What Community Shop does

Community Shop is the UK's first social supermarket, operating 16 physical stores that serve communities in the bottom 10% of indices of deprivation. Each store integrates three interconnected spaces — Community Store (discounted retail), Community Hub (holistic personal development via the 'What If' plan), and Community Kitchen (café with free children's meals) — designed to deliver a 'hand-up, not a hand-out' model for members experiencing food insecurity.

The retail offering is supplied entirely from surplus inventory donated by retailers and manufacturers, channelled through Company Shop Group, Community Shop's parent organisation (which itself sits within waste management group Biffa). Members shop free of charge at the point of membership and purchase a weekly shop at roughly one-third of retail price, with items such as fruit, vegetables, and bread priced at 20p. Profits from the store are reinvested into the Community Hub support programmes, and the model is intentionally structured as a social enterprise rather than a profit-maximising retailer.

From a commercial standpoint, revenue derives from transaction-based retail sales of donated surplus goods; there is no disclosed pricing tier beyond deeply discounted pay-as-you-go purchases. The go-to-market is community-led — free membership for eligible local residents — with marketing limited to parent-group digital channels, impact reporting, and member story content. The legal entity is Company Shop Limited (England and Wales), and all operations are UK-domestic with no mobile app, public funding rounds, or external investor capital referenced.

Name

Community Shop

Legal name

Company Shop Limited

Website

https://community-shop.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Shop operates 16 UK social supermarkets combining a deeply discounted surplus-food store, a holistic support hub, and a community kitchen, serving members experiencing food insecurity in the most deprived communities. Inventory is donated by retailers via parent Company Shop Group (Biffa).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Supermarket / Discount Grocery Retail

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bulk Food Buying Clubs & Cooperative Bulk Programs (CRAHAMAM)

Keywords

• Social supermarket
• Surplus food redistribution
• Food insecurity support
• Discounted grocery retail
• Community hub services

Headquarters

HQ city

Barnsley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail sales of surplus products: Community Shop generates revenue through retail sales of deeply discounted surplus food and essentials to members. Products are donated by retailers and manufacturers through Company Shop Group. Members purchase weekly shopping at approximately one-third of retail prices. The model is described as sustainable, with profits from the store reinvested into Community Hub holistic support programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Community Shop operates 16 social supermarket stores across the UK, providing members experiencing food insecurity with access to deeply discounted food and essentials at approximately one-third of retail prices. The model uses surplus products donated by retailers and manufacturers through its parent Company Shop Group, ensuring no surplus product needlessly goes to waste while simultaneously supporting thousands of families each year.

Product overview

Community Shop is a social enterprise social supermarket consisting of three interconnected spaces within one building: Community Store, Community Hub, and Community Kitchen. Community Store provides dignified access to deeply discounted food and essentials; Community Hub delivers life-changing holistic support programmes; and Community Kitchen provides a café for community connection and learning through food. The unique model uses surplus products donated by retailers and manufacturers through Company Shop Group, redistributing surplus to families at reduced prices while reinvesting profits into support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Store: Provides dignified access for members to deeply discounted food and essentials, where members can purchase a weekly shop for around a third of the retail price.
• Community Hub
• Community Kitchen

Products and services

• Community Store Retail space within Community Shop providing members with dignified access to deeply discounted food and essentials, including fruit, vegetables, and bread for only 20p. Members can purchase a weekly shop for approximately one-third of retail prices while choosing items with agency.
• Community Hub Holistic support and development programme delivered through the 'What If' plan, empowering members to develop their own capabilities and create a positive future. Funded by reinvested profits from the Community Store and provided in a safe, supportive environment.
• Community Kitchen Café space that enables people to connect with others and learn through food, providing home-cooked meals for the community with kids eating free every day. The kitchen restores a sense of community in areas with limited resources due to social inequality.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members can purchase a weekly shop for around a third of the retail price
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Company Shop GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Shop is a brand under Company Shop Group, the UK's leading redistributor of surplus products. Company Shop Group provides the infrastructure and surplus supply chain that powers Community Shop's unique social enterprise model. The relationship involves donating surplus products from retailers and manufacturers to Community Shop locations.
• BiffacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany Shop Group is part of Biffa, a major waste management and resource recovery company. This partnership provides the organizational backing and alignment with sustainability and waste reduction missions. Community Shop's surplus redistribution model aligns with Biffa's broader environmental goals.
• Stock partners (retailers and manufacturers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Shop's model is powered by surplus donated from stock partners including retailers and manufacturers through Company Shop Group. These partners donate surplus inventory which is then sold at deeply discounted prices in Community Shop stores, ensuring no product needlessly goes to waste while supporting thousands of families.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Company Shop: The commercial sibling brand within Company Shop Group that sells surplus stock to the general public at discounted prices. Comparable because it operates the same surplus-redistribution infrastructure that supplies Community Shop, but targets mainstream customers rather than food-insecure members.
• The Trussell Trust: The UK's largest food bank network. Comparable as a major UK food-insecurity response organisation, but operates a referral-based emergency food parcel model rather than Community Shop's choice-based, dignity-led, multi-service social supermarket approach.

Direct peers

• The Real Junk Food Project: A network of pay-as-you-feel cafes and food redistribution projects using surplus ingredients. Comparable to Community Shop's Community Kitchen concept in particular, sharing the surplus-feed-and-educate mission at the intersection of food waste and food poverty.
• FoodCycle: UK charity combining surplus food with volunteer cooks to serve community meals. Comparable to Community Kitchen in using surplus food to build community connection and provide free meals, although it lacks the retail-store and development-programme elements.
• FareShare: The UK's largest food redistribution charity, redistributing surplus food to a network of frontline charities. Comparable because it tackles the same surplus-to-need problem in the UK, although it operates a wholesale redistribution model rather than direct-to-member retail.
• The Bread and Butter Thing: A UK community food organisation that redistributes surplus food via membership-based hubs at a small weekly fee. Comparable to Community Shop because it uses a similar surplus-redistribution, membership-led, community-store model targeted at low-income households.
• Plan Zheroes: A volunteer-run surplus food redistribution network feeding homeless and vulnerable people in the UK. Comparable as a community-scale surplus food redistribution operator targeting the same food-insecure population, though operating at smaller scale and with a more volunteer-led model.

Emerging players

• OLIO: A mobile app for sharing surplus food between neighbours and businesses. Comparable in tackling food waste at the consumer/retail edge, but operates a digital sharing model rather than physical social supermarkets.
• Too Good To Go: A surplus-meal marketplace app connecting consumers with restaurants and retailers to reduce food waste. Comparable as a commercial surplus-redistribution platform, though it serves mainstream consumers rather than food-insecure members and operates a different distribution model.

Others

• Neighbourly: An ESG platform connecting retailers' surplus donations to local charities and community causes. Comparable as a UK infrastructure player in the surplus-to-community pipeline, complementing rather than competing with Community Shop's direct retail model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-shop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Shop