It is the fifth site for Company Shop, which redistributes surplus food to members that work in the food manufacturing industry and emergency services. It already has sites in Corby, Grimsby, Wentworth and Middleton.
Company Shop and its social enterprise, Community Shop, work with major retailers, manufacturers and brands across the country to stop more than 50M items of good food and household products going to waste each year.
The Liverpool City region was identified as a target area for expansion, the company said, as it had a busy food manufacturing sector and there was a need for a “redistribution solution” for businesses across the north west and into north Wales.
The company said it planned to deliver up to five Community Shops in the north west over the next two to five years to join its existing sites in Goldthorpe, West Norwood, Athersley and Grimsby. People can become members of Community Shop if they live in a specific post code area and live in a household that receives some form of government income support.
The new Company Shop store based in Lancots Lane Industrial Estate in Sutton Fold will stock food and household products at about one-third of the normal retail price. They are sourced from retailers and manufacturers including Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Ocado, Morrisons, Iceland Foods, Nestlé UK, Bakkavor, Greencore, Heinz UK and Müller UK & Ireland.
Chairman and founder of Company Shop, John Marren, and St Helens South and Whiston MP Marie Rimmer were joined by local politicians and industry stakeholders at the official opening of the site on January 22.
Marren said: “We are absolutely delighted to have officially opened our fifth Company Shop flagship store. The new store, and expanding into the Liverpool City Region more widely, will allow us to ensure that we are reaching even more families and redistributing even more food – stopping good food going to waste.
“We have always been motivated to be different and to make a difference and we are really excited to be bringing our model to the north west.”
Rimmer said: “I’m delighted to welcome this innovative investment in Sutton, which will lower the cost of shopping for members and reduce food waste, and landfill, whilst creating local jobs. I do hope people take full of advantage of membership and wish the venture well.”
The company recently sponsored the Food Manufacture Business Leaders’ Forum, which brought together the top business leaders from the food and drink industry to discuss major issues within the sector.
Video interviewees at the event included Clive Black, head of research at Shore Capital, and Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation.