Essential's Greener Futures Open Day is a Roaring Success!
03/10/2023
By Lee Nottle
Essential’s Greener Futures Open Day took place in Bristol on Sunday 24th September 2023, with over 70 exhibitors, almost 200 attendees, food and drink provided by local vendors, and live entertainment.
After five long years, with events affecting us all that nobody could have predicted, we were finally able to hold our massively popular Open Day at our warehouse in Fishponds, Bristol, in September.
The warehouse was transformed into a vibrant exhibition space, with colourful murals lovingly created by Essential’s Cass and Emily and beautiful graphics put together by our talented graphic designer Kate.
The event was organised by Essential workers Tig and Drew, both of whom made sure that the day was a huge success. Our Greener Future’s Open Day was sponsored by Alter Eco, Clipper, Kallo, Mrs Crimbles, Pukka, and Whole Earth and boasted a huge number of exhibitors. Our customers, workers, and friends were able to meet our wonderful suppliers, sample products, and network with likeminded ethical producers and charities.
We were thrilled to work with local vendors and suppliers on the day to provide free food and drink to our attendees. Arbor Ales offered a fantastic selection of craft beers, alongside Stroud Brewery and drinks from Purity. We also had a great selection of non-alcoholic offerings available from Drop Bear Brewery and Counter Culture Kombucha, serving drinks from their creative piano bar. There were plenty of food offerings available on the day too, with Chiki Monkey serving delicious vegan street food, a banquet of baked goods from Everest Bread, tasty chocolate treats from Radek’s Chocolate, and Essential’s Mike, Jason, and Izzy offering up generously loaded vegan nachos and hearty Yorkshire puddings filled with Essential’s new range of nut roasts topped with gravy.
“It was really inspiring to see so many small independent ethical brands all under one roof and to meet so many of our long-standing customers face-to-face.”
The warehouse was filled with lots of creativity and fun at Greener Futures. Live music on the day was provided by Biff Bang Pow, a smart skiffle rock quartet sparking up some fiercely fun-packed versions of country, new wave, and rock 'n' roll. They played brilliant covers that visitors could sing along to as they enjoyed food and drink, networked, and made the most of all the special offers available on the day. We were also joined by Bristol Print Collective, who ran drop-in workshops, and visitors were able to print their own colourful designs onto fabric.
There was also a huge raffle prize to be won, with £500 worth of products up for grabs. Every attendee was in with the chance to win a fantastic selection of products generously donated by some of our sponsors and exhibitors. Kiptik Coffee also ran a raffle on the day, with donations going to clean water projects in the autonomous Zapatista communities.
After a long hiatus, the day was an overwhelming success, with both suppliers and customers having a wonderful time. Clive’s Pies told us, “It was really inspiring to see so many small independent ethical brands all under one roof and to meet so many of our long-standing customers face-to-face.”
We would like to thank everyone who came along and helped make our Greener Futures Open Day a roaring success. We all had such a wonderful time, and it was great to see our much-loved suppliers, customers, friends, and family all in one space. The day highlighted the importance of coming together and celebrating ethical producers and retailers. I’m sure many of those that attended left feeling that after a tumultuous five years, there is a bright future ahead in our industry, and this is all thanks to the many marvellous people that make it what it is. From all of us at Essential, thank you for making our Open Day this year an enjoyable and special event. We really can’t wait to invite you back soon.
If you attended on the day and would like to leave feedback, please contact us at marketing@essential-trading.coop with Open Day 2023 as the subject line.