The Grocery List is an online and social platform launched to support the small businesses providing fresh produce to local residents across South and West London.
An idea formed in the wake of COVID-19, it’s lockdown and the subsequent implications felt by many independent brands countrywide. The entrepreneurial and enduring spirit shown by local shops, suppliers and industries, working tirelessly to keep their stores stocked and doors open, acted as points of inspiration for founders Jessica and Amelia.
From the farmers and fishermen who have lost their route to market, with restaurants closed and workers furloughed; the local butcher who has always relied solely on his walk-in neighbourhood trade; to the bakers who are trying to subsidise lost income through a kitchen table enterprise. The Grocery List is on a bold mission to not only recognise them, but to amplify their voices and share the fabulous local produce and people who are fighting to keep our food network alive.
Although London has an exceptional existing food scene, a lack of appreciation for groceries and delivery services that other major cities had was noticeable; where it is part of the neighbourhood scenery to see a bike dropping off a brown bag full of fresh fruit and vegetables on a doorstep or to order a beautifully cooked box of freezer meals with carefully chosen and selected ingredients without a ‘mass market/TV dinner feel’. Vegetable boxes, frozen meals and grocery delivery services are all too often dismissed as unexciting or repetitive: born simply out of convenience and acting as secondary citizens in a country where we care enormously about and get excited by food.
The Grocery List believes it’s time for that market to change. The roots of that change sprouted over the Covid-19 Lockdown, where a fish or vegetable delivery has suddenly become the highlight of the day. The Grocery List presents a curated list of quality suppliers with delicious, sustainable and personal products in an online directory and delivery service that will keep that sense of excitement on through lockdown and beyond into a new landscape for food and grocery deliveries. A platform designed to showcase some of London’s food heroes, The Grocery List’s agenda is to offer help to our partners who currently don’t have the facility to deliver their produce by developing a delivery service. Keen to mimic a service reminiscent of old fashioned eras of ‘white glove’ grocers, offering a personal, curated and quality service.
During Covid-19 the platform will be adhering to all health and safety guidelines and offering contactless, cashless delivery. Industry specialists onboard include The Upper Scale, The Thoughtful Fruiter, Oree Boulangerie, Cap Classique, R S Ashby and many more, with the community growing every day. We will also be partnering with local Chefs, Sommeliers and Florists to share fresh ideas on ways to prepare, style and enjoy the produce our suppliers deliver. Ensuring lockdown shouldn’t compromise on delicious and exciting meals.
