UP CLOSE: Zero Exmouth

This week Exmouth Nub News visited Zero Exmouth, a zero-waste supermarket and plastic-free lifestyle shop located here on Chapel Street just off Magnolia Walk in the town centre.

Zero Exmouth opened in October 2020, and has a huge variety of products, with everything from rice and cereal grains to conditioner bars handmade in Exmouth.

We spoke to owners Ernesto and Faye (together with their three-month old baby Emilio) about the shop.

They also own Zero Exeter on Fore Street in the city.

Faye said: "We're completely independently owned, and essentially you can buy all the household goods that you need from rice, beans, pulses, and pastas to cleaning products, refillable nuts, cereals, chocolates and beauty - but all without plastic.

"Our shop is unique because we're one of the only stores created 100% from reclaimed and landfill materials like scaffolding boards, which we sanded by hand and stained - from lights to floor, everything's reclaimed."

Ernesto said: "It's a plastic-free alternative, and when you come to Zero you can be sure that you're buying only environmentally conscious products.

"The food is organic, and the cleaning products are all-natural without any harmful chemicals.

"The pandemic has been up and down for us; we had to close the Exeter shop because we had no idea what we could expect.

"We opened again as we were classed as an essential business because we sell food - our loyal customers kept us alive, definitely.

"With this last easing of restrictions we were waiting for an increase in footfall, but we haven't seen that happening.

"It has affected us, and we're trying to do everything that we can to get the word out.

"I think the problem is a lot of people don't realise we're open, safe, and cheaper than what they think."

Faye added: "It's difficult because you're almost erasing the entire way you shopped for the last 40 years and starting again, but it does just take a bit of a leap of faith to jump in.

"But once you do start, everybody says it's so much easier because it's quieter than the supermarkets, and you don't have the queues, the waits, and you can buy almost everything you'd get in supermarkets but without the packaging, and you can buy exactly the quantities that you want.

"When you come in you can have your own container, if you want, and weigh the empty container on the scale, fill it up with a product of your choice, and simply take it to the till - we deduct the container weight so you only pay for the contents inside.

"The process from door, to weighing, to refill is 10 seconds.

"Don't worry about spilling. If you spill a little or a lot, it's still so much better than using a plastic bag!"

Ernesto added: "Everything happens at the till - you don't have to do maths!

"If you don't have a container, we do have recycled bottles that we get from customers which are sterilised, or we have paper bags free of charge."

Exmouth Nub News also conducted a video interview with the pair, which will go into more detail on the couple's backstory about meeting each other in Ernesto's home country of Colombia and what led them to open a zero-waste shop.

The video will be released soon, so keep your eyes peeled!