Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square.

This series explores the practical steps small businesses can take to grow and thrive – from improving energy efficiency and embracing sustainability to creating a lasting impact in their local communities.

In this first episode of the series, we're joined by Renée Elliott, founder of Planet Organic, the UK's first fully certified organic supermarket.

Renée shares how she launched Planet Organic in 1995, why values were at the heart of the business from day one and what happened when she returned years later to rescue it from administration.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Why Renée started the business to do something meaningful, not simply to make money
• The slow start after opening in November 1995, and why Renée feared the business might not survive
• What happened when Renée was pushed out of the business and had to reinvent herself as a mentor
• Why she returned in 2023 to help rescue Planet Organic from administration
• Rebuilding the business by reconnecting it with its original values, product standards and community
• Why community events, in-store expertise and team training matter in modern high street retail
• How Planet Organic has approached sustainability through core values and evolving, aspirational standards

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