Selling vegetarian food for 40 years

Members of the co-operative in the 1970s

Photo from Infinity Foods' collection

The shop in the early 1990s

Photo from Infinity Foods' collection

Members of the co-operative outside he shop in the 1990s

Photo from Infinity Foods' collection

Interior of the shop in the 1970s

Photo from Infinity Foods' collection

Infinity Foods in North Road

Infinity Foods on North Road is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2011. How did it all start?

Small shop in a converted house

Back in 1971 three friends opened a small shop in a converted house in Church Street. Here they sold basic vegetarian whole foods and freshly baked products. By 1973 the business had grown rapidly and it moved to its current site in North Road.

More space acquired

Three years later the company took on an adjoining shop and opened a bakery. The following year there was further expansion: the company again taking on more room at the back of the building, with some of the space being used to house and open the Brighton Natural Health Centre, now a registered charity.

Became a workers' co-operative

In 1979 the company was converted into a workers’ co-operative. Business continued to flourish and in 1984 the shop and bakery merged. At the same time, the demand for wholesale orders of Infinity's products became too great for the retail site to cater for and in 1985 a group of members set up a separate wholesale branch of the business to be run from a warehouse in Portslade.

People's attitudes have changed

In recent years people's attitudes towards their health, the environment and issues surrounding food production have changed enormously, with far greater awareness of the implications of all of our actions. At Infinity, the core principles of sourcing locally grown and produced organic, non-GM, fair trade, vegetarian foods have been matched in equal part by the increasing demand for these same foods from their customers.

Café opened round the corner

As a result of this, the shop has continued to flourish over the years and in 1998 the Infinity Foods Café opened just around the corner from the North Road shop, in Gardner Street. The café has been serving wholesome and organic vegetarian cuisine to enthusiastic and hungry Brighton appetites ever since.

Regular customer base

Now with a workforce of near to 100, it is with a continuing passion and dedication to sourcing the very best products that has led to the support and loyalty of a regular customer base. It is thanks to their customers that Infinity have remained at the forefront of ethical trading and the production of healthy foods, from their humble beginnings right through to this day.

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 210, May/June 2011]