Join Us in Expanding Lemon and Jinja – Your Local Sustainable Refill Store
We are Lemon and Jinja, a passionate local business committed to leading the zero-waste and refill movement. Over five years ago, Jesse founded Lemon and Jinja from a spare room, providing our community with sustainable food refills and homeware swaps. Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve grown into the UK’s largest independent refill shop. Our space now includes a plant-based café, working desks, and a vibrant community hub for events.
But we’re not stopping there!
While we’ve made tremendous strides, expanding has come with significant costs. From building our mezzanine to paying double rent during the transition, our commitment to creating a bigger, better space has stretched our resources. Although our business is thriving and you keep us busy every day, the financial pressures have slowed down our ability to grow efficiently.
Until now, we’ve always tried to use shop revenue, along with grants, to fund our growth. However, we’ve now reached a sticking point and need your help to move forward.
But we have an answer, with unique match funds available...!
We are thrilled to share that we’ve received a grant from Test Valley, which will match any funds raised, making your contributions to go twice as far! If we are able to hit our target of £6,000 in donations, this will be worth £12,000 of investment! This is a huge opportunity for us to upgrade, grow and develop.
That’s why we’re launching this Crowdfunder - to accelerate our expansion and continue serving you, our local community, as the go-to sustainable refill store.
What We Have Funded So Far:
We have already invested in upgrading our website and till system to make shopping faster and more convenient for you.
Where We Need Your Help:
We are aiming to raise a minimum of £6,000 through this Crowdfunder. Every pound will go towards helping us grow and enhance your shopping experience, while expanding our community impact.
Your support will go towards these key areas of improvement:
1. Kitchen Equipment Upgrade and Installation:
Currently, our kitchen operates with second-hand home appliances, many of which were generously donated by you! However, these have become outdated and inefficient. Upgrading our equipment will not only improve our energy efficiency but also give our chefs the space and tools they need to produce even more delicious, sustainable meals. The installation of the kitchen will be our biggest expense, as it needs to meet commercial standards, ensuring we can scale our café offerings in a safe and efficient way.
2. Nut Butter Machine:
Right now, we can only offer peanut butter on refill. With a second nut butter machine, costing a whopping £3,000, we can introduce a wider range of nut butters - imagine the possibilities!
By investing in these upgrades, we’ll be able to offer an even greater variety of products, making Lemon and Jinja your one-stop shop for sustainable living.
Thank You!
We truly value every single customer who steps through our doors or shops with us online. Your ongoing support has been the driving force behind our success, and with your help, we’re excited to push through these challenges and continue growing.
For any donations £20 and above, we will add your name to our donations board to celebrate everyone who helps grow Lemon and Jinja.
Thank you so much for all your donations. All rewards will be fulfilled when the Crowdfunder ends. Fulfilment dates for most rewards are when the Crowdfunder ends - we have a few early 2025, for any personalised rewards. All bookings and events will be emailed with 2025 redemption dates.