After more than twenty years spent running Rugby’s only organic food store, Steve and Barbara Prime have hung up their aprons and retired from the Wild & Free shop. Read more

We popped in to ask them about their experience of trading in Rugby and reflected on two decades of healthy eating habits.

Wild & Free was originally situated on Railway Terrace. Steve and Barbara spent seven years here watching the rapid growth of the town, expansion of new housing developments and more independent shops opening in the town. They then moved to bigger premises in the town centre on Bank Street.

“We’ve definitely seen off the competition – no-one has lasted as long as we have!”  Steve said. This may well be down to the high levels of customer service, where the Primes were willing to go the extra mile and even offered free delivery – not just in Rugby – but all the way over to Daventry and surrounding villages.

Steve credits people like Delia Smith and Gillian McKeith for making customers think more carefully about what they bought, cooked and ate to lead a healthier lifestyle. Over the years Steve has also seen the growth of veganism play a major part in lifestyle choices and their products have adapted to such shifts in demand.

Wild & Free prides itself on offering hundreds of product lines that are organic, ethically sourced and Soil Association certified. Looking around the shop you will find everything from fresh, frozen and dried foods to toiletries, beauty products, vitamins and supplements.

The Primes also supported local producers and had long-established relationships with Jason’s Organic Butcher in Cotesbatch and Feldon Farm Organic Farm in Frankton. Last year the shop even featured on BBC1’s Countryfile, as presenter Tom Heap purchased vegetables in paper bags from them in a story about buying food with as little plastic and waste as possible.

After the Rugby Food and Drink Festival at the end of September, Steve and Barbara began their retirement and handed over the shop keys to the new owners Charles and Ceri Line. Charles said that they are looking forward to “holding on to what make this place so special and taking it to another level.”

We tried to prise an exclusive reveal from Charles about what he has planned for the shop, but he wouldn’t disclose any surprises, so you will just have to watch this space for future developments!

One of the newest additions to the town is Rugby Unwrapped. The shop, located in Church Street, supplies a wide range of dried food and other household products, all sold on a “bring your own packaging” basis.

The partners in the business, Clair Saxton and Sharon Lee are two friends who got the idea a couple of years ago after seeing a similar business in Devon. “We agreed it would be a great idea for Rugby and started researching how to go about getting it off the ground”, Clair explains.

Things came to a head in the spring when changes in circumstances and the opportunity for take voluntary redundancy came about. “It was the right moment to go for it”, she says.

The interior of the shop is light and welcoming. There are two levels, with more products available up a short flight of stairs behind the counter. Essentially, you need to bring your own containers, including suitable receptacles for the liquid products. Purchasing is on a “weigh, fill, weigh again and pay” basis, and the shop is equipped with electronic scales designed specifically for this type of retail operation.

Rugby Unwrapped is obviously based around the ideals of sustainability, reducing waste and using recyclable or biodegradable materials, but the business partners are keen to stress this is not just a shop for hardcore “eco warriors”.

“Our belief is that, rather than having a small number of people radically changing their lifestyles and everyone else carrying on as before, it is better for that wider group to start doing something different”, Sharon explains. “In other words, a large number of people making small changes will have more effect than a small number making big changes”.

Clair agrees. “The more you start getting into this, it becomes your normal way of buying things, and you start to learn about other products that you can use. There are some incredible businesses out there making environmentally friendly and sustainable products”.

Along with a wide range of foodstuffs including lentils, cereals and spices, the Rugby Unwrapped portfolio covers a full suite of household cleaning products. “We get them from Fill Refill in Northamptonshire”, explains Sharon. “They make all their own products without using dyes or harsh chemicals, and only natural scents”. This aspect of the offering covers hand soaps, washing up liquid, laundry detergent and powder, dishwasher powder, toilet cleaner and fabric conditioner.

One of the most tempting items in the range are the packets of crisps on sale in the shop. “We get these from farmers in Herefordshire”, says Clair. “They use their own potatoes and all their flavourings are natural. They taste amazing and of course, the packets are 100% compostable”. 

https://www.facebook.com/RugbyUnwrapped/ 

Albie and Lonnie’s had an extremely successful VIP launch of their new shop on the 5th September.

They also raised an amazing £400 for their chosen charity, Coventry and Warwickshire Mind.

They are now officially open so make sure you pop in.

https://www.facebook.com/albieandlonnies/ 

You may have noticed the Rugby Credit Union office near the top of Albert Street and wondered what exactly a credit union does and how it all works.

To find out, we dropped in to meet office manager Ami Mistry and board member Laurie Bird.

Laurie was one of the founding trustees when Rugby Credit Union was set up in 2004. At this time, Rugby Council for Voluntary Service (now known as CAVA) decided there was a need for a credit union the town and Laurie was asked to help.

He explains how credit unions have their origins in the friendly society movement of the 1850s and how, after the Second World War, there was a resurgence of such principles when groups of working people formed financial associations to help avoid falling victim to loan sharks. Credit unions as we know them today are member-owned financial cooperatives. These types of organisation were first established in the 1960s.

Both Laurie and Ami are keen to correct the common misconception that credit unions are charities. “We aren’t really a charity because we don’t give anything away for free. We are a non-for-profit organisation”, explains Ami. “In legal terms we are classified the same as a building society and are fully FCA regulated”. Ami is currently the only employee, with the rest of the staff being volunteers.

“Credit Unions have to have what is called a common bond, something that qualifies people to be members which they all have in common”, explains Laurie. “In our case, membership is open to anyone who either lives or works in Warwickshire. Once someone becomes a member, they can stay for life, even if their circumstances change”.

Members are encouraged to save regularly, and those who show that they are sensible savers are more likely to be approved for a loan, possibly at preferential interest rates. The amount of credit the organisation gives out is limited, with loans usually being a few hundred pounds.

“Our service is available to people who otherwise might not be able to get a loan, due to poor credit history or low income”, says Ami. “The sort of things they need loans for tend to be unexpected emergencies: needing a new cooker or washing machine, car repairs, that sort of thing”.

For more information pop in or give them a call
(01788) 577900 
https://www.rugbycreditunion.co.uk