Latest news from Welcome
Nights in? Eating healthy? Meals to keep the kids happy? We’ve got you covered.
Use our Welcome Stores Meal Planner to organise your week.
Keep everyone happy from fridge pickers to fussy eaters, simple snack-ers or mighty meals for breakfast lunch and dinner.
Click the image below to download and print.
You’re welcome!
It’s World Mental Health Day and we’re taking the time to stop and think about how we can do our bit.
Welcome Stores has been partnered up with Solent Mind for a couple of years now, successfully raising just over £3,500.
Last summer a group of managers from Welcome stores headed to Mayfield Nurseries – a facility owned by Solent Mind to offer new skills to those living with mental and physical health issues. Despite the sore backs, we had a great time – you can see some of the photos we took from the day here.
At its grass roots, we know that good mental health is important to living life to its fullest – at home and at work. It’s one of many reasons Welcome Stores chose to partner with Solent Mind in the first place. It was a timely pairing, especially as we endured long lockdowns of the pandemic and time separated from loved ones took its toll.
We must of course thank all of those on the front line who continued to keep this country moving – including our own staff who worked tirelessly to ensure everyone in the community was well-looked after, no matter how old they were or how vulnerable they were.
Many people from varied backgrounds and for varied reasons face barriers when it comes to accessing mental health support. Whether it be as simple as geography, lack of access to technology, language barriers, gender-based stigma, and many more.
Starting today and in the weeks to follow, Solent Mind will be pushing out various messaging on its website and social media channels – so please do keep an eye out for that.
Sam Clarke, Communications and Marketing Lead, said: “Over the coming weeks, we will be highlighting some of the issues that are preventing people from accessing our services, and mental health services as a whole. By starting this conversation, we hope to raise awareness and start learning how to close the gap in these mental health inequalities.” For more information about Solent Mind, head to their website www.solentmind.org.uk
We love a tummy-filling winter warmer at this time of the year – and who better to provide that full-feeling than our new supplier Potts sauces.
Can-do
Customers who are already familiar with Potts sauces may have spotted they mostly come in cans. At the start of 2023, following the successful stock-in-a-can range which launched 2020, Potts began a range of sauces in cans, with the hope for even more to come in 2024.
Not only is this a great way to give the product the edge, the cans are recyclable and fit in much better with Potts’ rounded sustainability ethos. The company’s environmental pledge is centred around the reduction of single use plastic. Potts is constantly working to improve the packaging of products to make them 100% recyclable across the range.
In fact, the canned range has saved nearly nine tonnes of single use plastic and created a completely recyclable product that looks and tastes great.
A Welcome partnership
They began by moving away from single use plastics and using resealable pouches initially, and are now working towards more recyclable materials such as aluminium cans and glass jars – and it was a great move.
And of course, reducing single use plastics is something we at Welcome are passionate about – and we work hard to do our bit.
“Welcome stores share our proactive standard when it comes to the environment and taking care of OUR planet” said James Foley, Sales Manager at Potts Partnership.
“We must all do our best to create a sustainable environment for future generations and we are thrilled that Welcome stores have set their own sustainability goals to reduce food and single use plastic waste.
“We are proud to be part of the 506 environmentally friendly lines stocked at Welcome.”
On the gravy-train
The environmental pledge was important to Potts right from the off – and it has been ingrained in the business since its beginnings in late 2007. Since then, the family business has grown from a family kitchen employing the two founders, to a production and warehouse facility in Swindon employing 45 people locally.
But it is not just the eye-catching packaging and a strong environmental policy that makes Potts sauces so successful – James also attributes the success to always keep moving and not resting on your laurels.
“We stand out because we never stop working on new products” James said. “We push boundaries and look to start trends that not only grab attention, but also look to fulfil a social need. Plus, we always stick together as a team and push ourselves to find creative solutions to ensure we are packing recyclable packaging with great tasting products. It can be very challenging at times, but the things that are worth doing are normally seldom easy.”
A full range of Potts sauces are now in stock at your local Welcome store.
For more information head to www.pottspartnership.co.uk
We love our catch-ups with suppliers, giving them a chance to tell their stories about how their businesses came to be and what it is that makes them so great. We feel so lucky to have them all on our doorsteps and New Forest Shortbread is no exception.
New Forest Shortbread started life from creator Tracy Thew’s kitchen table and she has been making shortbread for family and friends for more than 50 years. She was often told how much her shortbread was enjoyed and asked to share her recipe. Finally in 2015, Tracy decided she would start baking for others too.
Today, Tracy has a bakery and creates all the New Forest Shortbread collections from Burley Rails Cottage – originally a woodman’s cottage that was built in 1811. The stunning surroundings inspired Tracy to redesign the packaging with “tear off and keep” cards, to allow others to keep a memento of the Forest with them.
For fans of the Forest shortbread, you will have noticed Tracy’s packaging features beautiful illustrations of the various flora and fauna visitors might see during their stay in the New Forest. These are all created by local artist Will Drew, and are accompanied by notes and local information about the illustrations, as well as the Forest itself.
Despite the striking packaging, sustainability remains at the heart of everything Tracy does.
“We are passionate about the New Forest and inspired by the nature we have all around us – so it’s really important we keep control of the environmental aspect of our product” she said. “That’s why New Forest Shortbread ranges are sealed in recyclable bags and biodegradable boxes, on the day they are baked. All packaging is sustainable and widely recyclable.
