Pioneering London food business wins sustainability award

This June, Alara Wholefoods - the UK cereal producer who produces their organic muesli in the heart of King’s Cross - have won the Sustainability Pioneer Award at the 2019 Sustainable Food Awards, run by Ecovia Intelligence.

The award recognises Alara’s ground-breaking efforts in sustainable food; they were the first cereal company in the world to be certified organic and the first food company in the UK with zero waste, carbon-neutral facilities. Their most recent sustainability achievement is plastic-free, compostable packaging, which brings their zero-waste initiative directly into their customers’ homes (learn about the importance of minimising waste in Sam Sinha’s Talking Rubbish feature).

Alara was founded in 1975 by Alex Smith who started the company with £2 that he found in the street. He used that money to get into the New Covent Garden market and gather surplus fruit and vegetables for resale. Many years later, Alara has grown to supply half of the UK’s organic muesli. Their Camley Street production site is home to a permaculture garden, a vineyard and a community food growing space - the garden is open to locals so stop by and congratulate them on their new award.

You can find Alara and other plastic-free businesses in Around Town: Plastic-Free London, updated for #PlasticFreeJuly

Learn more about Alara’s remarkable efforts to achieve sustainability, including Soil Association audits and carbon reports, and check out their products.