Iechyd Da @ CF14 | Support Our Independents

10/11/2022

By Lee Nottle

Based in the Whitchurch suburb of Cardiff, Iechyd Da @ CF14 is a wonderful health food and refill shop boasting a fantastic range of eco-friendly and local products.

We visited the shop in October and within just a short while we were struck by the vibrant community feel of Iechyd Da. It is clearly highly valued by the local community and it’s easy to see why; Alwen’s bubbly personality and the great variety of products make Iechyd Da @ CF14 an incredibly welcoming space.

Sensing an opportunity in the area, Alwen wanted to create a one-stop shop that people living in the area would benefit from. Locality is important to Alwen and you can find an increasing range of locally sourced produce.

Iechyd Da’s refill station is not only expansive but cost-effective too. You can buy as little or as much as you want; whether it’s dried fruit, nuts, flour, grains, pulses or household cleaning products. Alwen wants to eliminate single use plastics as much as possible and Iechyd Da @ CF14 offers a fantastic range of refills. 

Lee sat down with Alwen and we spoke about what it was like working through the pandemic, why community is an important aspect of the business, and what the future for the store looks like.

For those that may not know, can you tell us the meaning behind the name of the shop?

Iechyd Da; Iechyd in Welsh means health and Da means good. So, good health! Iechyd Da is also used as a way of saying cheers in Wales and CF14 is the local postcode.

Can you tell us a bit about the history of your Iechyd Da CF14 in Whitchurch - how did it come about?

This used to be a health food shop for about thirty years and the gentleman that established it as a health food shop had four other health food shops in Cardiff. He slowly sold them off as he was retiring and sold a couple of the other locations off to Beanfreaks. This location was kept by one of his former staff members for around three years and unfortunately closed down. It was closed for about a year and a half and after not having a health food shop in this area, we decided to reopen it as a refill health food shop. We were lucky to still have the customer base here, people that would come in for vitamins and supplements but we now have the refill sections, so we have a new set of customers that come in for that as well. We reopened three and a half years ago and we opened about seven months before the COVID pandemic hit, so it’s been an interesting ride. We were lucky that we were able to stay open as an essential shop, but we really had to adapt. We did a lot of home deliveries, pick-up orders over the phone, and got to know the local community really well because we were going to their door steps and chatting with them. We were lucky to build that up. We still do deliveries now too, and have carried that on. It’s been an interesting time. Prior to opening I was a primary school teacher for twenty years. I had an accident, fell to the floor, and I wasn’t really looking after my health. I wasn’t really listening to anybody, so I had a bit of a rude awakening. During that period of being off and recovering I had a realisation and asked myself, what are my priorities here? I realised that I can’t do anything without my health and I can’t be a proper Mum without that. My children are my priority and the things we wanted to make better in our lives as a family was the issue of waste. My passions are nature and good food. So, it was like putting that all together. We wanted to change the way we were living and become plastic-free and thought, does anybody want to come along on this journey with us? It’s not about being here as an eco-friendly shop and preaching to anybody else that this is how you should live your life; it’s all about involving people of all walks of life in the community. It’s very much a village shop. You know everyone; their history, what’s happening in their lives this week, when they are not well, and it’s quite a privilege really. So, that’s how it all came about.

You don’t get those types of close relationships with customers in chain stores really and that’s why it’s so important there are places like this…

Exactly. People want that connection. I think even more so after COVID. Things have become too commercial and too convenient. People haven’t got time to talk to each other because life is so busy. I really believe that is one of the main causes of mental health issues. People aren’t getting to socialise and have that sort of community-feel. I think that’s why people appreciate coming in here and they know that I like a chat! That’s an incredibly important part of it. They want to support the local community. They want to support us as a shop as well as our suppliers. We sell a lot of local makers and Welsh businesses. Lots of Welsh products, independents, and people that have a story to tell behind the product itself. Lots of our products are sourced within our area; Cardiff and Bristol for example. We are trying to cut our carbon footprint and having ethical suppliers is extremely important to us. We really do look into who we use. Our suppliers are so important to us. It’s about local people. When we were open during the pandemic, it was interesting because we had lots of older people coming in. This one gentleman, a lovely man, he was coming in during the period when older people were supposed to be shielding. I would say to him, “You’re only coming in for crystallised ginger - this is not essential! If you go home, I will deliver it to you.” He would reply; “Oh Alwen bach, this is essential to me. If I don’t come in here to get my ginger, I won’t speak to anybody all week.”

That’s heartbreaking…

I know. This was essential to him during the lockdown. Not the ginger, but coming in to a community shop. Then you realise that we are more than just a shop. We listen to our customers. It’s a community thing and it’s really important.

