& Myths about Unicorn
There are a few things people often ask us—and a few things people think about us that aren’t quite true (though we wish some of them were!)
All of our opening times can be found here.
No, we don’t offer a delivery service. However, for those who find it difficult to get to the shop, we help subsidise a Shop & Drop service from Chorlton Bike Deliveries, a local co-operative. You can find out more here.
You can use the product search function on our website to check if we stock a particular item. Please note, this doesn’t guarantee availability on any specific day.
If there is something you would like us to stock that we currently don’t, please feel free to email us on newproducts@unicorn-grocery.coop (product suggestions and new trade enquiries).
We are a fully plant-based shop and do not stock any animal products. However, we offer plenty of plant-based alternatives
Weekday deliveries are usually made late morning or around lunchtime, while weekend deliveries arrive first thing in the morning. You can find more information about our bread and the delivery schedule here.
Yes, loads! We offer a wide selection of gluten-free and allergen-free products, please see details here on gluten-free at Unicorn, and product labels and signage in-store for more information.
If you have any specific allergies, feel free to ask a member of staff, and we’ll be happy to help you find the right items and check the labels with you. We’re not nutrition experts, but we’re happy to assist as best as we can.
For our own-brand dried goods, bread, deli and food-to-go ranges, allergens are indicated in CAPITALS in the full ingredients listing. These products are stored, produced and packed in facilities where peanuts, tree nuts, sulphites, celery, mustard, sesame, soya and cereals containing gluten (barley, kamut, oats, rye, spelt and wheat) are also regularly handled. Our suppliers also handle further allergens, so we cannot guarantee any own-brand products as ‘free-from’ any allergens. Please ask to speak to a co-op member for further information.
We offer bulk discounts on certain items when purchasing a full case or box, and these items are clearly labelled in the shop. Our unpacked loose hoppers, stocked with things like nuts, pulses and grains, are always cheaper than their packed counterparts. We also offer promotional discounts on certain products from time to time, marked with an orange shelf tag. You can find an endcap of promotional discounts by the tills, opposite the wine.
We don’t offer a loyalty scheme because we keep prices as low as possible for all customers, without collecting their data or operating a ‘dual-pricing’ system, where prices are inflated for non-members.
This is not on our horizon, we are sticking to our strengths! However, our friends at Veg Box People offer a wonderful, local veg box service.
We’re really busy running the one we have! However, we’d love to see other similar businesses up and down the country, which is why we’ve put together our Grow A Grocery Guide for anyone interested in setting up a similar venture. We’re always happy to chat too, so feel free to get in touch if this is something you’re interested in.
We receive deliveries 7 days a week, including fresh fruit & veg, so every day is a good day to find a well-stocked store. If you’re coming in for a specific product, we recommend giving us a quick call to confirm availability. You can also check our product list to see what we typically stock, but please note this doesn’t guarantee it will be in stock on any particular day.
Absolutely! We definitely encourage you to bring your own containers and bags. We have unpacked hoppers stocked with grains, pulses, and nuts that you can fill up, and they’re also perfect for certain loose fruit and veg items. Plus, our unpacked hopper range is always cheaper than its packed counterparts.
If you forget your own bags or containers, we have a customer jar collection available by the tills, along with boxes from our veg deliveries to carry your shopping home. We also offer a bag deposit scheme. We’re also very happy to take fruit and veg loose at the tills.
You can read more about packaging at Unicorn here.
Sorry no, it has often led to disappointment or wastage in the past, so we decided to stop doing it a while ago.
You can find the details of any job vacancies and the application pack here.
Other than the bulk discounts on items like cases of milk and boxes of oranges, which are clearly marked in the shop, we don’t offer a wholesale service. We are retail through & through but there are other great organic wholesalers in our sector you can use such as SUMA, Infinity & Organic North.
At Unicorn, we focus on wholefoods and aim to avoid added sugars where possible. You can read more about sweet things in the shop on our sugar page.
