“Lovely company with a friendly and personal service. Great range of products and new treats being added all the time. “ Anna, Stapleton
Nom Wholefoods opened on Staple Hill high street in 2021 but started life as zero waste delivery service from Nikki and Matt’s home, a mile away in Fishponds, 3 years earlier.
Starting Out: Reducing plastic
Over the years Nikki and her husband Matt had become more interested in reducing the amount of plastic they used at the same time as sourcing more ethically grown food.
Along with many other people in the country, they were horrified watching the landmark Richard Attenborough documentary Blue Planet II which highlighted the amount of waste, especially plastic, that is in our oceans.
Since then, the 2023 UN report on climate change has also shown what needs to happen to slow down climate change before it’s too late.
They found themselves travelling to refill shops in other parts of Bristol so they could reuse their packaging. They wanted easier access to buying their food and cleaning and bathroom products without single use packaging.
Chatting to local friends they found they wanted the same thing too. So Nikki & Matt decided to bring the refill shop to Fishponds, well to their home in fact!
Next Steps: Zero Waste Delivery for East Bristol
They decided to test the market by starting as a local zero waste delivery service. The business started just a few months before the Covid lockdown. This meant they became very busy very quickly delivering in paper bags and jars to the local community who were stuck at home during lockdown. They were one of the few places that could get hold of flour and toilet roll at that time!
Moving up: High Street Shop for the local community
It wasn’t long before they ran out of space at home. Also, many customers mentioned that they would love a high street shop to pop into and shop for themselves.
Nikki took the lead from there and opened her Staple Hill shop in November 2021. Matt continued his full time job outside of the business but continues to be the on call handyman for the shop!
The shop is thriving, with customers coming from all over East Bristol and South Gloucestershire to fill up on their cupboard essentials, green cleaning materials and natural bathroom products. Online national delivery continues today. The extra virgin olive oil, plastic free coffee beans, and great value eco washing up liquid are particularly popular.
How can we make meaningful changes?
It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of the statistics, and Nikki & Matt have wondered many times if it’s really worth recycling that tiny bit of plastic, or refusing a disposable coffee cup. Can our one decision make a change? But they are firm believers that the small changes build into the big changes.
Nikki says: “We are not perfect. We don’t claim to live a 100% zero waste lifestyle, but we make the changes we can that are within our budget and work for us.”
Nom is a refill shop committed to providing the East Bristol & South Glos. community with the highest quality natural food, sourced ethically, with minimum impact to the environment.
Organic vs. non-organic food
It’s our firm belief that this way of living should be open to everyone not just the rich. We appreciate that organic food will be more expensive due to the techniques involved, but we can’t afford to shop at organic refill shops every time. We also believe that some shops overcharge for organic food because they can get away with it. Our products are priced honestly. You are getting top quality non-organic and organic food sourced as locally as possible at a fair price. You may not be able to use us for all your groceries but we hope you can find items that suit your taste and budget and come back to us regularly for those items.
Our Pledge
Our pledge to you is that we will strive to run our business in the most sustainable way at all times while maintaining the highest possible service to our customers.
We will question every supplier, and every product we buy and ask if it’s the best environmentally and ethically we can do.
Nom today is not the finished article and never will be. We will make constant changes to the refill shop system and improve our service and sustainability. We will keep you informed at all times and remain transparent with our decisions. Thank you for joining us on this ride!
Please get in touch with any feedback and any products you’d like to see on our ‘shelves’. We’ll consider all suggestions.