This guide outlines the standards we use to select food and household products for SPRoUT. It is designed to inform our customers, partners, and community about how we evaluate products based on "healthiness," minimal processing, and ingredient integrity. You can also download this guide as a PDF →

1. Core Principles of Wholesomeness

Our buying policy is anchored in Wholesome, Healthy Consumption. We believe that what we eat should support long-term well-being and be sourced with integrity. To achieve this, we prioritise:

• Minimal Processing: We favour foods in their most natural state over highly processed, refined, or chemically altered products.
• Maximum Nutritional Value: We choose products that retain their natural fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
• The Wholefood Priority: We always favour whole grains (brown/wholemeal) over refined grains (white), and whole fruits and vegetables over juices or extracted isolates. While we stock a small number of refined "convenience" items for accessibility, our goal is to nudge our range toward nutrient-dense wholefoods.

Wholesome Foods, Not "Superfoods"

While our range is designed to nourish, we do not sell dietary supplements, vitamins, or health products, and we avoid marketing-driven "superfoods" or food fads until they become stable, affordable staples. We also avoid stocking ranges whose packaging or branding is heavy with excessive health claims, as we believe good health comes from a diverse diet of simple, honest foods.

2. Sourcing, Affordability & Economics

We aim to make healthy, wholesome food accessible to the Leicester community, which means balancing ethical provenance with affordability. We do not view ethical sourcing and accessible prices as mutually exclusive. Our co-operative and operational structure keeps our pricing competitive with supermarkets through:

• Direct Sourcing: Wherever possible, we buy direct from growers, co-operatives, and producers, cutting out unnecessary intermediaries.
• A Focused Range: By stocking fewer lines and avoiding slow-moving inventory, we keep handling costs low and minimise waste.
• Co-operative Supply Chains: We prioritise values-aligned co-operative wholesalers who operate on fair margins rather than maximising profit for external shareholders.
• Reinvested Surpluses: SPRoUT has no external investors or high executive salaries; all surpluses are reinvested directly into keeping food prices accessible and supporting our workers.
• The Honest Balancing Act: While we maintain high standards, we recognise that not every product can carry a 100% ethical certification. We accept conventional options in specific categories where the risk is low, ensuring our basic staples remain affordable.

3. Our "Hard Nos"

To protect our community and ensure the integrity of our range, every product on our shelves must meet our core quality criteria. We have set non-negotiable "Hard Nos" for ingredients and sourcing that do not align with our health and ethical standards:

• Animal Products: None. SPRoUT is a 100% plant-based store. (We do accept products carrying "may contain traces of milk or eggs" warnings due to shared factory environments, as long as the recipe itself is entirely plant-based.)
• Rapeseed Oil: Certified Organic only. We do not stock non-organic rapeseed oil. Because the pressing process can concentrate fat-soluble pesticide residues, organic certification is a strict requirement for this ingredient.
• Palm Oil: We have a strong preference to avoid palm oil. Where it is necessary, raw palm oil must be Certified Organic or RSPO Segregated. For palm derivatives, the producer must be a registered RSPO member.
• Air Freight: Strictly zero tolerance. None of our fresh produce is air freighted. We prioritise local, seasonal, and European land- or sea-transported options to minimise our carbon footprint.
• Additives: Zero tolerance for Maltodextrin, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), or synthetic sweeteners.
• Flavourings: No artificial flavourings. Natural flavourings are accepted only in Certified Organic products.
• Synthetic Perfumes: No synthetic perfumes or "Parfum" in our household or bodycare ranges. We prioritise products where the fragrance source is clearly identified and naturally derived (e.g., "Lavender Essential Oil").
• Ownership and Independence: We have a strong preference for independent, co-operatively owned brands. We avoid products owned by large multinational food conglomerates (e.g., Nestlé, Unilever, ABF, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, SC Johnson, Kenvue/J&J) or monopolies to support a fairer, decentralised food system.

4. Product & Ingredient Sourcing Standards

To help our community make informed choices, here is how we apply our healthiness standards across different categories, highlighting where we insist on organic and where conventional options meet our criteria.

Grains & Starches

• Oats & Oatmeal: Default to Organic. Oats are commonly sprayed with glyphosate (a widely used herbicide) as a desiccant shortly before harvest. Because this happens at the end of the crop cycle, residues remain in the final product and cannot be washed off.
• Wheat & Pasta: Default to Organic. Like oats, conventional wheat is frequently treated with glyphosate before harvest. We stock whole grain pasta made from organic wheat.
• Rice (Basmati & Brown): Conventional Accepted. Conventional rice generally has low pesticide residues. The primary contaminant concern in rice is arsenic, which organic farming does not address. We prioritise affordability for rice.

