Speciality wholesaler Cotswold Fayre has opened its first grocery store with a focus on sustainability and hospitality.

Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen opened this week in Glenavon Farm between Bristol and Bath. The site has 4,000sq ft dedicated to a food hall and kitchen, with a third of it focused on a grocery offering. The remainder has 168 seats for indoor and outdoor dining.

Explaining how the wholesaler has developed the store, Cotswold Fayre chief executive Paul Hargreaves told Better Retailing: “The majority of products in the shop are from Cotswold Fayre, and there’s fresh meat, cheese, a deli, alcohol and ambient products.

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“We’ve got good data on which products sell best in these environments and we’re stocking the shop with the top 30%. “We’re also looking to go plastic-free and we’ve got an ‘unpackaged area’ of loose goods.”

Flourish’s managing director, Paul Castle, also has previous experience in convenience retailing. His family ran a Spar store and he has held roles with Asda.

Hargreaves added: “Our customer service team have never themselves been retailers, and there’s a great opportunity for them to work there for a day and improve their understanding of our customers.”

Hargreaves also hinted at opening more sites and launching an own-label range under the Flourish brand.

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