the public conscience. Although people have been aware of the pressing need of environmental sustainability for a long time, which has contributed to Scoopaway’s previous success, the desire for a waste-free and sustainable lifestyle is more prominent than it ever has been.

Scoopaway sells wholefoods by weight and encourages shoppers to bring their own containers and jars

There is a real mixture of people browsing the products on this Thursday morning, forming a diverse clientele. Tim says that a lot of NHS workers and public servants have become regulars over the years. A lot of customers opt for the brown paper bags that hang in clusters around the store to scoop their dry goods, though Tim has noticed more and more people bringing their own reusable containers. “Some people bring their own plastic boxes, others bring glass jars. It’s great to see,” he says.

Through the back, Tim also has huge 20-litre containers full of washing up liquid and shower gel. He explained that it is not just food that people want in reusable containers, but all sorts of detergents and body care. Since becoming the owner in 2006, Tim has used the eco-friendly natural beauty brand Faith in Nature, who recycle the huge plastic containers each time they are used, meaning that all their products are also plastic and waste free.

Customers are increasingly asking for products like shower gel and washing up liquid to be sold in waste-free ways

Tim himself moved to Bristol when he was 16. “Apart from the capital, there is no city in the UK like it,” he says, commending the city for its concoction of architecture, food, people and activity. As much of the produce as possible is locally sourced, including jams and honeys, and 60 per cent of the stock is supplied by the Essential Trading Co-operative, which is based in Fishponds. For international supplies such as rice and nuts, Scoopaway always looks to Europe first. “There is a guarantee that all of our products are eco-friendly,” Tim assures, “and almost of all of it is organic.”

Scoopaway looks after its customers as well as the environment. Unconventional vegan and gluten-free foods, from egg-free garlic mayonnaise to dairy-free blue cheese, are available for purchase. Though it is becoming easier for people with speciality diets to buy suitable products over the internet, it is refreshing to see such a variety on offer on the local high street at reasonable prices.

As businesses both around Bristol and on a wider scale become more environmentally conscious, Tim says he doesn’t feel that Scoopaway is under threat. “We’re here to stay,” he says confidently. “I’ve got no plans to retire any time soon.” This attitude will most certainly be appreciated by the local community who use Scoopaway: after 34 years, it’s safe to say that Gloucester Road wouldn’t be the same without it.

Scoopaway
113 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8AT
0117 9822199
www.scoopawayhealthfoods.co.uk