7 August 2025
Joe Food
Photo Credit: Marc Baker
Fresh off the back of winning Best Sustainable Brand at this year’s Exposed Awards, Beanies Wholefoods is in celebratory mood. And rightly so. As the beloved Sheffield co-op approaches its 40th anniversary, the team behind it continues to show that you don’t need to compromise ethics for success – or good food, for that matter.
“Beanies started off in Hillsborough and then moved to a little shop just down the road, which was basically running a business out of a Sheffield terrace,” explains Ella Kent, one of Beanies’ worker-owners. “About five years ago, we moved to our current home in Crookesmoor, and the business just grew with us.”
The latest site – more spacious, more visible and complete with a small car park and a hub for their organic box deliveries – is a long way from the cramped shelves of the early days. But the ethos remains unchanged: local produce, sustainable practices and strong ties to the community.
Beanies is run as a workers’ co-operative, meaning it’s owned equally and operated by its full-time staff. “All full-time co-op members are also company directors,” Ella says. “So we make the decisions together. It’s more resilient as a business model and it keeps wealth in the local economy.”
It’s a culture that shapes how Beanies operates behind the scenes too, with staff trained to recognise and care for produce rather than rely on plastic packaging or automation. Free from the need to cater to shareholders or executive salaries, it’s about investing instead in people and sustainable systems that work.
Those systems proved their worth during the pandemic, when Beanies adapted almost overnight. Its popular organic veg box scheme became something of a lifeline for many households. “A third of our business is the veg boxes now,” Ella adds. “We deliver all across Sheffield, out into the Hope Valley and even the Peaks.”
And while many businesses are still recovering, Beanies is back to pre-Covid footfall – perhaps even busier. A section of the team gets up at 3 or 4am most days to source non-organic produce fresh from the wholesale market, and their organic section is the largest in Yorkshire. “At this time of year, loads of the produce is from the UK,” Ella says. “If it says local, then we know the farmers. Some of it’s grown just a few miles away in the Moss Valley.”
Their relationship with local growers isn’t just about provenance. It’s also about systems. Beanies runs a closed-loop waste cycle, meaning leftover compost from fruit and veg gets taken back to the farms it came from. “It’s really so simple,” Ella says. “But supermarkets just aren’t equipped to work that way. We can, because we’ve built these partnerships.”
That attention to sustainability touches every part of the shop – from plastic-free alternatives to refillable cleaning supplies and beauty products. “We always prioritise organic, fair trade and buying from other co-ops,” says Ella. One key supplier is Suma Wholefoods, the largest equal-pay workers’ co-operative in Europe. Others, like Lembas or Brindisa, reflect Beanies’ commitment to quality as well as fairness.
Inside the shop, the range is genuinely impressive. Fresh organic produce, international ingredients, bulk dried goods, vegan dairy alternatives, gluten-free staples, natural health and beauty items, local sweet treats and candles – you could easily do a full weekly shop without needing to go anywhere near a supermarket.
And that’s kind of the point.
“When people come here, we want them to feel relaxed,” Ella says. “It’s food, right? It’s something you do every day, so it should be pleasurable. And you shouldn’t feel stressed or undervalued while shopping for it.”
Customers clearly agree. Beanies enjoy high levels of staff retention, loyal shoppers who’ve stayed with them for decades and a growing number of new customers drawn in by the store’s refreshingly human approach. “People come in as students, maybe just buying eggs and spring onions,” says Ella. “Then they discover the organic section, stick around in Sheffield – and suddenly they’re lifelong customers.”
That community role extends beyond the shopfront. Beanies donates regularly to food charities across Sheffield, sells “just meals” from Food Works without taking profit and offers a 10% discount on anything bought in-store to be donated to food banks.
Their veg box system allows customers and business workers to eat seasonally, reduce packaging and support sustainable farms – all from the comfort of their front door or office space. “Even though I work here, I still get a box delivered,” Ella says. “It helps me stick to a budget, eat organic, and plan my meals without the stress.”
As Beanies prepares to mark four decades of bringing the good stuff to hungry Sheffielders, the team is more focused than ever on doing things properly. “We don’t need to expand,” Ella says. “We just want to keep getting better at what we do.”
So, whether you’re a long-time customer or have only just clocked the cheerful green signage on Crookes Valley Road, there’s never been a better time to explore Beanies. Pop in for a browse, chat to the team and maybe treat yourself to a few of their frozen banana bites as a summer treat (if they haven’t sold out again).
beanies.coop
@beanieswholefoods
1 Barber Road,
S10 1EA