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National award for The People’s Pantry

Jun 30, 2023
2 min read

Lisa and Stephen, co-founders of The People's Pantry

A trailblazing refill business from North London has won the Bricks & Clicks Award at this year’s Small Awards in recognition of its innovation.

The People’s Pantry was one of just ten small business winners, across ten categories and the entire UK, to win a Small Award. They’ve also received a Community Carbon grant from Haringey Council to further their mission of reducing plastic waste.

The refill business, run by married co-founders Lisa Jones and Stephen Thomas, operates from a restored vintage milk float called Ernie and offers doorstep deliveries in a bid to help people reduce their plastic waste.




Powered by a slick e-com site, the business enables precise volume orders to further reduce waste - it functions just like Ernie’s original milkman did: a closed loop container system, with empties left out at each delivery day for collection, sanitisation and reuse.

Celebrating the win, Lisa, said: “Not only is it a huge boost and validation of two years of hard work and experimentation with our service model, but a prestigious platform from which to extend our message of the critical need for a bottom-up approach to taking responsibility for reducing waste; and recognising that reuse, not recycling, is a key solution.

“Joining the Refill Revolution is an easy, fun route in to changing our behaviours and The People’s Pantry is about just that: ease and fun!”



The business, which launched during lockdown in August 2021, stocks more than 250 carefully curated household staples, including pantry, bathroom and eco-cleaning essentials. All are vetted for their environmental impact, from food miles and supply lines to packaging policies, ethics and soil impact. All are independents and, wherever possible, sourced locally - including local honey, seasonal flowers, roasted coffee and craft beer.

The award was presented by comedian Sue Perkins at a prestigious celebration event.

Lisa and Stephen plan to use their grant from Haringey Council to repair a pre-loved sewing machine, which they’ll use to make drawstring bags from repurposed fabric.

The Small Awards, run by Small Business Britain, is a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK.


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24 Comments


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6 days ago

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Musk Al Mahal
Sep 28

This is such an inspiring example of how a small business can create a meaningful impact through practical and sustainable ideas. I really liked the closed-loop refill system and the focus on reuse rather than simply relying on recycling. The fact that The People’s Pantry carefully considers sourcing, packaging, ethics, and environmental impact across its products makes the business model even more impressive. I also love the idea of giving pre-loved materials a second life through the sewing machine project. Sustainability is becoming important across many industries, including beauty and fragrance, where a responsible perfume brand can also explore thoughtful packaging, sourcing, and waste-reduction practices. Congratulations to the team on such a well-deserved recognition!

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xiao jingyao
xiao jingyao
Sep 26

Good to see a refill business get this kind of recognition - the plastic-reduction angle plus the local carbon grant is the kind of model that actually scales at neighbourhood level. A useful reference point on the food and nutrition side: AI Fruit

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Sep 25

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