Pulses (Lentils, Beans & Chickpeas)

• Dried vs. Tinned: We prioritise dried pulses as the healthiest, most cost-effective, and minimally processed option.
• Sourcing Standard: Organic when price is close. Pulses are sometimes treated with glyphosate before harvest, but residues are generally lower than in cereal crops. We select organic options when they remain accessible.

Fruits & Vegetables

Our primary commitment for fresh produce is simple: we sell only fruit and vegetables that are Certified Organic or grown to verified organic standards. This is a core promise of the SPRoUT model and our major selling point.

By avoiding conventional fresh produce entirely, we protect our community from direct pesticide exposure and support agricultural systems that build soil health and biodiversity. This means that:

• Fresh Produce: All vegetables (including greens, roots, brassicas, and alliums) and all fresh fruits on our shelves are certified organic or grown to organic standards.
• Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes: 100% Organic. As fresh root vegetables, we source only organic potatoes and sweet potatoes, ensuring no chemical soil treatments or synthetic sprout suppressants are used.
• Citrus & Bananas: Unlike stores that accept conventional options for thick-skinned fruits, we only stock organic citrus and bananas to avoid post-harvest chemical treatments (like fungicides and ripening agents) on the skins.

Soya & Plant-Based Proteins

• Tofu, Tempeh, & Edamame: 100% Organic. Soya is one of the most heavily genetically modified and chemically treated crops in global agriculture. We only stock organic, non-GMO soya products.
• Oat & Soya Milks: Default to Organic. We prioritise organic plant milks to avoid glyphosate residues (in oats) and intensive chemical treatments (in soya).

Nuts, Seeds & Nut Butters

• Almonds: Default to Organic. Almost all conventional US-grown almonds are fumigated post-harvest with propylene oxide. We source organic almonds (often from Europe) to avoid chemical fumigation.
• Sesame & Tahini: Default to Organic. Sesame is a high-residue crop that absorbs pesticides easily; we only stock organic tahini.
• Flaxseed (Linseed): Default to Organic. Flax is a cereal-type crop that carries a high risk of pre-harvest glyphosate desiccation. We recommend buying whole flaxseeds and grinding them at home to preserve omega-3 freshness.
• Walnuts: Default to Organic. Walnuts are susceptible to post-harvest treatment; organic is highly preferred.
• Pumpkin & Sunflower Seeds: Conventional Accepted. These seeds have lower pesticide risks, making conventional seeds an acceptable budget option.

Sweeteners & Sugar Policy

We believe in minimising added sweeteners across our product range, but we recognise that granulated sugar is a practical staple for home baking and everyday cooking. SPRoUT chooses to stock a minimal, carefully selected range of sugars (including granulated sugar) as a convenient service for our community.

• Granulated Sugar & Sweetener Sourcing: Any sugar we stock must be Certified Organic and Fairtrade cane sugar. We strictly avoid conventional granulated sugar and do not stock products derived from UK sugar beet, which is a chemical-intensive farming monopoly.
• Sugar in Packaged Products (Functional Acceptance): We minimise added sugars in processed products, but accept them where they serve traditional or functional purposes (such as in jams or savoury staples like baked beans). In all cases, we source the option with the lowest sugar content in its category.
• Transparency: All products containing added free sugars are marked with a "Contains Sugar" shelf stamp to help customers make informed decisions.
• Wholefood Alternatives: We encourage and promote wholefood sweeteners like whole dates and Organic Blackstrap Molasses (which concentrates beneficial minerals and is sourced strictly organic to prevent pesticide concentration).

Spices & Condiments

• Dried Spices: We source organic for high-surface-area dried spices to avoid pesticide and chemical concentration.
• Cayenne & Chilli Powder: Default to Organic. Conventional chillies are heavily sprayed, and these residues concentrate significantly when the peppers are dried and ground.
• Turmeric: Default to Organic. We source organic turmeric to avoid lead chromate contamination (sometimes used to color conventional turmeric) and pesticide residues. We recommend pairing turmeric with black pepper to dramatically increase the bioavailability of its active anti-inflammatory compound, curcumin.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Default to Organic. Because apple cider vinegar is made from whole apples (a Dirty Dozen fruit) and concentrated during fermentation, we source unpasteurised, organic ACV "with the mother" to preserve probiotic benefits.

Household & Bodycare

We extend our sourcing ethics beyond food to the cleaning and personal care products on our shelves. We select products that are:

• Plant-derived and Biodegradable: Formulated with natural, plant-based ingredients that break down safely in water systems.
• Cruelty-free: Free from animal-derived ingredients and never tested on animals.
• Petrochemical & Chemical-free: We prioritise products free from parabens, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), phosphates, chlorine-based bleaches, or synthetic perfumes.
• Refillable: We prioritise bulk refill systems to minimise single-use packaging.