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Have you noticed those takeaway cups on road verges? Ever seen plastic bags gently wafting in the breeze? We have noticed these things, and a whole lot more which is why we started our zero waste shop – Natural Weigh.
Founders of Natural Weigh – Robin & Chloe
Chloe – Co-founder of Natural Weigh. You might not see Chloe in the shop these days as she is busy work for the local food partnership across South Powys, promoting local, nutritious food. Chloe is also one of the local County Councillors for Powys so she’s kept pretty busy. Chloe’s main job in the shop now is enjoying all the lovely food and mentally propping Robin up when things get stressful.
Robin – Co-founder of Natural Weigh. Robin is often found in the shop or in the basement at the laptop. As with all small businesses, Robin has to be able to deal with the huge range of activities involved in the business. He’s shop manager/HR/Accounts/Social Media/stock manager/pain in the team’s bottom. It’s thanks to Robin’s great ideas and the feedback he gets from our customers that we can keep innovating and changing in the shop. When not in the basement there’s a good chance Robin is having a battle with the shop printer.
Both of us have science backgrounds. We are not business people or retail experts, and we didn’t even know zero waste shops existed until 2017. As our science careers progressed, we both became more and more aware of how our choices as consumers shape the environment around us, and we translated this into our shopping habits.
As our motivation to shop sustainably increased, we found we were limited by what was available. Pasta, rice, cereals, even chocolate comes wrapped in plastic. This led us to the big question…do we give up all chocolate in plastic packaging? Chocolate or the natural world?* What a question to have to ask. It was at this point we realised we needed a third option.
And so our very own zero waste shop was born – Natural Weigh – selling not only delicious chocolate but all manner of other foods plastic free (check out our range!). We don’t fool ourselves, we haven’t solved the problem. But now we can honestly say we are contributing to the solution, and we hope you will join us.
Remember, we only have one Earth!
*Only joking! Of course we would sacrifice chocolate for the environment . If only that was all it took to save it.
Click here to find out more about our suppliers and partners
Our team
Welcome to the Natural Weigh Team. We’ve grown quite a bit in the last 8 years, particularly in the last 6 months since our move, so we thought it was time we introduced everyone :).
Louise – Has been with us for 4 years now, how she’s done that we don’t know. You can often find her whizzing around the shop at frightening speed keeping everything topped up and running smoothly. She also hs a BSY diploma in herbalism, shes our go to for natural remedy suggestions,
Carla – Joined us 2 and a half years ago. She’s the chatty Liverpudlian who loves helping customers and catching up on the latest news. Carla is also in the process of completing a course on nutrition and currently training for a 10km run in a few months.
Natalie – Rejoined us in July 2025, just after moving to the new shop. She did a stint of a couple of years when we were in our first shop 7 years ago (yikes). Natalie is a committed environmentalist and recently completed a postgraduate course at CAT (Sustainability and Adaptation).
Eliza – Works Saturdays alongside doing her A levels at Crickhowell Sixth Form. She is incredibly quick to pick things up and has been a massive help on Saturdays (where you can find her zipping her way around the till). Just to top it off, she also collects water samples for Save The River Usk.
Bethan – You won’t see Bethan often as she works in the kitchen. You will however know her delicious bakes, she’s the talent behind our scones, sausage rolls, flapjacks, brownies and other goodies. Call through a hello if she’s in the Kitchen next time you’re in. She can also do birthday cakes for you through her other business, Wayward Flours (which you can find on facebook).
Toby – Our website wiz kid. Toby works in the basement office continuously improving our website. We let him up for the occasional coffee. If we’re lucky he brings his spaniel, Baali, to work with him downstairs. He’s also fantastic with a camera as a wildlife photographer, snapping some stunning underwater shots from all around the globe (check out his website, Beara Creative).
Itsy Bitsy Cleany Weany – Newest member of the team. Our robot cleaner works hard late into the evening vacuuming and mopping the floors. Robin was a little bit too excited about it.
The shop
Previously located in the Corn Exchange
Crickhowell has an abundance of community spirit which is demonstrated in the purchase and renovation of the Corn Exchange. This historic pub was bought by the community to stop it being turned into a national-chain supermarket. The remarkable story of the local community coming together to make changes is one of the reasons we chose to open Natural Weigh here. What’s more, Crickhowell won the Great British High Street Award 2018. We are delighted to be part of this town, contributing to keeping the high street alive.
For more information on the Corn Exchange story, visit their website here.