Environmental pledges run through the veins of many businesses, including our own here at Welcome Stores, and local suppliers are a key part of lowering our carbon footprint. It reduces greenhouse emissions by limiting the number of miles any products have to travel. Plus, we see the benefit of supporting our local economy which in turn is vital for bringing jobs and growth to our communities.
“We love to work alongside the Welcome Stores team who are passionate about local products” Tracy added. “There are loads of small businesses in the New Forest and it’s a great chance for residents and visitors to sample, what we view, to be some of the best products on the market.”
And indeed, Tracy is not wrong. Being proud winners of 3 Great Taste Awards, it’s easy to see how we have some of the best products on offer right here on the South Coast.
“Our All Butter Original won 1-star in 2022, Earl Grey flavoured won 1-star in 2023 and Rosemary flavoured New Forest Shortbread won 2-stars in 2023!” Tracy said.
“We have an extensive range of flavours and work on improving our recipes all the time, so we offer something for everyone’s taste.”
New Forest Shortbread is in stock at your local Welcome store.
For more information head to https://www.newforestshortbread.co.uk/
This week, we’re hearing from a great local supplier, Vibrant Forest, which started life in a garage – and today has grown into a brand that is well-known across the South Coast.
The business began back in 2011 when the first brew, Summerlands IPA was created – and Vibrant Forest was born!
Its mission was to brew modern beers that were packed with flavour and at the time, the business operated from a garage and slowly grew into a thriving taproom.
You cannot miss Vibrant Forest ranges on the shelves of Welcome Stores as you will notice they are perhaps some of the brightest coloured of all.
“We are what it says on the tin” says taproom manager Ryan Dack. “Our vibrancy is what makes us stand out from the crowd and we are not afraid to push boundaries to give our customers different styles and flavours. And, with our brewery being located in the heart of the New Forest, what better way to honour such surroundings and colours the Forest brings with it – hence the name, Vibrant Forest.”
What’s more, Vibrant Forest beers are never filtered or pasteurised and there is never any lactose added to the brews. That means every beer is Vegan.
Showcasing local businesses is something we love to do here at Welcome Stores. We have some seriously rich pickings right here on our doorstep, so why wouldn’t we want to bring those to our customers, so that they can enjoy them too? Plus, we see the benefit of supporting our local economy which in turn is vital for bringing jobs and growth to our communities.
“We love getting our beers in front of new audiences who may be unaware of us – and Welcome Stores are a great support in helping us do that” Ryan added.
Vibrant Forest is proud of its beginnings and took its time to grow organically into the small team and taproom it is today. But it’s that humble beginning that gives the company strong innings and potentially makes it more resilient too.
“We are always exploring new flavours and styles, and we are proud to be a Brewery rather than a beer factory.”
If you’re just dipping your toe into the water (or ale!) of Vibrant Forest, PUPA is the company’s best-selling pale ale and is always a great starting point for anyone. It’s fruity and refreshing with a touch of bitterness.
For more seasoned Vibrant Forest-ers, Ryan recommends FLUIDITY for something a little bit different. “It’s a 3.8% sour beer, but it is so refreshing and something different for most people as the brew has been soured during the brewing process which gives it a unique flavour.” For more information head to www.vibrantforest.co.uk
It was our pleasure to visit the team at Solent Mind HQ and hand over a cheque for £3,699 to help fund the vital services that they do.
We’ve actually been working with them for a few years now and they were nominated by our staff for dedication to mental health and wellbeing services for people across the south.
Poor mental health can have a much bigger impact than simply “feeling low” for a few days. It can impact our behaviour and our relationships. It can affect how we do our jobs and live our lives at home.
When Covid-19 hit, we were all worried about protecting our families and loved ones. But, there was an army of people who continued to fight and keep the country going. They were the ones who could not lock themselves away, or work from home. They were the ones who selflessly continued to serve our communities, despite the risks.
They were our amazing NHS, doctors and nurses, and social workers and they deserve all of our admiration and recognition. But there were others, like Welcome stores retail workers, who adopted that British “Keep Calm and Carry On” spirit. The great thing about our stores is that they also provided a place of familiarity at a time when many people were isolated – and that did keep us going when times were really tough.
Naturally, the worry of the unknowns in the world and doing our best to continue operating our stores and serving our customers safely took its toll – not just on our staff. We heard concerns from our customers too who were vulnerable or worried about doing their best for their family.
That’s when it became clear organisations like Solent Mind are vital for our communities, and it is our pleasure to do what we can to support them – and give something back.
That is why organisations like Solent Mind are so heavily relied upon. They make sure that everyone gets access to the time and resources they need to help them get their lives back on track.
They also offer our staff access to services through our partnership, accessing guides such as dealing with mental health in the workplace, anxiety and many others, to ensure they are always feeling supported and doing the best job they can.
“Our corporate partnerships are so important as a way of generating all-important funding and we’re grateful to be working with Welcome Stores. Plus, it’s another way of collaborating with others to ensure we are offering the best services possible, but also spread the word about what we do – and how we can help.
“Our services were accessed by almost 55,000 people in 2021-2022 and more than 6,000 people received wellbeing services from our support centres, which are vital to our network. This latest donation from Welcome stores helps with our message to spread awareness that mental health matters, and everyone deserves to feel their best.”
