In our latest blog series, we meet the manager of Pax Wholefoods, we talk with Neal McKinley the co-founder.

We are on a mission to be a leader in the development of circular economy products and to support local businesses. We want to work with people and communities to make green living more accessible and collaborative…we’re all in this together. One small change from each person can make a difference.

Tell us about your store and how it all started. What / who has inspired you?

In short, PAX Whole Foods & Eco Goods is the shop I wanted to shop in, for myself and my family—refills of organic whole foods, eco-friendly cleaning products, and natural personal care products, as well as a range of sustainable replacements for household goods. It was inspired by both optimism and frustration; the idea that many people were willing to change their habits but they needed access to alternatives in their community, and the realisation that if it did not exist, I might have to be the one to create it. I was particularly motivated after I attended a talk by local teacher Roisin Brady at the Westport Town Hall when hundreds of people turned out to watch her show all her methods for reducing waste in her home, as I saw that there were lots of potential customers. I partnered with a Westport resident, Kirstin MacDonagh, who had a market stall selling seaweed and baked goods, to open the shop in December 2018 (she has since retired).

Now I am inspired on a daily basis first and foremost by the members of the PAX team, Tiffanie Bigeu, Jeanine Ruppanner and Anna Uecker, as they have such conviction that we are helping people make meaningful changes, and they are exceptionally passionate about the products we sell. Also, we have such inspiring chats with the customers who keep coming with their containers to refill, despite the challenges of the past year, and the new people who find their way in to ask, ‘how can I start to reduce single-use plastic in my life?’. The shop is therefore a combination of my own ideas, plus recommendations from staff and customers, and the ever-expanding options from our brilliant Irish growers and makers, and our bulk food suppliers.

What is a typical day for you?;

I like the routine of the school year, as I drop my two kids off to school and playschool and then come into the shop by 9 a.m. I usually have a quick look around while it’s quiet, and then start on the long list of items to program in the till or online, to source or to order, to promote, or any amount of additional admin associated with running a business. Our Manager Tiffanie comes in at 9:45 and we have a chat about things that need attention and what we might expect for the day, and then another team member joins us. Once the shop opens at 10 am, I may have time to continue some of the morning tasks, or I might also be serving customers if there is a rush, packing shipping orders or unloading some of the ceaseless deliveries. We also do a lot of paperwork for tracking our food goods and ensuring that everything is safe and in order. There are no two days alike, and often we find that many things happen at once. This summer was nice as we had surprise visits from a number of Irish business owners who supply us, and customers from around Ireland who started shopping with us online during the pandemic and were excited to visit us. Those chats make all the hard graft worthwhile.

What are your ‘go-to’ sustainable products?

It’s hard to choose a few favourite sustainable goods, as I have so enjoyed filling a shop with useful, robust and ethically produced items. I always come back to our homegrown foods and handmade Irish personal care products. My pantry staples are Organic Oats from The Merry Mill (Laois) for porridge or overnight oats, Ballymore Organics (Kildare) flour for baking and sourdough, Second Nature Organic Rapeseed Oil (Kilkenny), Organic Apple Cider Vinegar from Highbank Orchards (Kilkenny) for dressings, plus organic tea from Solaris (Galway) and Bean West Coffee (Mayo). I’ve also been using Kelpman Ocean Blends (Donegal) seaweed-based protein powder to make breakfast last a bit longer. For the ultimate treat, I go for either our bulk dark chocolate bark made by Magic Mayan (Clare) or Nibbed Cacao’s (Wicklow) indulgent tea.

We also stock an array of Irish made condiments, and we take all the empty jars back, so I love to use Too Savage (Dublin) plant-based mayo, White Mausu (Dublin) condiments, Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms (Limerick) dried mushrooms and freeze-dried fruits, Masaalon (Donegal) chutneys and Nutshed (Tipperary) and Harry’s Nut Butter (Dublin) and Scarlet For Your Ma (Dublin) hot sauces (try it on popcorn!). Then, daily, my family uses bamboo toothbrushes and Toothfaerie (Clare) toothpaste, Palm Free Irish Soaps (Clare) soap and shampoo bars, Scenes & Stories (Mayo) upcycled handkerchiefs and our stainless-steel water bottles from Narcissips (Dublin). For myself, I rely on Three Hills Soap (Dublin) bars, along with Ola Gan Ora Aromatherapy (Roscommon) cleansing and exfoliating balms, Bodhi Blends (Dublin) moisturiser, and Janni Bars (Kildare) deodorant. And, of course, we use the Tru Eco Washing Up Liquid and Laundry Liquid refills to make chores more sustainable.

What new trends do you see emerging among this sector and your customers?

The biggest change is that people are so much more aware of the impact of their daily choices on the environment and come in knowing what sustainable swaps they want to adopt. Compared even to just three years ago, people know about refilling and how it works before they come in, and have done their research on our website in advance of bringing empty containers. I really believe that the focus on buying Irish grown and produced products that ramped up in the last year is a long-term shift; I do think people are keen to support local businesses and see them succeed. One of my children is in class with children whose parents run two other businesses in Westport (Savoir Fare and Cian’s on Bridge Street), so it’s clear how vital shopping or eating out in independent restaurants is to our community.

I think Viva Green is a great example of a company identifying and meeting a need, and I hope to see more businesses manufacturing sustainable products with a circular economy ethos in the near future. We also stock Green Qubes, water-soluble cleaning pods from a Northern Irish company, and hope to see more producers operating with similar values.

What’s next for you and your store?

We will continue to respond to the needs of our local community and our online customers to increase our range and create offers that make sustainable living easier. We are in conversation with growers and producers in Ireland to enable us to offer more packaging-free foods. We also have some exciting early-stage collaborations in the works with other great businesses, so there’s much more to come. In the meantime, though, we are also continuing to adapt to the current situation and ensure that we can continue to inspire and be inspired by the people we interact with on a daily basis.

For more information on Pax Wholefoods visit their website or follow on Instagram or Facebook