COMPANY Shop in Darlington is celebrating its first birthday and after a very successful first year, and it has so far helped members to collectively save over £3.6m.
Since the store opened on Haughton Road in February last year, it has redistributed more than 1600 tonnes of surplus food and household products which otherwise may have needlessly gone to waste.
Everyone loves to bag a bargain and this is reflected at Company Shop in Darlington as the number of members is 28,526 as of February 4 2022 and 1400 joined in the last week alone.
Read more: Discount Darlington supermarket extends list of who can join - see who can apply
The concept of the shop is simple: surplus goods from well-known retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, sold at a reduced price to members.
The word ‘surplus’ shouldn’t put potential shoppers off as shop manager Chris Neil explained this can mean a wonky label on your favourite brand of ketchup, a small dent on a can of beer or a missing ingredient from a tin of soup. The goods are always within the use-by date.
The discount supermarket recently extended its criteria for who can qualify for membership so more than 5,000 charity workers in the area can apply, as well as NHS workers and those working in the emergency services.
Read more: Full list of who can get membership at Darlington discount supermarket
Recipients of a Means-Tested Benefits, including council tax support, housing benefit, income-based jobseekers allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), income support, pension credit, tax credits, child tax credit and working tax credit, social fund (Sure Start Maternity Grant, Funeral Payment & Cold Weather Payment) / Universal Credit) are also included in membership criteria.
Readers may wonder, “If money is tight, why not shop at a well-known cheaper alternative to the big supermarket giants, such as Herron Foods or Iceland?”
Chris Neil, manager at Company Shop Darlington, said: “Most of our food is around 50% cheaper than other retailers.”
Read more: First look inside the brand new discount supermarket opening in Darlington
One shopper, Karen, said: “Well it’s all good usable isn’t it, so why not?”
Another shopper, Jo, said: “It’s saving me money so I’d be daft not to.”
Read more: Pictures as brand new 'members-only' Darlington supermarket opens its doors
An extra advantage to this way of shopping is the environmental-friendly aspect, this is food and goods that would otherwise be thrown in the bin, and potentially end up in landfill.
Although there has been a shift in recent years regarding retailers’ attitudes towards meeting exact specifications, for example, Tesco’s Perfectly Imperfect fruit and vegetable range, Company Shop seems to be way ahead in terms of selling perfectly edible food and usable goods that otherwise wouldn’t have made the cut.
Simon Brown of Company Shop said: “Due to the nature of surplus supermarkets, we can’t predict what we’ll have in from one day to the next.
"You could come in with the intention of buying spaghetti and mince to make bolognese and end up buying ingredients to make a curry instead.”
Read more: Darlington’s new discount supermarket applies to expand its range
With well-known brands including Patak’s and Heinz, as well as Tesco and Sainsbury’s own-brand goods, it makes sense to start shopping at Company Shop if you meet the criteria for membership.
Chris said: “I’m immensely proud of the whole team here at Company Shop Darlington. Without their hard work and dedication, we wouldn’t be here right now celebrating such wonderful achievements on our first birthday.
“It’s an honour to have been able to provide a helping hand for thousands of local hard-working people and their families and help stretch their budgets further.
“Company Shop is about more than just savings though, by working with local businesses to ensure perfectly good surplus food reaches people’s plates, we’re making a real positive impact on the environment by reducing needless waste.”
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