What would make you choose an independent health shop over a big chain?

My local one is brilliant, and has been there for fifty years!

Full range of products including plenty of stuff that you can't get from supermarkets or online

Very well stocked, i.e. floor to ceiling "Open all hours" kind of full shop

Helpful, friendly, knowledgeable staff

Long opening hours (not 10-3 Mon to Fri!)

Located somewhere with free and easy parking (or at least cheap & easy)

Full stock range and availability shown online for customers to browse before wasting their time travelling to your shop, even better if you could offer "click and collect" so people can be 100% certain and then just pop in to collect.

Professionalism

You've got to make customers "want" to come and buy stuff from you, and not rely/hope that out of a sense of loyalty/blackmail they'll buy out of a sense of duty to support you.

I have some friends who own a local health food shop that is pretty successful.

They have:

A million different gluten free/nut free/dairy free etc products that are very difficult to find anywhere else which makes it great for allergy sufferers.

Most of their stock is vegan, everything is veggie and ethically sourced, most of it is also organic.

Regular events/talks/social gatherings.

Knowledgeable staff who actually care.

'Unusual' products like fresh turmeric and vital wheat gluten that are hard to get elsewhere.

I always want to support my local independent businesses in general but what puts me off is how I professional they often are. It's like they think being independent and a local family is enough, so don't worry about attention to detail like cleanliness, reliable opening hours etc

Specifically for a health food shop I'd appreciate talks or events, community gatherings eg a herbal tea morning, maybe if you specialised in something and was a source of local products.
I wish you all the best with it!

Hi OP. For me it would be having decent products.

Eg. H&B don't sell good quality magnesium glycinate without tons of filler.

I go in H&B for the following:

Sugar free and raisin free museli base
Vitamins
Nuts (though a new shop has opened called 'grape - something) which sells better nuts in bigger bags
Electrolyte tablets
Essential oils for my bath, specifically clary sage and lavender.
Massage oil.
Sls free shampoo that isn't faith in nature (love the smell, but it strips my hands and hair of any moisture)

So great products, yes new and ahead of the game ideally. Also big meno section with lots of knowledge.

Good luck!

I was also thinking crystals:) Maybe gifts too, like candles, books, mugs etc? Stuff I can't get in other places

There was a no waste shop near me that did refills but it was so expensive I never bothered.

@Wibblywobblybobbly I agree, but refills need a fairly quick turnover or the products can degrade obviously it depends what it is. There was an Asda that did a refill shop then didn't take off, do everything was a little meh and got meh-er! Does anyone remember scoop shops? Big tubs of everything from washing powder to raisins! They were brilliant

The independent health food shop where I live (small market town in Oxfordshire) is brilliant.

They have a great range but also great advice.

Upstairs is all the food and house essentials and downstairs is all the supplements and skin care range.

I mainly spend money on supplements and skin care in there.

I'd like it to do zero waste refills. It has the advantage of encouraging people to visit more regularly.

@MintsPi I've worked retail and pubs both without cleaners we didn't have dust bunnies or sticky anything.

I used to work for one - it’s very successful and still going strong years later!
You need:
knowledgeable and friendly staff
an eye on what’s the next big thing
willingness to order things that are not part of the regular stock
reliable opening hours

Even if you can’t compete on price, you can build up a loyal customer base - but only if you really take care of them.

Having enough staff to be able to give proper advice to people. I worked for H and B and we did sit exams and many people working in my branch had years of knowledge, however they continually cut staffing hours to the bone which meant very often you would have to try to help a customer who needed advice and serve the till at the same time and sadly the person waiting to spend money had to come first.

Re the shelves not been cleaning in their H and B branch...they don't have cleaners so after serving customers, giving advice, deliveries, putting stock out, date checking, promotion changes etc there is no time for cleaning. The only times I ever did it was during Xmas late night opening, no chance any other time!

My town has a lovely independent health food shop which has thrived for decades. It most definitely doesn't cross over with Holland and Barratt. So that's my first rule! Here's the sort of thing it sticks..

