By Kath Gannaway
THE Full Pantry was very much a niche market when Nelleke Arnold and son Joel first opened in Croydon in 2004.
But that ‘niche’ has opened up considerably over the past two and a half years.
The Full Pantry offers a range of cooking ingredients and other pantry items but without all the excess packaging that generally comes with those things.
Brown paper bags are standard packaging for most products but customers are also encouraged to scoop into their own containers from the bulk bins.
By buying just enough ingredients for immediate needs, or a particular recipe, customers tell Nelleke they have also done away with having to throw away food which has gone stale or is past its use-by date.
At the other end of that scale, people who do a lot of cooking can buy in bulk.
The shelves and bins at The Full Pantry are stacked with all types of flours, including gluten-free.
There are bread, slice and cake mixes, nuts and dried fruits, lentils, beans, confectionery, up to four different honey varieties on tap, freshly ground peanut butter… and more.
There is a growing choice of organic foods and, as part of their excellent customer service, Nelleke and Joel also make-up ‘designer’ mueslis.
“We have all the possible cereal ingredients and can make any muesli to meet a particular request,” Nelleke explained. “People end up with their own mix and when they need it made up again we have their recipe right here.”
The Full Pantry is fully stocked with the complete range of EASIYO products, which allows customers to make their own yoghurt and ice-cream.
Moving from the pantry to the laundry cupboard, they are also now selling Planet Ark soap powder in bulk which is ideal for anyone using their grey-water on the garden.
Newly in the store is rice bran oil. “One of our customers, who is a chef, even prefers this over olive oil,” Nelleke added. It is available in 375ml bottles, four litre tins, a ‘Combo Pack’, or on tap.
The Full Pantry, located at the Centro Shopping Centre (part of Croydon Market Complex) is open from Monday to Saturday.
No to packaged products
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