Essential
You know you are getting close to the Essential warehouse on Lodge Causeway Trading Estate Fishponds cos you can here the tunes a mile off - usually banging punk rock or occasionally some trance and techno, always loud and never dull. About 120 people work full time here and between them they are responsible for shifting around 10 millions quids worth of lentils, rice, seeds, nuts, whole foods and natural products across the UK a year. The warehouse is absolutely vast, with products of all natures stretching high into the rafters - over 5,000 different lines in fact, all of them veggie and GM free, most of them vegan and organic too, and Essential distribute to over 900 shops in the South West alone.
Essential is a Co-Op and started life as Nova Wholefoods back in the Seventies, before merging with Harvest to become Essential in 1992, five years after moving to Fishponds. Apart from distributing other people's lines, they also have their own label products as well as doing customised labeling, mixing, blending and packing for many stores across the region. And they also operate two retail outlets - Harvest in Bath (Walcot Street) and Bristol (Gloucester Road).
Recently they have seen a huge rise in business, partly fuelled by the 'McKeith Effect'. This is a term commonly used in the Natural Products trade to describe the effect Dr Gillian McKeith has had on the trade with her Channel 4 programme 'You Are What You Eat'. One day she mentions aduki beans, next day there's a huge surge in demand. It's been seen time and again and most recently with dehulled hemp seed, which has seen an unprecedented rise in consumption since the good doctor famously tried to feed them to an overweight policeman from Yorkshire who hadn't had sex for a year! And it's firms like Essential that have to deal with the huge rise in demand - which they do, with relish.
And being a Co-Op, any extra profit made doesn't find its way into the pockets of a few directors and shareholders - it gets spread out evenly amongst all the workers, and also filters back into the community via a number of excellent projects. "We always support as many local projects as we can," says Anja from Essential, "and this year we are supporting the Big Issue, Caring at Christmas, the Avon Wildlife Trust, Bristol Dogs Home, Kiptik, The Organic Mechanics - Trip to Gambia, Thingwall Park Organic Orchard and St Peters Hospice." And, it seems, Essential are big fans of the Bristol Vegan Fayre, as well as this guide. "The Bristol Vegan Fayre is a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon," adds Anja. "It's always lively, buzzing and a refreshing atmosphere, with loads of great stalls selling wonderful vegan products, and Essential do great business at the Fayre too. We are proud to be a part of such a worthwhile event in our hometown."
And we are extremely proud to have you on board too, as it happens. Not only do Essential sponsor both the fayre and this guide, but they also bring a commitment, enthusiasm and good will that is hard to measure except in the depth of gratitude to each and every member of this fantastic outfit for their whole hearted support for our projects. Thanks, folks, its appreciated.