New Life For Down to Earth Health Food Shop

One of Dorchester’s longest standing independent shops is starting the new year with a new lease of life. Down to Earth on Trinity Street has been trading in the town centre since 1978. Now under new ownership, the popular health food shop in Dorchester has great plans for the year ahead – and beyond.

The new owners

Kevin Knowles and Ian Bell, both from London, have recently taken over Down to Earth. Both have specialist experience in the wellness industry, with past work including involvement with spas, psychotherapy and a health food shop in London.

Kevin Knowles commented on the recent takeover:

“It’s a really key part of Dorchester and it needed a new guardian, so we’ve taken the baton and are moving it forward.”

History of Down to Earth

Down to Earth is a small independent health food shop which was originally located on Princes Street. It has had several owners since it first opened for business, but takes great pride to retain its original ethos.

Down to Earth’s aim is to support a healthy lifestyle, support local producers and cut down on waste. A community shop for the people, always offering knowledge, and service with a smile!

Environmentally friendly products

Down to Earth stocks an extensive range of locally produced gluten free products, beverages, earth friendly household cleaning products, breakfast cereals and muesli, refills and toiletries. The shop is committed to being as environmentally-friendly as possible:

“We’re as local as we can be, as organic as we can, as zero-waste as we can. Customers bring along tubs and containers to fill with ingredients, and products such as honey, salt and flour are all sourced from within the county. Muesli is made in-house, using recipes inherited with the shop and which have stayed the same for decades.”

Like its loyal and like-minded customer base, the shop encourages others to care about the planet by reducing unnecessary plastic being used.

Future plans for Down to Earth

Exciting plans are in the pipeline with the design of a brand new website and an increased social media presence.

Ian says.

“We want to share recipes and enable people to make orders online, so we always have what they want in stock. We’re also open to feedback from customers about what kind of products they’d like us to sell. We want to give advice, and information, and develop relationships with our customers to make the store a place they want to go.”

Independent shops are increasingly faced with challenging times in high streets across the country. Down to Earth are a fine example of one of the shops in Dorchester going against the grain.

Visit Down to Earth at 19 Trinity Street, Dorchester. The opening hours are 9.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and 9.30am to 2pm on Saturday. See the website here.

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