At Natural Weigh, we aim to work with suppliers and businesses who share our values. It is important to us to shout about these relationships, to raise awareness of some of these fantastic brands and what they are doing and also to let others know about some of the amazing projects going on across the country.
Suppliers
Angel Bakery
The Angel Bakery started trading in 2016 directly from their bakery on Lower Castle Street in Abergavenny. They make long-fermented sourdough breads and pastries by hand using flour from British mills. These delicious bakes have quickly become well known and recognised for their quality in the area and we are delighted to be stocking a delicious range of breads and pastries from here. Check out their sourdough here.
Black Mountain Roast
Less than 20 miles away, Black Mountain Roast are one of our most local suppliers. This small coffee company based in the foothills of the Black Mountains roast coffee in small batches using cutting edge technology. They love coffee and are keen to enable everyone to experience the remarkable difference that using ethically-sourced, high quality, freshly roased and ground beans will bring to a cup of coffee.
Black Mountain Roast source their beans from around the world, from small farms and co-operatives that excel at what they do. Many of these are not Fairtrade registered but be assured that all their beans are traded fairly and grown using traditional and sustainable methods.
When we suggested to Black Mountain Roast the option of having reusable containers for our coffee they jumped at the chance. It saves everyone money in terms of packaging. They drop off the coffee beans in reusable containers and pick up the empties every week, ensuring we get freshly roasted coffee on a regular basis without generating unecessary waste. Win win. Buy online here.
Brecon Beacons Cider
Andrew at Brecon Beacons Cider doesn’t just make good cider…he also make a rather wonderful cider vinegar. We sell this lovely locally made product in store. It is unpasteurised and contains the mother so is good for gut health.
Coconut Merchant
At Coconut Merchant, supporting farmers is the ultimate objective of what they do. They try to get as close to farmers and co-operatives as possible and ensure they get paid a fair price for their produce.
Coconut Merchant provide us with bulk coconut oil, which we then offer for sale as a refill. This reduces the amount of packaging being produced with this product.
Cotswold Gold
Cotswold Gold provide a premium, extra virgin rapeseed oil made using traditional cold pressing methods. This preserves the natural health benefits of the seed, creating an oil naturally high in vitamin E, rich in omegas 3, 6 and 9 and low in cholesterol. This organisation only use crops grown on their family farm in the Cotswolds, around 70 miles from Crickhowell. All the oil is grown, harvested and pressed in the Cotswolds and it produces an excellent oil.
Aside from the wonderful quality and very low food miles associated with this product, we at Natural Weigh love the fact that Cotswold Gold take back the containers to refill. This means the rapeseed oil we sell has a supply chain which generates no waste! Now that is something to shout about.
Dough & Daughters
Dough & Daughters are a local mother and daughters baking team. With Danish heritage, the bakes they produce are mouth watering and irresistible. We stock their lovely Danish buns, cinnamon knots, cookies and breads Wednesday to Friday in store and they are not to be missed.
Essential Trading Co-operative Ltd
Essential Trading, based just over 50 miles away in Bristol, is one of the largest worker co-operatives in the UK. They specialise in ethically produced, organic, Fairtrade and ‘free from’ food sourced from all corners of the globe. Essential Trading also ensure that they only ever use sea freight, never air freight when transporting goods, which keeps the carbon emissions as low as possible. The emphasis at Essential Trading is on nutrition, taste and ethically assured, fairly-traded products.
As a co-operative, Essential Trading is entirely owned and operated by its workers. They have now been open for more than four decades. The Essential Trading range offers 100% vegetarian/vegan and GMO free guarantee, and the worker co-operative supports small producers and independent retailers, never selling to supermarkets.
We love Essential Trading because they match our values at Natural Weigh and they are locally based. They provide us with excellent service and are working hard to address the issues we have raised about single use plastic packaging. We get a large proportion of our dried food stock from this excellent company.
Kutis
At Kutis, they carefully blend quality and ethically sourced ingredients because it makes good sense to look after the world and leave as light a footprint as possible. Wherever possible they use organic ingredients and they are committed to using the highest quality ingredients.
Kutis work to limit the use of plastic in their packaging and use instead materials which are widely recyclable. All their products are made in the lovely Llandrindod Wells, less than 40 miles from us here in Crickhowell. Buy their lovely deodorants online here
Halen Mon – Anglesey Sea Salt
This exceptional sea salt is produced from the pristine waters off the coast of Anglesey and is enjoyed around the world. It has been served at the London 2012 Olympics, political summts and royal weddings and is a vital ingredient in Green & Blacks chocolate and Piper’s crisps.
The sea salt is extracted using a combination of traditional hand harvesting and brand new techonology to produce the crunchy white flakes. This sea salt is produced using pure, charcoal filtered seawater drawn from the Menai Strait around Anglesey, which has already been naturally filtered through a mussel bed and a sandbank. Every part of the sea salt making process is quality controlled to the highest standards.
The process used by Halen Mon is unique and has been legally recognised as such under EU law. They are proud to be the UK’s 60th Protected Food Names and are one of the few sea salt producers in the country to have qualified for certified product status from the Soil Association.
