Shop saves customers ‘£5m in the past year’
BUSINESS PREVENTS MORE THAN 2,300 TONNES OF SURPLUS GOODS FROM BEING NEEDLESSLY THROWN AWAY
A GRIMSBY supermarket is helping families save millions with massive discounts on food that would otherwise go to waste.
Grocery shopping cuts most customers’ bills in half at The Company Shop on the Pyewipe estate.
Bosses revealed they have helped families in the area to save more than £5 million on their shopping bills in the past 12 months.
The reduced prices are through the sale of surplus products. The cartloads of items sold were previously destined to end up in the bin, so the business has prevented almost 2,300 tonnes of waste in a year.
The heavily discounted surplus products are popular with shoppers who flock to The Company Shop on Estate Road 8 every week. The store bosses claim to have a full car park every day thanks to half-price bargains of branded goods.
With the cost-of-living crisis severely impacting families across Grimsby, staff are said to be proud to be continuing to support thousands of families on means-tested benefits, as well as NHS and other key workers, by giving them the opportunity to shop for less.
Company Shop Grimsby sells food and household items from leading supermarkets, brands, and manufacturers for around 50 per cent of their retail price after being deemed surplus.
This means the products are in-date and perfectly good to eat, use or wear but have minor issues like wonky labelling or seasonal packaging.
When the Grimsby Telegraph visited recently, whole chickens were priced at £2, pots of Pringles for £1, 15 cans of Carlsberg for £8, and a pack of six burgers at 1.76kg cost £5.60, along with other offers.
By redistributing these surplus products, Company Shop Grimsby has also prevented more than 2,300 tonnes of surplus from being needlessly thrown away during the past year.
It began around 20 years ago and Gemma Edlin, from Grimsby, has overseen the Company Shop from strength to strength over the past nine years.
The Company Shop is now part of a network of 15 stores across England and Scotland and the latest figures were released as part of the group’s annual report which showed that it handled 98 million surplus products and prevented more than 34,000 tonnes of food and drink from going to waste.
Danielle Cuthbert, store manager in Grimsby, said: “The increasing cost-ofliving is impacting thousands of families in Grimsby and we’re proud to be helping them to continue to eat well and save a significant amount on their weekly shopping bill.
“To have helped our members save almost £5 million on their shopping is a phenomenal achievement, even more so when you consider that all the great products they purchased may have ended up in the bin.
“Our members are also helping to save the planet as well, with more than 2,300 tonnes of food and drink stopped from waste.”
Company Shop is a member-only supermarket and is open to anyone in receipt of means-tested benefits, as well as those working in the NHS, social care, emergency services, FMCG supply chain, British Armed Forces, prison services, and charities (including volunteers).
In Grimsby, there are 10,000 members and around 3,500 shoppers each week at the store on Top Cat Industrial Estate.
Those eligible can apply for free lifetime membership by visiting: www. companyshop.co.uk/membership.