Spinneys Opens First Sustainable Concept Store in Dubai

Press Release

December 19, 2021, 2:51 pm

Locally-owned supermarket Spinneys has opened the doors of its first sustainable concept store in Dubai’s Layan community, next to Sustainability City. As part of its corporate programme ‘Let’s Do Better Together’, the new branch aims to offer customers an easy, convenient way to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and to shop more sustainably.

Dedicated to providing its customers with the best possible products, in the best possible way, the store has been carefully stocked to highlight health benefits across all of its ranges. Shoppers can explore its array of organic, vegan, plant-based, high-protein, free-range, or made with reduced fats and sugar varieties – ensuring its customers not only eat well, but live well too.

A key sustainability feature of the store is its ‘Refill Stop’ a new concept embedded across a range of departments encouraging customers to reuse and replenish their own containers. Customers receive a discount at the deli counter for bringing their own container and dispensers are provided throughout the store encouraging refillable shopping across multiple household categories such as coffee, spices, honey, pasta, pulses, snacks and event detergent from Ecover – a new refillable initiative with a launch discount.

As a first for retail in the region, the store also offers a refillable water station with complimentary room temperature water for customers to top their bottles up with as well as chilled, sparkling and naturally infused botanical essence waters such as lemon balm and peppermint for 5 to 10 AED per refill.

Fruit and vegetables are primarily sourced from home-grown sources to support local farmers. Shoppers can try organic cherry tomatoes that have been grown in perfect conditions to deliver sweetness and flavour. Spinneys has also increased the number of Naturally I’m Perfect veg lines too in Produce – vegetable multipacks with non-uniform shapes.

The store is also home to honey bees who are living in hives on the roof, to support the pollination of local flora and fauna. Championing local businesses is also part of the Spinneys’ DNA. A prominent store feature is its selection of brands from its Incubator Programme such as The Skin Concept, Namastea, The Botanist and Kimri.

Sunil Kumar, CEO, Spinneys, said: “At Spinneys, we are making sustainable choices for the future. We know that we have a lot of work to do to become a truly sustainable organisation, but we are proud of the positive steps we are making – and the new concept store is a testament to that. Sustainable innovation is part of who we are, and we will continue to drive such forward-thinking in the region.”

As part of its bid to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the Layan supermarket and car park have also been fitted with 650 solar panels. The store’s refrigeration systems have been purposely built to emit fewer fluorocarbons.

Removing unnecessary plastic is also a key focus for Spinneys, where products will be sourced with recyclable packaging and recycled content where possible. There is a firm ‘no plastic bags’ policy at the check-out too. Customers must either bring their own or pay 50 fils for a paper bag.

Sophie Corcut, Sustainability Manager at Spinneys, commented: “As a local supermarket we have a responsibility to contribute to creating a more sustainable way of living for our community. We hope this new store concept, which we plan to roll out across the UAE, will help play a part in supporting the government’s sustainability goals.”

Having recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in the UAE, the new Spinneys sustainable concept store is part of the retailer’s vision to always innovate and remain ahead of industry trends and customer needs.

Spinneys Layan is open seven days a week from 0700 – 2300. For more information about the brand and upcoming news visit www.spinneys.com and @spinneysdubai / @spinneyskitchen on Instagram.