Llangattock Woodlands
Llangattock Community Woodlands is a group of enthusiastic volunteers with a shared interest in trees and timber products. They are a registered charity working to promote conservation, protection and improvement of small woodlands for the benefit of the public.
Llangattock Woodlands provide us with sustainably sourced, locally produced charcoal, great for BBQs on those long summer evenings.
Little Welsh Chocolate Company
At the Little Welsh Chocolate Company they are fussy about their food. We know you are too, which is why we love working with these guys. This company are committed to doing things the nice way. Their hand crafted bars are made using the finest organic chocolate, enriched with organic essential oils and natural locally sourced ingredients. They promise never to use palm oil, soy or artificial colours and flavourings in any of their products. Ever. Plus their chocolate bars are completely irresistible! We’ve got a range of these lovely bars in store, check them out here
Naturally Fed Kombucha
Fed combines his understanding of the amazing health benefits of kombucha with his passion for fantastic flavours. Production of their kombucha has even become a family enterprise. We really walk the talk!
Kombucha is an ancient drink that is full of antioxidants, probiotics, vitamins and minerals and is excellent for gut health and immunity. The brewing process turns our kombucha into a delicious, slightly fizzy drink that tastes a bit like cider, minus the alcohol! It comes in 21 flavours – and we’re developing more right now.
Our Kombucha is: raw, unpasteurised, made with organic ingredients, free from GMOs and artificial ingredients, filled with natural cultures and registered with the Vegan Society.
Pip’s Hot Chocolate
Pip is one of our long standing supplier relationships and if you’ve tried his hot chocolate, you’ll see why. Vegan and with no added sugar, Pip makes lovely hot chocolate to be enjoyed guilt free.
Pure Impact Greens
The lovely Kamil grows these microgreens locally and provides them to us in reusable glass jars which he takes back in a completely circular system. These little sprouts are packed with nutrients and flavour and can be added to any meal.
Raw Chocolate Company
This company set out to make fabulous chocolate, that makes you feel special and puts a smile on your face. Without compromise, they want their products to have a positive impact on the world and on the lives of those involved in producing the fabulous ingredients they use. With these principles in mind, they set out on a quest to make chocolate.
This means their chocolate is raw. The cacao they use has been sun dried and not heat treated. This keeps it as close to the natural state of hanging off the tree. This also means all their products are vegan and very pure. We use minimal additional ingredients so that the cocoa can sing out, sometimes enhanced by selected ingredients.
All the ingredients are certified organic.
The ingredients are important, but these guys also take extreme care to prepare them for you. Firstly, they spend at least three times longer than other manufacturers grinding the ingredients, super smooth for a luxurious experience in the mouth. Secondly, Raw Chocolate Company feel that the mood you are in when you prepare food is highly important. At the start of the day, they share their highs and lows and make the chocolate with a smile on their faces and passion in their heart.
The result? These raw chocolate snacks are pure, delicious and a fabulous treat. A little goes a very long way. Check them out here.
SESI Detergent Refill
SESI are a social enterprise based in Oxfordshire which supplies sustainable detergents to shops, farmers markets, cooperatives and charity organisations. When they started they used to run a delivery service mainly to primary school parents, so they were called School Ethical Supplies Initiative – quite a mouthful! As they evolved they have kept the name SESI, as some say it’s catchy! SESI Refill helps reduce people’s plastic footprint. With the surge of Zero Waste Shops and other established retailers changing to become unpackaged shops, SESI has a key role as a provider of ethical detergents which help everyone to become part of a circular economy. They have been lucky enough to be a valued alternative to those seeking to reduce food waste and cut their plastic footprint. As a social enterprise, SESI re-inject funds into broadening their product list and branching out to create new partnerships and Refill Stations. Their focus is not profit, it’s to do good.
Talgarth Mill
The only working watermill in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Talgarth Mill is a hub for producing award-winning food with strong local provenance and a focus on supporting the local community and the environment. This amazing project provides Natural Weigh with our wholemeal rye flour and spelt flours, all grown in the UK and milled locally.
The Pollen Basket
The Pollen Basket makes beautiful natural soaps exclusively for Natural Weigh. This small local business is based less than half an hour away and we get regular deliveries to keep stocked up. All Pollen Basket soaps are free from palm oil and contain essential oils with no fragrance analogues. Our soaps are made using beeswax from the Pollen Basket hives, keeping everything in these products local and sustainable. Quality ingredients, combined with care and passion, create a truly quality product.
The Preservation Society
The Preservation Society produces multi award winning chutneys, sirops and preserves packed with flavour in the heart of the Wye Valley. It was created following Angharad’s passion for preserving, a Farmer’s Daughter after all so it’s in the genes!
The Crafty Pickle
These guys are two nutritionists handcrafting gut-friendly, unpasteurised, living fermented foods in South East Wales. They’re on a mission to reduce food waste by using as much perfectly edible but imperfect or surplus produce as possible to craft raw, vegan, naturally nutritious sauerkrauts and kimchis. A percentage of all sales goes towards addressing food insecurity.
Partners
Abergavenny Community Kitchen
Welsh Food and Drink
Repair Cafe Wales