Latest news from Welcome

Supplier Spotlight: The Tomato Stall, Isle of Wight

British Tomato Fortnight runs from 29th May to 11th June – and what better way to celebrate than by talking to our very own British tomato growers and Welcome stores’ supplier, The Tomato Stall, otherwise known as Isle Of Wight Tomatoes.

Beginning life just over 15 years ago when team tomato headed off to their first farmers market, customers quickly realised that The Tomato Stall had some of the best produce around.

Of course, team tomato, based at Tomato Stall’s HQ in Arreton on the Isle of Wight, will not give away all their trade secrets. But, they say the island is the perfect place for tomato growing because the weather and climate allows for plenty of variety and most flavourful fruits.

In fact, the Isle of Wight is one of the sunniest places to live – and you need plenty of sunshine for the tastiest tomatoes. According to Met Office data, the Isle of Wight sees the most hours of sunshine each year, with 1,923 hours recorded in 2022. Plus, the Island gets an average of 37 hours of sunshine per week – far outstripping the rest of the UK’s 29-hour average.

But, apart from producing some of the best-tasting fruit, what is it that’s so great about the Tomato Stall? Well first, they are all about zero waste – and that’s a massive tick in the box for us!

Welcome Stores is fully committed to its sustainability pledge to reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible. We’re proud that two of our six stores now have zero waste stations, which means our customers can bring along their reusable containers and fill them up with everyday things like cleaners, soaps and even cereal and milk. Plus, all our stores recycle packaging and plastic, and use energy-saving features such as efficient LED lighting and doors.

Using local suppliers is also a key part of that sustainability pledge, as it reduces the need to transport goods far and wide – plus, there’s nothing quite like enjoying products from within a stone’s throw of our front door!

Similarly to Welcome Stores, The Tomato Stall is passionate about its commitment to the environment. All tomato plants are recycled to create rich compost that enriches the organic soil to grow even more yummy tomatoes. The tomato farm also uses rainwater harvesting features so that it stores rain to irrigate crops all year round.

If that wasn’t enough, the Isle of Wight itself is an accredited biosphere reserve – making it an even-more-perfect location for growing fruit. It allows for things like natural predators to balance ecosystems, and control pests without the use of chemicals that can be harmful to humans and the planet.

So if you’re a bit of a tomato fan, you might want to head down to your local Welcome store where you can find everything from the delicious fruit itself to pestos and passatas.

You can also find lots of inspiring tomato recipes on our website, or head to http://www.thetomatostall.co.uk/ to find out more about the Tomato Stall!

Could you volunteer your time?

Time. It’s underrated, but as a commodity, it’s our most precious supply – and just like any commodity, it can make all the difference to those who need it most.

We loved our volunteering time at Mayfield Nurseries recently, organised by our charity partner, Solent Mind (you can read more about it here) but we also like to make sure we are supporting our local communities in every way we can.

This Bank Holiday Monday has been given as extra time off, in the hope it will be given to community projects that really matter. Of course, this doesn’t have to be a one-off, the hope is that people may enjoy volunteering enough that they want to do it more frequently.

So here’s three tips from us for any first-timers out there willing to give it a go!

1. Choose something you enjoy

Do you love animals? Are you a keen gardener? Like to run? There are jobs out there for everyone and a great place to start might be your local community notice board – we have them up in our Welcome Stores – or check out your local social media pages. 

You could also ask around your neighbours or put a post in a Facebook group or Nextdoor online notice board, to see if anyone can recommend someone who is looking for someone just like you!

2. Use it as a chance to upskill

If you’re feeling brave, why not try something new and learn something new? You might pick up a handy crafting skill, improve IT knowledge or customer service, which you can then add to your CV or use to improve your existing job skills.

3. Bring your friends – and find new ones!

Many volunteers have said they get a great sense of belonging from their volunteering projects and tend to make some great new friends. Not only is it a great way to broaden your social circle, you can find like-minded others who might be interested in pursuing other interests with you – even if that’s a coffee and a nice walk out in the countryside somewhere!

We hope you have a great Bank Holiday, whatever you choose to do! Don’t forget to send us your pics and tag us on our social media pages – and make sure you pop us a follow while you’re there!

Welcome donates 300 disposable BBQs to Ukraine reservists

The final installment of a batch of 300 disposable barbecues made their way over to Ukraine last week.

Welcome stores took the disposable barbecues off sale last summer as the UK faced some of the worst droughts seen in decades, following suit with other major retailers such as Lidl, M&S, Tesco and Morrisons.

