You immediately feel welcome when you enter Bitten Goodfoods. From the large window filled with greenery to the open cafe counter and friendly staff, the cafe – store combination has that great community feeling.
Opening on Lonsdale Street a year ago, Bitten Goodfoods has found its niche as the go-to place for wholefoods in Braddon. The mini-supermarket’s range of products ensures you can buy all your ingredients in one spot, and if you like what you tasted in the cafe, check to see if you can find them in their shelves..
We visited Bitten Goodfoods and enjoyed a hearty breakfast. A chicken toastie, and a stack with avocado, macadamia feta & hemp dukkah (the macadamia feta was so good we bought a jar to take home), with coffee while we talked to owner Alex Howes about the story behind Bitten Goodfoods and their journey so far.
We wanted to create a destination shopping experience.
What is the concept behind Bitten Goodfoods?
As health ‘foodies’ we didn’t understand why eating quality products with integrity was considered nonconformist, so we wanted to normalise wholefoods while also injecting some personality into the category. Food should make you feel good, in every way possible, from the taste to the quality to the shared experiences it provides. That is why we differentiate ourselves as selling ‘goodfoods’, because food is intimately interconnected with our whole lives, and we felt that should be positively reflected in the experience of being in our store.
We wanted to create a destination shopping experience. A place where you could listen to good music and enjoy sitting down for a casual coffee or meal on either side of browsing the shelves. We wanted to create a warm, down to earth, sexy space that felt inclusive. We also wanted people to be able to enjoy meals made from our products, so they can be inspired to cook with ingredients that they may not have otherwise considered.
How often do you change your menu ?
The café was originally designed to both showcase our unique product range but also reduce waste of our organic produce, so we currently run specials when we see an opportunity to realise either of these goals.
We’re focussing on showcasing the new menu at the moment, but will be bring back rotating, usually weekly, specials soon. Our café is 95% organic, so we’re always keen to showcase what amazing organic produce is in season and what exciting new foods we stock through weekly specials.
The Functional Smoothies – where did the ideas come from?
Functional food is about providing the ingredients to allow our bodies to function optimally, because ultimately, that’s what our body is striving to do. So we designed our smoothies to each assist our body with a particular need. For example, the ‘Sat by the Ocean’ smoothie is filled with anti-inflammatory foods similar to the effect you get from a good dose of salt water. The names all come from some of our favourite songs, but are aligned with the function of the smoothie.
The Bitten Goodfoods supermarket stocks a range of products – where do you source the products from?
We have some major and some single line suppliers. The reason we have such a unique range of products is that we have lots of them, so it’s a lot of work to keep up with but its what is required to stock the best products on offer as they’re not always the ones with heaps of money and major marketing behind them.
Bitten Goodfoods has just turned 1 – do you have any changes planned for your second year?
Yes, plenty! Year one really still felt like the set up phase for us, finishing little things we didn’t have the resources to complete prior to opening. Right now we’re working on a beautiful outdoor area which we can’t wait to get up, and we’re adding a few new items to the drinks menu. You can also expect us to host some unique events, continue to build our product range and enhance the customer experience so you want to stick around longer. We’ve got a few other little surprises up our sleeve too, but I won’t give too much away as it all takes time.
The best way for customers to stay up to date with our store and receive special offers is to sign up to our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram: @bittengoodfoods.
Bitten Goodfoods is located at 27 Lonsdale Street in Braddon, open Monday to Friday 7am to 8pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday 9am to 5pm.