Target reached!
Extra funds will allow us to really go big with the equipment we buy in. We'd love a...
Time To Grow! The Refill Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom
Aim
We're moving to a bigger shop and we want you to be a part of it! More options, more space, more of your input. Join the refill revolution.
Hi, I’m Heni. Welcome to The Refill!
I started The Refill
Leighton Buzzard during the 2020 pandemic. It started as a market stall and then grew to a travelling rounds business. In June 2021, I took the leap to open a shop. Now, less than two years later, The Refill is a team of five people and we’ve outgrown our space! The business was founded on a small pot of money that originally was being saved for buying a house, and all our growth has been bootstrapped from day one. Every profit we’ve made, we’ve invested back into the business. We have big dreams, and now we need your help to get there!
Our Team
Read More About Our Story & Why We're Crowdfunding Below.
Know about us already? Here's the good bit: our crowdfunding rewards!
We want to make it possible for everyone to support us, and we wanted to make our rewards reflect what we do.
- £5 “Share The Love”. Just because you believe in what we do and want to support The Refill.
- £15 "Postcard Set" To thank you for your support we'll gift you a set of unique eco-activism postcard prints, designed by a local artist.
- £25 “Buy A Bin” This donation gives you 10% of your next five shops.
- £35 “Buy A Bin +” This donation gives you the choice of what goes in your bin, and 10% off your next ten shops.
- £40 "Coffee Tasting + a Free Bag of Coffee" You will be invited to a limited experience with our specialist coffee bean supplier Carlos from Milk & Beans. He’ll guide you through his range of coffees, their origins, how to brew them perfectly, and you’ll be able to taste each of them, taking home a bag of your favourite.
- £50 "Taste of The Refill" Hamper. A bespoke selection of what we offer at The Refill, plus a few samples that we'd love to stock at the new shop.
- £60 "Workshop Winner" 10% off 6 workshops/talks within a year.
- £100 "Refill Champion". Our Taste of Everything hamper, plus a selection of our recipe cards, our eco-activism postcard set, and 10% off your next 10 shops.
What does The Refill do?
We are a plastic free grocery shop! We sell over 400 products plastic free. You bring your own containers, any kind, and you can fill up as much or as little as you like. We’re a non-judgemental space for anyone wanting to shop in a greener way.
“Any container?”
Yes, we’re all about the REUSE! We love it when people get creative. Celebrations tubs for porridge oats? Sure! Reusable coffee cup for snacks on the go? Absolutely! Gin bottle for washing up liquid? That’s our kinda thing!
“Why bother?”
Plastic pollution is real problem. Only 9% of plastic ever made has been recycled. It takes 400 years for plastic to degrade, and microfibres which end up in our marine life and waterways. Microplastic have been found in virtually every crevice on the earth. It even turns up on bees collecting pollen and explains why microplastics are turning up in honey. You’re probably ingesting microplastics when you eat fish, honey, milk, or even drinking water.
It's terrifying. But there are solutions! Closed loop systems cut the amount of single use plastic we use. Re-using plastic as much as possible, even before we recycle, keeps it out of landfill for as long as possible.
It gives you more control over your food. The other advantage of shopping our way means you can choose how much you want to buy. Only need 100g of lentils? No problem with us. 5g of Cinnamon? Easy. And if you want to bulk buy 5litres of laundry liquid because you’re a big family, we do 5% bulk discounts. This way of shopping lets you budget better and reduces food waste – double win!
We love good food. From farm to table, we’re obsessed with where our food comes from and how you can make the most out of it. We source ethically and sustainably, often being able to ask our suppliers direct about the conditions the food was grown in. And we try all of our ingredients so we can advise you on cooking and experimenting with them. It’s putting the human and earth back into the food system.
The next generation using The Refill!
Who is the founder?
That’s me, Heni. I set up The Refill during the pandemic because I knew I wanted to be doing something that made a positive difference in the community where I live.
I spent time working for the United Nations Information Centre. Every day I would round up the headlines of environmental destruction and labour issues from our supply chains. It was depressing and overwhelming. I felt like as an individual I wasn’t making a dent of difference.
Then in 2019, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My way of processing this was to deep dive into what causes cancer and how you can help improve the chances of chemo. The impact of environmental stress and what we eat is overwhelming in the increased rates of cancer.
Everything I learnt made me dream of having a place that made it easy to access good food that didn’t destroy the planet and our health. The dream was an eco-hub where people could come to shop and learn with a planet-first ethos. The starting point was a refill shop…
Would a refill shop work in my hometown? Starting as market stall, I found that Leighton Buzzard was as passionate about this as I was.
What are we raising money for?
We want to take our refill shop to the next level! We want to get closer to the eco-hub dream. To do this, we need your help!
We’re moving into a bigger space! This means we can offer so much more!
- You’ll be able to self-serve, so reducing queue times.
- We can stock a bigger range of products.
- We can offer more workshops at better prices.
- We can offer more allergy free products without any risk of contamination.
Our new space will have a seating area too. It’ll be where we host our workshops, but also a space where you can come and work, enjoy a coffee and cake. You’ll also be able to hire this space for meetings.
How are we going to do it? What will the money raised be spent on?
We sold our van to cover the upfront deposit and rent for the shop.
But we need to cover the costs of some new equipment, signage, stock buy in, and marketing to shout about what we do!
Our minimum amount is £2000 to cover equipment costs, each food dispenser bin costs approx £25 each, then there are fittings on top. We want at least 80 bins, hence our minimum £2000 target.
Our ideal amount is £5000 to allow for all the extra fit out costs, signage, and furniture for our seating area.
And our dream amount would be £7000 which would include a nut butter machine and a fridge.
We’re buying our equipment second hand from other refill shops. This means we’re supporting other businesses and individuals, and not using virgin plastic! The equipment is to make sure you can serve yourselves on busy days which will reduce your waiting time! It also means we can stock more products.
We will be using a local company to supply the signage. We’re moving off the high street which is scary and we need to make sure customers can find us! Great signage means more people will discover us!
Stock buy in will be your choice! We want to know what products you want added to the range. If you contribute £25 and above to the crowdfunder, you get invited to our seasonal decision makers meetings where you get to ask us questions and request products.
Our wish list: replace the signs, buy in gravity dispensers for self-serve, a big workshop/community sitting space, and maybe even a nut butter machine?!
FAQs
Q. What happens to my pledge if the campaign is not successful?
No money will be taken if after 30 days the campaign hasn't been successful
Q. Can I pledge without receiving a reward, is that still allowed?
Yes, if you don't fancy one of the rewards but you still want to support this campaign (thanks by the way) then you can just select how much you wish to pledge under "no reward"
Q. Can I pledge for someone else?
Absolutely! Just make sure you put their details in the delivery details section when you pledge.
Q. Can I pledge anonymously?
Yes, you can opt to hide your name from other supporters list by ticking the relevant box when you make your pledge. Don't worry, we will still be able to see your details. If you are pre-ordering a reward as a gift, this is a great option.
Q. Can I pledge on more than one reward?
A. Yes, Absolutely, in fact many of our backers are doing this, you can choose as many rewards as you like. (The more the merrier right?) You will need to make a new separate pledge for each reward. If you get stuck, you can message [email protected] for help.
Q. Is delivery included?
A. Yes. All pledges include postage & packaging costs. Please note that shipping is within the UK only.
Q. What do customers already say about The Refill?
A. Here are some of our latest reviews from Google...
We want to bring this amazing experience to even more people! Help us get there! Thank you - Heni and The Refill Team x
This project successfully funded on 19th April 2023