Disposable barbeques are a huge risk of causing wildfires. They are devastating for ground nesting birds and other animals, and the impact is felt for years. Plus, climate change also means hotter, drier periods are inevitable, and the risk of starting a deadly fire by taking a barbecue out into the woods increases.

These are just a couple of reasons why Welcome stores decided to permanently ban the sale of disposeable barbecues for the foreseeable future.

After taking them off sale, the disposable barbecues were stored and it didn’t take long before they were put to a more worthy cause.

New Forest for Ukraine was set up to help the war efforts in Ukraine and has since filled 100 trucks with aid, including 3,000 trauma kits, 150 generators and over 10,000 bandages.

The group was set up at the beginning of the conflict by a group of local volunteers that were committed to help in any way they could, by shipping donations directly to people they knew in Poland and Ukraine. They also offer support to refugees seeking shelter in the UK.

Our Brockenhurst store has been a drop-off point for donations for much of the time the group has been established, so we approached New Forest for Ukraine to ask if they could make use of the disposable barbecues – and the fantastic team of volunteers gratefully accepted!

All 300 disposable barbecues were soon on their way to Ukraine. They were then given to reservists who used them to heat their food for daily essential cooking.

John Stanton, Lead Co-Ordinator of the project, said: “We’ve been running for over a year now and we are very proud of what we have achieved – but we couldn’t do it without the kind support and donations from communities and organisations such as Welcome stores. We’d like to offer our thanks for the barbecue donation, our reservists have used them for cooking and are extremely grateful.”

There are still 21 drop-off sites operating across the New Forest. Head to their website to find out more about donations and how you can help the cause: newforestforukraine.co.uk.

A flipping brilliant time!

Last week saw the highly anticipated annual pancake race in Brockenhurst – and we couldn’t wait to put our competitive pancake-flipping skills to the test!

Crowds gathered in Brookley Road, Brockenhurst to watch the races which contained several categories.

Of course, we’re not ones to turn down a challenge, so Welcome stores entered a team and came a highly respectable third place.

We’d like to thank the organisers at Brockenhurst Parish Council’s events committee and the sponsors Friends of Brockenhurst – it was great success and really good fun!

You can now view all our photos from the day on our Facebook page here – don’t forget to give us a like a follow while you’re there!

Happy New Year!

It’s 2023 and it’s a brand-new year! We hope you all enjoyed a little bit of a break over the Christmas holidays and you’re feeling refreshed.

We’ve certainly got a lot to be excited about, but we simply couldn’t start the year without taking a look back at 2022 – and to extend our genuine and heartfelt thanks for all your support in 2022.

Here are some of the highlights from us.

Dani, Sonjia and Richard at the Convenience Awards 2022

Award wins – and a true badge of honour!

Not one, but two award wins for us – in just two weeks!

In September, our Brockenhurst store won the Sustainability Retailer of the Year Award at the at the 2022 Convenience Awards. This was closely followed by the Most Sustainable Retailer Initiative of the Year Award for an Independent at the 2022 Retail Industry Awards, which we collected on 20th September in London.

The judges praised the amazing work we have done with local suppliers that has made real progress on improving sustainability.

Thank you for the amazing work the Brockenhurst Team put in, brilliantly supported by Sonjia Cooper (Store Manager) and Dani Ruiz-Perez (Area Manager), in helping us achieve these wonderful accolades.

A new commitment to reducing waste in our stores

A new Fair Oak Zero Waste

Last year also saw us introduce our second Zero Waste store in Fair Oak – adding to the one we already have in Brockenhurst. This means two of our six stores are now operating as zero waste and we’re hoping for more soon!

But what does this mean? Well, if you visit our Fair Oak and Brockenhurst stores, you might notice a difference in our containers and dispensers, which use less plastic. This allows our customers to simply buy what they need, wasting less, spending less – and it’s kinder to the environment.

If you’re near our Fair Oak or Brockenhurst stores, why not come and see for yourself?

Thank you to Solent Mind!

Solent Mind support – and thank you

We’ve been working in partnership with Solent Mind, which does an amazing job providing mental health support across the region.  

In 2022, every store got behind the “active minutes challenge” supported by Gym Tin who did exercise classes for customers and colleagues in all 6 stores, generating 16,000 active minutes overall and raising over £2,500.

Also, the management team did some great work in helping transform an area of Solent Mind’s garden centre, Mayfield Nurseries.

We are projecting to have raised £10,000 by the end of our two years with them which is incredible! Thank you Solent Mind for everything you do, it’s a pleasure to partner with you.

More shoutouts and thank yous.

We must also give a special mention to our wonderful suppliers who create some fantastic products all made locally.

Wishing you all a very prosperous New Year – and watch this space for more exciting news coming your way in 2023!