• Local fresh bread
• Eggs - consistent organic proper free range supplier.
• refillable soap etc from a non-nasty manufacturer. Ditto cleaning stuff.
• loose herbs which can be bought by the gram. I love refilling my herb stash.
• classy (vegan) locally made chocolate
• homeopathic remedies (if that's your bag)
• good nut butters

Every H&B I've been in wants a good clean sticky shelves and dust bunnies everywhere. Our local one sold oils and vinegars and one point, those bottles were rank with bits of weird detritus stuck all over them

Friendly, knowledgeable staff who aren't too pushy. A warm, comfortable atmosphere. Decent speakers with decent music! A pleasant smell, like nice incense or warm bread cooking.
Lots of natural materials in the decor/shelving. Maybe some nice artwork.
Items displayed in a colourful, easy to reach manner.
Maybe a big book with an alphabet of all the vitamins, minerals etc and their properties?
A small section of books that people can read or take home and donate also. Just like a little shelf with books on nutrition, healthy living, alternative therapies etc. and a couple of beanbag chairs or a couch.
You could also sell fresh coffee, smoothies/juices and fresh baked goods. Like spinach and filo pies, veg pasties, quiches, scones, flapjacks. Made with healthy ingredients.

I'm running away with myself now! But basically the antithesis of a branch of Holland and Barrett!

I waist Holland and Barrett once and the woman on the till was loudly telling a customer that 'they can cure cancer, big pharma just don't want to because there's more money in selling drugs to treat it...'. 🤬

Chocolate / food that doesn't have emulsifiers in it!

Price and online ordering.

Would need to be walking distance from where I live and honestly... you wouldn't be selling anything I couldn't buy in Supermarket for less.

Local delivery.

I don't go shopping; I get all my goods delivered. I'd love to support our local shops but they make it so hard to give them money I just give up and use a supermarket/Amazon/UberEats. I have a punishing work schedule.

I'd actually be delighted to have dairy, nut milks, bread, veg, coffee, meat, pastries, jam, lovely soaps and toiletries regularly delivered from my local independent shops on a subscription. I would choose to pay the higher prices. I like these shops and I want to spend money into my local economy. I just want it delivered because my schedule doesn't match whenever they are open.

The only thing that would persuade me to spend more in an independent shop would be the customer service.

As an example, there is one shop - not a health one - where I try to buy products. It would be cheaper to buy from Amazon, but I really like the owner. Not only is he nice, but he has loads of experience and it's comforting knowing that. I don't often need to ask for advice but when I do, I feel confident in his answers.

My health is important to me, so I would be wary of buying stuff in an independent health shop from some random person. You'd need to have some sort of relevant qualifications and experience, and a good online presence (even if you don't sell online, I'd like to check out your credentials in advance). I'd need to understand where you source your products and that they are legit and not about to make me ill.

If the shop was staffed by a bunch of students on NMW with no interest/experience in health stuff, I just wouldn't. I'm assuming you have some sort of background (hence the business idea) so I think you'd have to be a big part of the business and be very visible/present, at least until you grow to the point where you can get another you.

Would be helpful to hear some positive local chatter on Next Door and Instagram.

Take a look at Wild Honey in Oxford for an example of a really good independent health food shop (well I think they have three shops)

I'm in our local one all the time, they sell lots of essentials including fruit & veg as well as the more unusual stuff, plus they do cards and upmarket skincare and jewellery/candles so it's a good place to pop into for a gift. It's also open sensible hours and the staff are lovely. I pop in a lot as it's just round the corner from my house and rarely escape without spending at least £20.

Knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and interested staff who know the products they are selling and are able to give meaningful advice.

Stocking the most well-regarded brands of supplements and other products, but also lower-cost "good second choice" options where possible.

Selling other things that fit with their ethos - organic bread/eggs etc - so I can get most of what I need in one shop.

I worked in an independent health shop for many years and these were the reasons that our customers kept coming back rather than going to the chain where the staff knew very little and cared even less.

This was in pre-internet days so reliance on our expertise was the only option, and we very quickly gained a reputation for the best place to get advice on, for example, how to deal with childhood eczema - we spent time helping people make informed dietary or skincare choices and supported them, it wasn't just about selling things.

Not being Holland & Barrett would be a good start.

I'm not actually a big customer of health shops (I'm not into vitamins and supplements unless medically advised) but do use them sometimes for food, eg less-mainstream grains to add to muesli, like spelt, or the flavours of St Dalfour jam that aren't in supermarkets (although my Sainsbury's stocks quite a few of them now).

Decent shampoo bars (helps to reduce plastic waste) and soaps too. The former would definitely distinguish you from Superdrug as I've never seen shampoo bars there.

Decent natural deodorants, although I've now resigned myself to Tom's of Maine being the best and having to buy them from Amazon because they stopped distributing to UK retailers.

So basically foods and household stuff that customers can't get easily elsewhere.