You have touched upon this a little bit already but what does it mean to be an independent business in Cardiff?

It’s the aspect that people appreciate that there is a person behind the business. They know us as a family. They know all the staff and history. There is a present here that has been left recently for a member of staff that had a baby just last week and was gifted from a customer. This kind of thing happens a lot. Being an independent business is about the personal touch. It’s people wanting to support people. Now that jam season has begun, goodness knows how many lovely pots of jams and chutneys we’ll receive! Customers bring in presents for us and it’s really bizarre but absolutely lovely because they appreciate people. That’s the important thing about being an independent business in Cardiff. It’s that people like to support you.

What can you tell us about your customers?

Incredibly supportive. Incredibly loyal. They want to help us develop; they suggest things not only for themselves but to give us some ideas. Listening to our customers is really important. We take an interest in their lives because they take an interest in ours. We have those personal relationships and know everybody’s names. They are very special customers. They are caring people; they care about the environment and are eco-conscious. Quite a few from the older generation, they come in and buy what they need so they don’t have to buy 1kg bags of flour when they only need a little bit. So, there’s no food waste, it costs them less, and it’s more sociable for them. They also say that this concept isn’t new. When they used to go into shops when they were younger, this was how it was for them. I think they appreciate going back to that. Also, the price of the non-packaged goods hasn’t seen the price increase the packaged goods have. You’re not paying for everything behind the packaging. Putting things in sacks is cheaper so it’s not affecting the price so much and people really appreciate that. Especially with how things are at the moment. It makes it much more affordable and people are more conscious about food waste because of the current economic climate.

We’ve talked about the pandemic but how else has business changed for you since you opened your doors?

When I opened, I didn’t think I needed anybody in the shop with me. I thought I was going to be able to do it myself. Within a day I realised…

I can imagine! There is so much in this store, you couldn’t do this alone.

[laughs] Yeah, mind you, in that time we have more than doubled our stock. About three times as much. So, it’s really developed and we offer a much greater range. We’ve got a deli and cheese counter coming next week for example. We’re constantly trying to find new things to keep people interested, keep me interested, otherwise I’d get bored as well as find new companies to support. It’s continually evolving. I remember sitting down with Cheryl from Viridian Supplements before opening and going through my plans for the shop. She was such an inspiration. She said to me; “Alwen, make sure that everything on your shelf deserves to be on the shelf and has a story.” I really like that. The better the story, the more it will sell because people want to see that it’s a product made with love and passion. Quality is so important as well.

A lot of socialising goes on around the dinner table. It’s nice to be able to talk about where ingredients have come from and who made it. It’s a great quality to have in an ingredient or product…

Absolutely. There are so many bad eating habits that have developed over the last thirty to forty years because of processed foods, so it’s so lovely to see people going back to wholefoods and looking after their health as well as looking at natural alternatives. We have nutritionists with us so it’s really important that staff are well informed, trained, and that they can help with advice in terms of the vitamins and supplements. It adds a different element to the shop. Again, it adds to getting to know your customers.

They must feel comfortable talking about it too, and it must be great for them to get the best quality advice from nutritionists…

We get people coming in with mental health issues and they know that this is a safe space for them. We’ll sit down here and I’ve been close to tears talking with some people. They know that they can talk here and because we know them so well. It’s lovely. We’re very lucky.

What does the future have in store for Iechyd Da?

In the immediate future, we will be introducing the deli counter next week with all the local cheeses, olives, sundried tomatoes, and antipasti. Moving on from that, to continually evolve to ensure that our stock is what people want. Working with Essential to make sure that our range is wide enough and looking at new companies. To take every day as it comes and not worry too much about the economic climate, otherwise, we’ll get overwhelmed. Just sticking to what has worked for us because that’s the reason we’re still here. After going through everything with COVID, the only reason we’re still here is that we have listened to our customers and we’ve evolved. Because we were a new company, I think it was easier for us to adapt because we didn’t have a set way of thinking. It was more difficult for some established businesses because they hadn’t been used to anything different. I feel very lucky about that and we count our blessings that we are still here and have loyal customers.

If you are interested in participating in an upcoming Support Our Independents feature, we would love to hear from you! We want to represent as many businesses as possible and highlight how diverse independent businesses are. Simply email  marketing@essential-trading.coop  with Support Our Independents in the subject line and we will get back to you as soon as we can. 

Our next feature will be on Swindon Pulse Wholefoods, a workers' co-operative that stocks a range of organic, fairtrade and ethical products.