OFM last met Jeanette Wong and Tom Pell in April and, since then, the owners of Birmingham zero-waste, plastic-free store the Clean Kilo have been busy. Customer numbers are up 33%, its range of 600 lines has doubled in the last year and, this month, OFM’s 2019 Best Ethical Food Project will open a second site, in Bournville.
Unlike the first Kilo in central Birmingham’s Digbeth district, the Bournville site is densely residential. Half of Kilo’s regulars do big weekly shops in Digbeth, diligently bringing containers from home for refills, but Bournville has the potential to unlock little-and-often, packaging-free shopping for a wider demographic.
“They won’t have to bulk buy because it’s only round the corner,” says Wong. “It’ll be a realistic option because they can walk.”
Pell agrees: “It’ll probably be smaller basket spends there: ‘I’ve just run out of rice, I’ll top this container up.’”
This is of a piece with the duo’s mission to turn zero-waste shopping from a niche activity into something more everyday. “We were one of the first zero-waste shops to move away from just dry goods,” says Wong. “We put fruit and veg in, a deli counter and a freezer, because we wanted the shop to be a convenient, realistic way of shopping.”
That has meant seeking out packaging-free oils, butter, body lotion, yogurt, shampoo and even un-bagged crisps from Just Crisps in Staffordshire
Pricing is crucial, too. Stung by comparisons during filming for BBC One’s Eat Well For Less? this summer, Pell and Wong reduced the cost of staples such as pasta and rice. Its non-homogenised milk from a small Shropshire farm is 99p a litre, similar to local convenience stores, while certain products, notably herbs and spices, are frequently cheaper than their equivalents. “We have limitations. We can’t bulk buy and [75%] of our products are organic, but we want to be accessible,” says Wong.
Despite plastic-free innovations at some supermarkets, Pell suspects higher costs (staffing, supply-chain investment etc.) will make it harder for many to swiftly dispense with packaging. Stores such as Kilo might nudge them in the right direction – “We’ve raised awareness,” says Wong – but “unique, authentic” independents will remain in the green vanguard. Indeed, the Clean Kilo offers consultancy services to emerging zero-waste retailers. “Look at the carrier bag charge,” says Wong. “Customer habits can and have changed.”
thecleankilo.co.uk
