Update from The New Leaf Co-op

The New Leaf in Marchmont has been running as a wholefood business for 20 years, and has a loyal following in the local community. After 14 years of hard work, Linda and Derek who currently own and manage the shop are looking to move on. 


As members of the Edinburgh Wholefood Co-operative, Neus, Will, Sophie, Karen and Dee are working collaboratively with Linda and Derek to take over the business which they will soon be running collectively as a co-operative.

They plan to re-open the doors of The New Leaf at the beginning of September 2012. The New Leaf Co-op will sell good quality, considerately sourced and affordable staple foods. They're going to open up a currently unused back room and pack it full of tasty, unpackaged, loose wholefoods that you'll be able to scoop into your own containers. Pulses, nuts, fruits, grains, cereals... This will reduce waste and packaging and will also make things cheaper for you!

They have worked out that we need £40,000 to cover the costs of business purchase, refitting the shop, opening up the back room, and packing in a wider range of delicious wholefoods (oh and a cargo bike for delivery too, They hope). They have already secured £35,000 from supporters. They are hoping to draw on community support to raise another £10,000 through a larger number of smaller loans. Even though they only need £5,000, they’re aiming for £10,000 as it will help achieve more sooner. They have developed two routes for making loans:  Buzzbnk & Loanstock.

In short, Buzzbnk (http://buzzbnk.org/newleafcoop) is for making loans up to £500 in a quick easy way, and there are different rewards and discounts depending on the amount you lend. Loanstock is best suited for people wanting to lend more than £500, so that they can offer you more flexibility.

Please get in touch if you would like more information about either of these. They also have a Business Prospectus which outlines our plans for the business and our financial predictions. 

They are still working on a new website, but in the meantime you can visit their facebook page.