Planet Organic Opens First Store Outside of London in Henley
The new organic supermarket, Planet Organic has opened its doors of its Henley store on Market Place in the former Superdrug shop today (Friday).
The store not only sells organic fruit and veg but a huge range of planet-friendly food cupboard essentials, fresh and chilled foods, snacks, skincare and beauty products plus a range of fitness supplements and vitamins. The take-away counter offers a range of coffee, teas, juices and smoothies along with a range of sweet and savoury bakery items. All of the product shelf tickets have a code stating whether the products are Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Free or Low Sugar to make shopping easier for those who have diet choices or allergies.
Henley Mayor, Councillor Michelle Thomas officially opened the store with a virtual ribbon cutting saying, “I couldn’t be more excited about this opening. For you to choose Henley as your first store outside of London is incredible. One of the things you have been clever about is to launch your new store just before COP27. Henley Town Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2020 and a year ago we acknowledged an Ecological Emergency. Organic food is very important to our environment. My personal hope for the future is that organic food can come down in price and be where it should be in terms of food and produce that isn’t produced organically. I think that is the whole world’s goal. I can’t wait to start shopping to be honest. It all looks so inviting and I think you’ve done a great job with the shop-fitting. I know from speaking to Planet Organic personnel that you are already starting to work closely with our community including NOMAD, schools and our market traders. That kind of engagement with local people from the start is absolutely essential and shows you are fully committed to Henley.”
Planet Organic CEO, George Dymond said, “This is a huge step for Planet Organic who have been going for 27 years. We have 12 stores in London and this is the first store outside of London which is really really exciting and it looks fantastic. I think it is a big step up from most of our London stores and I think the soul and DNA of Planet Organic is absolutely coming to life in this store. What we’re really passionate about is when we come to any community is that we are part of that community, we don’t just put a shop in and run away. We’re really happy to be partnering with NOMAD. We’re amazed by the wonderful work that NOMAD has done in this community and we want to be a supporter of that. We’ve come to Henley because we want to bring the story to more and more people in the UK. It’s not just about organic fruit and veg, if you look wider across the store it is about health of individuals, health of loved ones, health of families and health of the planet which have never been so important particularly after Covid. We have a huge part to play and bring that message to our customers.”
Tim Prior from NOMAD commented, “The Planet Organic team have been great at reaching out and seeing how they can support NOMAD and the wider community in Henley. We’re really looking forward to working closely with them and wish them every success with their new store.”
With Gails Bakery opening in May this year and now Planet Organic, independent businesses are concerned the affect they will have on their business and are asking residents to remember to #shoplocal too.
