An enterprising pair of siblings are joining the frontline effort to keep food and essentials flowing in South Belfast, with the launch of a new pop-up shop on the Lisburn Road.
Simply Sanitise is the brainchild of psychology graduate, Rachel McSporran (23) and RBAI AS Level student, Thomas Johnston (17). Located in the former Corries Butchers Unit at 400 Lisburn Road, the novel new store will stock a range of fresh food and essentials, alongside some harder to get items, like dried yeast and hand sanitiser. It will be a business with a conscience too, with a portion of profits donated to local charity, Storehouse, which provides food and essentials to people in need.
Against a backdrop of business closures, the entrepreneurial pair spotted an opportunity, with empty shopfronts along the once bustling Lisburn Road, paired with a continuing demand within the locale for essential food and a few harder to get luxury items.
Having grown up in the Lisburn Road area, the siblings were driven by their love of food, an interest in business and their recent change in circumstances to create a small business that would give something back to their local community.
Rachel returned home from Edinburgh with her husband just before lockdown. Commenting on the inspiration behind the new business, she said: “It was so strange to come home and see the Lisburn Road with so many empty units and then queues outside the few supermarkets and essential shops that were still trading. Of course, it is happening everywhere – I had been studying at a cookery school in Edinburgh and the course was postponed indefinitely. The hospitality and leisure sectors have been badly hit in this crisis.
“Thomas and I felt we could use this time that we suddenly have to do something positive in our local community. From our conversations with friends and family over these past few weeks, we’re hearing the same things over and over again; people need their essentials – bread, milk, tea, coffee but they’re also struggling to find fairly priced items like hand sanitiser, gloves, dried yeast and they also want other things to keep them occupied safely during lockdown – whether that’s gardening supplies or home baking products.”
Thomas, who will move into Upper Sixth in September, is studying economics and is relishing the opportunity to get more hands-on exposure on how to run a business. He said: “When Rachel and I began talking about what we could do to help people during this pandemic, we felt this was a way that we could make a meaningful difference in our local community. Studying economics, I’ve found how the dial has shifted during this pandemic very interesting and it’s fascinating to get this real-life, first-hand experience in supply and demand.
“Our first day’s trading on Saturday went very well and the feedback from customers was great. We don’t have a long-term plan, but we aim to be here for as long as people need us.
“We will endeavour to respond to any new product demands over the coming weeks and we would encourage our customers to come forward and let us know what items they would like to see in store”.
In a matter of weeks, the resourceful duo sourced, deep cleaned and repurposed a retail unit, and negotiated with suppliers and local companies to take delivery of a wide range of products. From toilet roll, cleaning products and hand sanitiser to store cupboard essentials including jam, granola, Bailie’s Coffee beans, fresh wheaten bread and scones from Jane’s Kitchen, right through to face masks, the store will stock a wide array of in-demand products.
The start-up venture will also stock a range of plants and has been helped to get off the ground with the support of other local businesses including Growmoor, who have donated a large amount of compost.
Rachel added: “Already, the generosity of other businesses has been incredible. We have partnered with local seamstresses who are producing reusable cotton masks, which will be available to purchase in store by the end of this week.
“Throughout this pandemic, the nation has been saying, ‘we’re all in this together’ and in getting ready to open our doors, we have truly seen that in action. We would welcome any further support or ideas for collaborations with other businesses”.
Simply Sanitise is now open at 400 Lisburn Road, BT9 6GN.
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 and RBAI AS Level student, Thomas Johnston (17). Located in the former Corries Butchers Unit at 400 Lisburn Road,){kind=link}