Community, Quality & Sustainability

These are the values that hold up our business. From the beginning, we decided that these would be high on the checklist for every decision we made for Habitual. Decisions as big as venue or suppliers right down to the tiny details such as the rubber stamps for takeaway cups or the loo roll in the bathrooms.

Setting down a strong bedrock as you begin a new venture, is something we would recommend to help maintain your authenticity and values. It can become incredibly easy to cut a corner or turn a blind eye to decisions when things get stressful, but if you make it a routine to check in with your values it’s easier to keep on the right path.

Community

The reason we set out to do this was to develop the community, meet new people, make new friends and provide the setting for others to do the same.

What we didn’t expect though, was to be welcomed so generously into an abundance of passionate and kind people in the industry, making us feel settled in a new community ourselves.

We want to be accessible and approachable to everyone who finds us, through our offerings, prices, service and ambiance, we aim to be a welcoming place to feel at home.

When I was younger & home didn’t feel like a home, I often found myself spending my free time cozied up in my local coffee shops. The noise of the grinder, chatter of customers & smells of fresh coffee beans became what I associated with feeling at home, something we hope to provide for anyone who’s in need of this feeling.

Quality

At Habitual, we are passionate that all our offerings and services are to a high quality to give you the best experience possible.

We spent time selecting suppliers we are proud to work with, who are themselves proud of the products they supply.

To make these quality products really shine you need to invest in quality service and skills. Thanks to the increased free time we had this past year we have been able to practice and improve our knowledge and craftmanship in all things coffee and baking. We believe quality service is what makes you stand out, more often do we frequent coffee shops with friendly, skilled staff rather than those who promise a quality product with shoddy service.

Everything we sell will be something we personally love and are proud to serve to you. Quality control checks of a freshly baked bun & a fragrant Espresso every morning is something we’re very happy to do!

Sustainability

Early on we realised this was going to be a big one for us. We wanted to try and show that we weren’t just jumping on the ‘buzzword bandwagon’ and actually put our words into action. The word sustainability can often feel so empty, and as a new small business it can be quite intimidating trying to do things right. This is why we decided to work with a sustainability consultant.

Our consultant helped us to implement our sustainability goals form the start of the planning process. Firstly he asked us three questions…

Why does the organization exist?

“Habitual exists to connect with people, to bring joy into people’s daily routine through a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. We celebrate the small pleasures in life which can have a huge impact overall, with a goal to showcase the passion, the people and the power behind our offerings.”

What problem is it solving?

“We aim to bridge the gap between consumer and creator by bringing more awareness to the production of goods throughout the whole process, sharing the story behind the coffee we drink everyday. We would love to be a part of solving the enormous problem of waste in the hospitality industry by incorporating sustainable methods such as, recycling, reusing and buying from sustainable and ethical suppliers.”

How is it going to improve the world, environment and society?

“We aim to bring a sense of togetherness and community to people, not only between customers but also between customers and the people and suppliers who create the products they love. We hope to improve the environment by taking action, and sharing knowledge and focus to others about the impact we each can have on the environment if we each start to change our habits, and form them into more sustainable and eco friendly ones everyday.

By choosing smaller, more ethical and sustainably focused suppliers we hope to spread awareness of just how important it is to shop small and locally, and in turn hopefully help these suppliers to grow and reach more people.”

These were some pretty loaded questions, but it helped lay the path for where we wanted to go in the future. We answered these around six moths ago when we were still in the very early stages, but now, weeks away from opening our doors, it feels great to say we have stood by our words and implemented them into our business.

The next steps were to choose 3 Sustainable Development Goals from the list of 17 devised by the United Nations that we felt most affinity with.

We chose;

• No Poverty
• Responsible Consumption and Production
• Life On Land

No poverty links strongly with our choice of suppliers. Choosing suppliers with strong sustainable and ethical values can make a difference way down the supply chain, ensuring everyone along the production process is paid fairly and has a good quality of life. Working with food banks and homeless shelters is an important way to tackle poverty closer to home.

Responsible Consumption and Production is huge in the coffee shop industry. Promoting an incentive for customers to bring reusable coffee cups as well as working with a carbon neutral/zero waste Coffee roastery are ways in which we aim to reduce our waste as a business.

Milk in reusable glass bottles, take away packaging that is biodegradable and reducing the use of single use plastic for food storage are all steps in the right direction.

Raising money for organisations who are committed to reforestation is a way we can protect and sustain Life on land. Making sure the products we use are FSC certified is an easy step in the right direction as well as trying to reduce the use of paper based products across the production line. Again an incentive for the use of reusable containers and cups will be important.

Being a sustainable business is always going to be a work in progress, but we are proud to be starting on the right foot.

To conclude, our core values are what makes the bedrock of our business, and you can’t build a great building on a weak foundation.