In a nutshell ...
MAKING SUSTAINABLE THE NORM ...
We are looking to our friends and community to help us complete our new site in green and sustainable way. By joining forces with Hugo's Greengrocers and Zero Green, our aim is to create an ethical shop, bakery and community space in the heart of Bedminster Parade. Our new store will enable our talented team to expand our current range of baked-goods and food offering, and allow us to forge a partnership with two prominent and inspirational independents. This will create job opportunities and allow us to host events, courses and workshops serving the ethical foodies and climate-conscious shoppers of Bristol.
Who are we?
DELICIOUS, GREEN & FAIR
The Bristol Loaf is an award-winning bakery situated in the heart of Redfield, BS5. We are a small, independent company who handcraft the tastiest breads as well as savouries, pastries and cakes. In addition to our traditional bakes, we pride ourselves on our extensive range of vegetarian, vegan, non-gluten and no-refined sugar products. Our cafe menu boasts delicious coffee served by trained Extract baristas and natural wines as well as our filled focaccia, savouries, soups and salads, catering for all tastes and dietary preferences.
The Bristol Loaf started life in June 2017 on Church Road and has built a solid reputation with Bristol foodies - vegan and omni alike. In less than three years we have grown from a small team of six to an army of almost 30 bakers, pastry chefs, baristas, chefs and front of house staff. We are all driven by our passion for food and understand our responsibility in leaving a positive footprint in our community. Our sourcing policy is a key part of the Bristol Loaf's ethos and fits within the slow food motto of being "good, clean and fair". We only use ingredients which are high-quality and great in taste, clean from pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, and fair to the people and communities producing them. Over 80% of the ingredients we use are organic and the remainder is as ethically and locally sourced as possible. We are the only independent bakery in Bristol to have organic certification for 90% of our breads. 50% of the energy used to bake our bread comes from our own solar panels and the rest comes from other renewable sources.
Hugo’s is an independent greengrocer who set up shop on North Street in the summer of 2017. His focus is on sourcing fruit and veg from local farmers and growers predominantly within a 15-mile radius of Bristol, alongside other produce such as freshly made pasta, cheese and other high-welfare dairy.
Zero Green was established in March 2018 by Lidia and Stacey, who have a passion for reducing plastic waste. It was Bristol’s first zero-waste shop and sells a wide variety of food and household staples, including cleaning and beauty products. All their products are vegan and have the highest of eco-credentials. You can even grind your own nut butter!
The New Project ...
DESTINATION BEDMINSTER
We've found ourselves in a situation where we desperately need more space and we also want to take the business in a new direction. After much searching and deliberation, we've found the perfect site on Bedminster Parade. As long-term residents of BS3, we've seen the area evolve over the years and now we have the exciting opportunity to collaborate with Hugo's and Zero Green. Our vision is to establish Bedminster's first one-stop ethical shop for all your daily essentials with the aim of promoting a more sustainable way to live and shop, and all under one roof.
The new site will provide more space to enable our fantastic team of bakers and chefs to broaden the bread, cake and pastry range as well as the lunch offering. Alongside Hugo's and Zero Green, we will be able to offer food tasting and demonstrations throughout the year. The larger space will also enable us to work with the Square Food Foundation and offer 12-week baking apprenticeships to local, disadvantaged young people, ensuring continued investment in the community and training opportunities for the people who need it most. In addition, we will continue our work with Bristol craftspeople by offering arts, crafts, cooking and baking workshops for the local community.
Why Crowdfund?
KEEPING BRISTOL INDEPENDENT
In the face of huge redevelopment and regeneration, we want to play a part in keeping our high streets independent. We are a small, fiercely independent company with no investors lurking behind the scenes. At a time when some of our favourite local pubs and restaurants are closing their doors, we are keen to be able to continue working and investing in our local community. All our profits have, thus far, been ploughed back into the business as we continually strive to improve and to innovate. Through a lot of hard-work we have been able to secure funding from the EU Scale Up for Growth Project (S4G) which is working to promote and support local job creation. However, in the face of rising costs and overheads we still have a deficit. With your help we will be able to get this new venture off the ground in a way that directly supports the development of our staff and community, with environmental solutions and ethics at the heart of everything we do.
What will your money pay for?
BREAD FOR BREAD
Your pledge will help to pay for local tradespeople to complete the building works in a sustainable manner and enable us to install more energy-efficient equipment and solar panels. This is a unique and ambitious project that we cannot complete without your help. If we don’t hit our target we won’t be able to finish the build. Your pledge, no matter how small, will help us with our aspiration to become Bristol's greenest and fairest bakery, café, retailer and grocer - a true one-stop ethical shop!
In exchange for donations we will be offering a tempting array of rewards which include limited edition bread bags, reusable Keep Cups, unlimited coffee, breakfast hampers, organic fruit and veg boxes, celebration cakes and sourdough baking masterclasses amongst many others. Watch this space for new additions ...