The Secret Sauce for cooking up your own People’s Supermarket

26/7/12

The People’s Supermarket (TPS), with support from Nesta, today launches Secret Sauce, a new publication to inspire, excite and share the lessons from TPS’s London venture so that others can do good, while also operating at the heart of the consumer economy.

The book is available* to download for free from  www.nesta.org.uk/secret_sauce, www.thepeoplessupermarket.org or to purchase from Amazon. Alongside practical advice and inspiration for those who want to create their own community-led store, the book reveals the exciting journey that the TPS community has made since it opened its doors two years ago on Lamb's Conduit Street, central London.

TPS is a store with a difference, with the aim of being much more than a usual supermarket. Run as a co-operative, it addresses the needs of the local community with a focus on local famers and independent suppliers - creating a more sustainable and social high street.  Today, the supermarket serves an average of 6,000 customers a week, has grown a worldwide community of over 15,000 people, trained over 25 people who were previously unemployed, and serves over 700 take-away meals a week.

Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation, supported the publication of Secret Sauce in order to share what TPS has learned so far. It offers advice to those who are tired with conventional grocery shopping and want to do something about it. It gives a glimpse into the adventure and excitement of setting up a new social venture, as well as the challenges and pitfalls that may be faced along the way.

Philip Colligan, executive director of Public Services Lab, Nesta said, "The People's Supermarket is one of the most exciting innovations in community-led action. It offers a glimpse into how new forms of ownership can transform even the most corporate of settings - the supermarket. It has rightly generated a huge amount of interest across the UK and the world. Nesta is delighted that through Secret Sauce we have been able to capture the co-op's experiences and hope the book will inspire others to take on the challenge to reinvigorate the high street."

Kate Bull, CEO of The People's Supermarket, said, "We hope this book inspires other communities to realise what can be achieved when they act collectively with a common goal and an awful lot of hard work. We believe that this shows that amazing things can be accomplished 'by the people, for the people'.

*The e-edition of Secret Sauce is available from today to download for free from www.nesta.org.uk/secret_sauce and www.thepeoplessupermarket.org. Print copies will be available from August for purchase from Amazon for £6.50.

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Notes to editor

For further information please contact Natalie Hodgson or Sarah Reardon on 020  7438 2614 /2606 or  natalie.hodgson@nesta.org.uk /sarah.reardon@nesta.co.uk  

About People's Supermarket: The People's Supermarket is a unique member owned cooperative store. It has been the subject of a Channel 4 documentary and has received global recognition as a ground breaking urban community enterprise that seeks to be commercially, environmentally and socially sustainable. To find out more information check out our website www.thepeoplessupermarket.org or visit the store at 72-78 Lambs Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LP or call us on 0207 430 1827. We look forward to seeing you!

About Nesta: Nesta is the UK's innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery. Nesta Operating Company is a registered charity in England and Wales with a company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833. Registered office: 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE. www.nesta.org.uk