You may have heard the buzz around Nude Foods Grocer opening soon in Cape Town (November) and maybe you’re wondering why? We’re here to tell you.

Do this experiment after your next do your grocery shop

Do your shopping as normal, then when you get home, separate everything you’ve bought out of its packaging and make 2 piles, one for the actual food you’re going to consume and another for the packaging that food came in. You’ll be shocked, I guarantee.

The fact of the matter is that we are living in an age of convenience and we’ve lost touch with the impact that this lifestyle is having on our environment. Single-use plastic pollution and superfluous packaging (often made of non-biodegradable polystyrene etc) have scarily become the norm.  Thankfully, for Capetonians though, there’s soon going to be a way to shop differently. Introducing Nude Foods Grocer, Cape Town’s first plastic-free grocery store. We pitch 4 quick questions to the team behind it, Paul Rubin and Sherene Kingma.

Can you tell us in one sentence what the concept is of Nude Foods Grocer?

Nude Foods is a plastic-free grocery store, selling non-GMO wholefoods, and earth-friendly body and household products by weight.

Why is the concept of a plastic-free grocery store so important to you?

About five years ago I became a lot more conscious about the type and quality of foods and products I consumed. My lifestyle became much healthier, yet I became increasingly frustrated with the amount of plastic used to package most whole foods and similar products.

So, you decided to take action?

Yes, Nude Foods was born out of my personal frustration to create somewhere to shop for your staple pantry items and fruit and vegetables, that didn’t equate to a bin full of discarded single-use plastic. 

It’s almost like we’re moving backwards in order to go forward with this idea – going back to a weigh and pay format as it was at a general store in the old days. Is that the case?

Yes absolutely, we are going back to how our grandparents shopped. This way of shopping also keeps you mindful about how much you really need, and allows you to live more economically and lightly.  

Are Capetonians ready to put a lower impact lifestyle above convenience?

Yes absolutely, I think many people, like myself, have become increasingly frustrated and are eager to shop a different way.

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