Scotland’s first ethical food supermarket is looking to establish a store in Aberdeenshire, having secured £850,000 in funding to support growth plans in order to meet demand for local, organic and zero waste food and goods.
Locavore is a social enterprise that has three shops in Glasgow. It has established a number of urban market gardens and launched a highly successful veg box scheme since it started in 2011.
During a typical month, Locavore said it serves 15,000 customers in its shops and delivers 7,000 veg boxes across central Scotland. With a turnover of around £4.3 million, it now employs almost 90 people.
The £850,000 funding package includes a mix of loan and grant funding from Social Investment Scotland (SIS), a Scottish Government-backed provider of flexible, repayable investment for social enterprises.
‘Early stage’ discussions
The cash will help Locavore to open three shops in Scotland, including the proposed Aberdeenshire site.
A spokesman for the company confirmed it was “in early stage discussions” on a site but “they can’t say any more than that just now”.
The company aims increase its capacity to deliver 22,500 veg boxes per month and also plans to take on a new warehouse site which will act as a regional distribution hub.
The social enterprise has estimated that its growth plans will see it increase its headcount to 180, creating 90 new jobs in the process, and increasing its turnover to around £10million.
While many retail markets were adversely impacted by changing restrictions during the pandemic, the fresh food sector benefited from consistently high consumer demand. Locavore was no exception, going from delivering almost 1,500 boxes per week at the beginning of March 2020 to almost 2,000 by the end of the same month. Currently operating at capacity, the firm has a waiting list in excess of 1,000.
Reuben Chesters, managing director of Locavore, said: “This latest investment from SIS will help Locavore achieve its ambitions of becoming a leader on many new fronts, putting us in a position from where we can easily scale further and faster than we have ever done before.
“Within Scotland we’ll be one of the biggest retailers, wholesalers and veg box schemes of our kind with an important position to play in development of the organic market. We’ll also be a model for how to do business properly, a leading social enterprise and a more prominent and influential voice calling for a fairer and more sustainable society.”
Successful and ethical
Alastair Davis, chief executive of SIS said: “Having supported Locavore for a number of years, we are delighted to continue building this relationship with one of Scotland’s leading social retailers.
“Locavore is a real success story and proof of how a social enterprise can be run successfully whilst being ethical and delivering high levels of social impact.”
SIS is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Established in 2001, the organisation has since invested over £100m of loan finance in helping community enterprises and social businesses have a positive impact on people’s lives, society and the environment.
In 2020 it supported the likes of Aberdeen’s Glencraft with a £30,00o loan to allow the firm, which employs people with disabilities, to help them fulfil new orders.
In the past year it has taken an active role in support for Scotland’s third sector during the pandemic, providing more than 800 support interventions through the £15m Scottish Community Lenders Fund programme.