If you’re looking for organic Fairtrade sugar, our friends at The Eighth Day, another fellow co-op, offer it.
Some contain seeds and some don’t! Fruit has been selectively bred to have smaller or even no seeds in certain varieties and some fruits are harvested before seeds have fully developed (e.g. cucumbers). This means that some fruits have either tiny seeds or none at all. Some fruits are propagated with cuttings of a known variety grafted to a rootstock to determine vigour and so reproducing the seedless variety desired isn’t a problem (e.g. seedless grapes).It’s important to note that this is not the result of the production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Soil Association, which certifies our fruit and veg as organic, has strict standards that prohibit the use of GMOs in any form, including in seeds or other inputs. So, any product certified by the Soil Association as organic must not contain GMOs, either directly or indirectly, in its ingredients or production processes.
All our olive oil and most of our other oils are extra-virgin, cold-pressed and unrefined, and some of our olive oil is also unfiltered. In addition, we sell sunflower frying oil and deodorised (steamed) coconut oil. For more information check labels or ask a member of staff, or read our guide here – although please note the products we sell are subject to change.
No, unfortunately this would be almost impossible to achieve. However, we aim to only stock products containing palm oil if it is either certified organic (ensuring a traceable, segregated supply from non-deforested land) or certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) through their strict ‘segregated supply chain’ model. You can read our palm oil statement here.
Afraid not! At the right time of year, our veg shelves are groaning under the weight of UK produce – Lancashire peppers, aubergines and tomatoes, Cornish cauliflowers, and Stockport salad leaves show just what can be coaxed out of this wet and windy isle.
We prioritise and promote fresh produce with lower food miles, and we’re always keen to support new producers close to home. But that’s still a long way from making us a local food shop. To offer the kind of range that allows people to do their full weekly shop with us, we stock produce from all around the world.
Since 2008, we’ve owned 21 acres of growing land at Glazebury, near Leigh. Alongside former tenants Moss Brook Growers, we transformed two bare hay meadows into a thriving, almost self-contained farm – complete with 60 solar panels, a connection to the national grid, and hundreds of metres of native hedging to create a rich habitat for birds and small mammals. While not all of the land is currently being farmed, it’s now home to a tree nursery nurturing saplings for agroforestry at The Kindling Farm. Watch a film on their agroforestry work here.
Sadly, no. At Unicorn, we aim to trade in a way that supports a sustainable world environment and economy (as outlined in our Principles of Purpose). We also aim to offer a product range that is accessible to the community we serve. Striking the right balance between these goals is an ongoing challenge – sometimes we manage it (for example, we’re proud that our organic produce is often priced similarly to non-organic supermarket veg), but we don’t claim that everything in our range comes with a 100% ‘ethical’ assurance. Some products are chosen simply because they are wholesome and affordable.
All of our fresh fruit & veg, however, is organic.
You can find out more about how we source here.
As a workers’ co-operative with a flat structure, we don’t have a traditional manager – the workers are the owners, alongside some casual workers. However, there is always someone on the shop floor looking after things. We call them the Floorwalker, and they’re your go-to person for product returns, complaints, and queries.
For overall management, we’re structured into small teams that oversee different areas of the business. Operational decisions are made within these teams, with day-to-day matters delegated to smaller groups. You can find out more about workers’ co-operatives here.
We focus on foods that aren’t heavily processed, and our core range consists of basic ingredients to cook with – like fruit & veg, pulses, grains, and spices. That said, we also sell plenty of treats – deep-fried onion bhajis or coconut biscuits, for example, are definitely not one of your five a day!
At the end of the day, we’re a wholefood grocery shop rather than a health food shop. We don’t sell health supplements and generally avoid products marketed as “superfoods” unless they’re a basic ingredient that fits well into our range (superfoods often come with a higher price tag). For health supplements, check out our fellow co-operative The Eighth Day.
You can find out more about how we source here.
