A report carried out by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) shows that UK households are wasting 4.5m tonnes of food that could be eaten every single year. This waste is having a detrimental effect on the environment and entrepreneurs, James Simpson and Paul Barthorpe, are on a mission to combat this global issue of waste food, and protect the environment whilst doing so.
Food Circle Supermarket is the UK’s first online in-date surplus food retailer, delivering quality products including protein bars, cookies, and even brownies, from some of the best-known brands in the health and sports nutrition world.
Since launching in 2018, the duo behind the online store are proud to have already sold well over 500,000 food and drink items, saving these products from going to waste and having a negative impact on the environment. With an increase in sales turnover of over 178% from January to mid-July 2020 when compared to the whole of 2019, Food Circle Supermarket’s success, and the impact the company is having on the issue of food waste in the UK, is showing no signs of slowing down.
With a growing trend in conscious consumerism and individuals seeking to combat the negative impacts of consumerism, Food Circle Supermarket was launched by James and Paul to offer its customers the opportunity to achieve this, whilst also enjoying healthy snacks.
James and Paul started working together in graduate roles at one of the UK’s largest surplus food redistributors back in 2014. After building a strong working relationship and seeing the positive impact that reducing food waste could have on the environment, the duo were inspired by the model.
Spotting a gap in the market, James and Paul wanted to create a business that stopped surplus food from going to waste whilst also helping others live a healthy lifestyle. On a shoe string budget, this is exactly what they did and Food Circle Supermarket was born.
Originally, Food Circle Supermarket was launched with a focus on gluten free products and as time has moved on, the business has moved into the sports nutrition sector following on from customer feedback. The shift was an organic one for Food Circle Supermarket and has resulted in outstanding business growth as well as a positive impact on the environment too.
Over the past two years, Food Circle Supermarket has forged close working relationships with the brands it works with. One of the first brands to join Food Circle Supermarket’s mission was Grenade – a well-established brand in the industry. Since then, Grenade has been a regular supplier for Food Circle Supermarket and is now joined by the likes of Fulfil, Deliciously Ella and most recently, Maximuscle.
Food Circle Supermarket has had an extremely busy year following on from business growth being accelerated by COVID-19. The business’ sales literally doubled in size overnight and have shown no signs of slowing down since. Thanks to contributing factors including Food Circle Supermarket offering fast home delivery, an increase in the number of people working out at home and a growing interest in conscious consumerism and sustainability, James and Paul look forward to the business continuing to grow over the coming years.
The plan for Food Circle Supermarket is simple; to work with even more brands across more categories and develop into one of the largest surplus food retailers in Europe. The forward-thinking pair both know this is possible and are confident that they are well on their way to achieving these long term goals. They want to help more brands to find a home for their surplus products and continue educating even more consumers about the impact food waste has on the environment and encouraging them to shop for surplus food alternatives.
Source: Food Circle Supermarket
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