How To Start Up Your Own Zero Waste Shop

Sustainability is a word on everyone’s lips at the moment. With consumers wanting more from modern brands, it’s no surprise that many savvy shoppers are making a conscious effort to buy from shops that have done away with wastage. In fact, according to recent research from Deloitte, 61% of consumers are hoping to limit their usage of single-use plastic.

If you’re looking to hop on the back of this trend and set up a zero-waste shop, here’s everything you need to consider.

1. Think About Your Location

Firstly, you’ll need to think about your location. When setting up your shop, it’s important to conduct thorough market research into the demographic of the area. By looking at things such as age, disposable income, social class and interests, you’ll be able to gauge whether the shop will be a success. For example, as the UK’s greenest city, a shop in Sheffield would go down a treat!

2. Buy Your Equipment

As you’ll be doing away with plastic, you’ll need to think about the different machinery and dispensers that you’ll need to store the food. From food dispensers to scales, tills, scoops and mason jars, you’ll need to make sure that each customer can shop at your store without pesky plastic.

By failing to buy the right equipment, you could end up with customers carrying out cereal in their bare hands!

3. Think About Branding

Before you can even begin to think about a website and social media, you’ll need to come up with a strong brand name and identity. If you’re no graphic designer, it’s a good idea to hire an expert for this part. Moreover, for those with budgetary limitations and straightforward design preferences an online logo creator is a practical solution.

Before reaching out to a professional, make sure you have a clear idea as to what you want your brand to look like. A good place to start is by choosing a minimal logo in earthy colours to echo nature. You could even consider repainting the floor to give your shop a new, minimalist look. With the right floor paint, you could even paint your logo on your floorboards!

4. Think About The Rest

Now that you’ve sorted your machinery, building and branding, you’ll need to consider everything else. As you’re selling food, you’ll need to ensure you have appropriate hygiene standards. You’ll also need to decide what to stock, what not to stock and your accounts and finances.

Before you commit, you’ll need to ensure you have the cash available to buy your stock and things like cleaning products.

The Bottom Line

Starting your own business is exciting, but it’s also daunting. However, the good news is that by following the above steps, you can’t go far wrong when it comes to starting your own zero waste shop.

Changing the world starts now! And it starts by making better decisions with waste removal!