About us

Independent, ethical and bursting with the best produce to be found in the city, Beanies has proudly served Sheffield for over 30 years.

Who we are

From humble beginnings in Hillsborough via a converted terrace in Walkley and on to our beautiful new premises at 1 Barber Road, Beanies has flourished. 

We’re a thriving collective that’s fundamentally about fairness. Fairness to animals, the environment, future generations and to the people here now: customers, workers and producers all over the world. We’re also a successful business. We never use volunteers and we pay our co-op members a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

Friendly, helpful and much-loved in the community, Beanies is one of the city’s greatest success stories. 

We’re a thriving collective that’s fundamentally about fairness. Fairness to animals, the environment, future generations and to the people here now: customers, workers and producers all over the world.

Our values

Local

  • We work closely with local suppliers and growers.
  • We carry sauerkrat and kimchi, jam, honey, candles, Bullion chocolate and beautiful ceramics, all made in Sheffield. We’re always looking for new things to try and we test everything we stock to ensure its quality.
  • All this means that when you shop with us, you’re supporting lower food miles and a healthier regional economy.

Ethical

  • We strive to offer an ethical alternative to supermarkets, with everything you need for a weekly shop.
  • We’re independent, with no shareholders – any money we make is reinvested for our mutual interest.
  • We pay fair prices to our growers and suppliers. We prioritise independent and ethical producers, and we work with other co-operatives when possible.
  • We stick to our values behind the scenes. We use ethical bank accounts and eco-friendly cleaning products. We have solar panels on our roof and we’re working continuously to reduce our carbon outputs.
  • All our stock is vegan or vegetarian and we prioritise organic and Fairtrade products.

Organic

  • We’re the biggest organic greengrocer in Yorkshire. We know that for freshness, variety, flavour and all-around goodness, organic produce can’t be beaten.
  • We’re certified by Soil Association. This guarantees our produce is genuine.
  • Organic means grown without artificial fertilisers or pesticides. It’s a nature-friendly way to farm which improves biodiversity.
  • Organic means a lower risk of chemical nasties making it to your plate.

Vegan and Vegetarian

  • Beanies is meat free. Anything you choose here has been carefully checked for vegetarian standards.
  • We specialise in vegan food. We have a huge range of animal free alternatives, including luxury deli produce like cheese and chorizo, classic Yorkshire puddings and pizza, and seasonal treats like authentic vegan gelato or children’s ice lollies.

Recycling

  • We recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and Tetra Pak through Recycling Revolution, a non-profit social enterprise based in Sheffield.
  • The boxes for our organic delivery scheme are re-used many times.
  • We’ve never offered plastic carrier bags, but we always have a cardboard box if you need one, or you can buy a re-usable cloth bag at an affordable price.
  • We don’t put food into landfill. We work with local charities who are able to make use of produce and stock that is past its best.
  • Veg clippings and the like are taken by our grower Matt West and turned into compost. He uses this to grow organic fruits and veggies that we sell in the shop – it’s a zero waste loop!

A Worker’s Co-Operative

Beanies is a registered Workers Co-operative. This means that we are owned and run by our members. We are all responsible for the business and we all have an equal voice.

The shop is our livelihood. We all care passionately about providing the best possible service and value to our customers.

All our full time staff are company directors. We share the risks, responsibilities and management of the business equally. We meet regularly to make decisions together. As we have grown our members have become more specialised, with different areas of expertise. These roles are all equally important and we all get paid the same rate. 

We are proud to be a co-op. The way that we run our business reflects the business itself – with ethical, social and environmental issues at our heart. Co-ops are resilient, dynamic and fulfilling places to work. Over the last few years, the things we have achieved have highlighted how effective co-operative working can be. We have moved to a brand new premises after 30+ years, grown our veg box and grocery delivery scheme, and responded successfully to the Covid-19 crisis.

This is a picture of 49-montaged images, from the beginning of lockdown, of food that couldn’t be sold from Beanies. We donated all our surplus usable produce to two local Sheffield charities – The Archer Project and The Food Hall. They have each been supplying roughly 200 free nutritious cooked meals per day since day one of the lockdown to vulnerable people, including those living on the street, unable to cope due to age or underlying health issues including mental health or families struggling to pay their bills, as all other cooked food outlets and charities in the city had closed at the end of March.
Photo credit: Mark Harvey

Who we work with

Beanies is an important part of the Sheffield food ecosystem.

We all know about the enormous amount of wastage that occurs across the food supply chain, from fresh produce being discarded because it’s slightly misshapen to supermarkets sending perfectly usable “out of date” food to landfill.

To minimise our food waste, we work with a number of brilliant Sheffield-based social enterprises: Foodhall, The Archer Project, The Food Works, and Open Kitchen Social Club. 

What we offer

Organic Grocery

  • We’re the biggest organic greengrocer in Yorkshire. We know that for freshness, variety, flavour and all-around goodness, organic produce can’t be beaten.

Speciality Foods

  • We sell many alternative products for people with dairy, gluten and wheat intolerances as well as other specialist diets. 
  • We stock a wide variety of exciting speciality foods that you won’t find anywh
  • We also carry a range of unusual ingredients such as vital wheat gluten, coconut aminos, banana blossom, unusual dried chillies and psylium husk.ere else in Sheffield.

Bakery and Provisions

  • We have fresh bread and pastries every day alongside ready to eat wraps, dips, snacks, yoghurt, chocolate, fruit and ice cream.
  • We’re also fully stocked with store-cupboard favourites: wholefoods, baking supplies, speciality olives and pasta, world foods and spices, organic dairy, frozen organic fruit, and a full array of chilled produce.
  • Our household and beauty section includes zero waste refills, bath and beauty products, eco-friendly cleaning, locally made candles, gifts, coffee gear, packed-lunch essentials and reusable alternatives to many household basics. We also sell greeting cards, traditional giftwrap and reusable alternatives.
  • We’re stockists of Tamar Organic seeds and Moorland Gold organic compost. In spring and summer we often have organic veg seedlings from our local growers.
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