The pop-up grocery store - Another Pantry

Another Pantry was born when the pandemic hit in 2020 by pastry chef turned food writer and photographer Safia Shakarchi.

Designed to champion slow and conscious cooking, the online recipe platform bridges the gap between the food industry and home cooking by educating readers on where their food comes from and the creative processes behind what we eat.

After a popular first pop-up at Coal Drops Yard, we sat down with Safia to discuss what she learnt in the process and what advice she’d give to others looking to create an “in real life” experience for their brand.

How easy was it for you to find relevant pop-up space for your brand?

“For our first pop-up, a friend recommended the space in Coal Drops Yard, Kiosk N1C — I couldn’t believe there was a dedicated pop-up space in that area and it ended up being such a smooth process. The team were so helpful, licensing was easy, and the space was all set up with wifi and everything I needed so it was perfect.

For the second pop-up I reached out to Shaftesbury as I knew I wanted to be in and around Seven Dials, and they were great from the get-go too. I had reached out to quite a few landlords but Shaftesbury got back to me quickly and we set up a meeting to chat about how their pop-up process works — it’s something they do fairly regularly so they knew what to expect, how to go about it and they walked me through it all. 

I didn’t know which spaces of theirs would be available until about 6-8 weeks before I opened the shop so it meant I needed to be pretty flexible, but it was worth it — they’ve been super helpful and supportive the whole way through.”

How did you go about designing your pop-up space?

“I knew I didn’t want to deck the shop out by buying lots of furniture because of cost and then the problem of storing all the furniture afterwards, so I set out to find something I could hire. 

Initially, I found that pretty hard — a lot of the hire furniture available online just didn’t feel on brand and whilst the cost of hiring was fairly low, the delivery and collection costs were extortionate! 

When I came across FoundPop I genuinely felt like I’d hit the jackpot — the furniture was sleek and contemporary so the perfect fit for my brand, and when I got in touch with the team Holly & Sophie understood how things are for a small business and they’ve been fantastic. We’ve worked with them now on both of our pop-ups this year and it’s been such a pleasure.” 

What advice would you give to brands looking to open their first pop-up?

“Start planning early! The first pop-up took about 6 months of planning for me, and the second one about 3 months as I knew what to expect the second time around. 

Look into what you need to organise for the specific products you’re selling — e.g. if you’re selling alcohol, you need to make sure you’ve got the right licensing in place. I’d also really recommend investing in some PR and doing a launch party with industry friends — it’s a lovely way to celebrate your opening and get lots of buzz going around it, especially if your pop-up is only on for a short time. 

Do your research on your location too and make sure it’s in an area with a decent amount of footfall and where your target audience would likely travel to or be. Planning a pop-up is a lot of hard work but it’s also really fun — it’s exciting to see your brand in action and meet your audience, especially if you’re an online business, so I’d definitely recommend it.”