NEW BIOLOGICAL GROCERY STORE OPENED IN SANTA MARIA DA FEIRA

From the hands of the producer, to your table.

There is a new space in Santa Maria da Feira with the central concern on the biological aspect of food. The Vertente dos Sabores, the largest certified biological grocery store in the district of Aveiro, opened doors last May 13, offering products that cross different fields, such as food, cleaning and personal hygiene. The biological grocery store, located at the nr. 73, Alameda do Tribunal, in front of the football stadium Marcolino de Castro, in Santa Maria da Feira, is the latest bet of Raúl Santos e Mara Soares. The couple already count on with a decade of experience in the production and commercialization of biological products. "My training was made in Agriculture Engineering. We have about a hectare and a half of our own production, many of the vegetable we sell in the store result from the cultivation of our own land, as well as the various fruits, such as strawberries or bananas. We also distribute to several other stores all over the country, and that makes us being able to collect the products directly from the producer at the time make the various deliveries. What is not ours, also comes from the land to the store” – says Raúl Santos.

The concept of space passes through the launch of reference brands of the biological universe in the European context, but which do not yet have have a remarkable presence in the Portuguese market. The space also includes  a varied offer, in order to meet the needs of the population: here you can find sugar free, gluten free, lactose free products,  vegetarian offerings, meat, bamboo toothbrushes , biological wines or dishwasher tablets. For each need, a sustainable answer. "We are in this for passion, it is our way of life. Logically, we have to make the business profitable and desirable, but we are not in this business because it’s fashionable. Today this is a growing world, but it requires much care and very specific conditions, and we pay attention to every detail” – adds the responsible. 

This is the second space opened by the couple, who inaugurated the first store, with the same name, in Aveiro, in April 2018. The choice of Santa Maria da Feira for the opening of the newest store is related to several aspects, among which are the central location, the proximity to the most varied services and the growing demand for the biologic market. "Our option to open this space in Santa Maria da Feira is related to our concept: every day we intend to bring what is missing to the store. So, taking out Aveiro, where we are already present, there is no other city in the district with a market for the biological side and that is close"- Raul Santos assesses, and adds -"Santa Maria da Feira, by its location, turns out to be also a central meeting point for clients that we have spread through several neighboring municipalities. As an example: a customer from Oliveira de Azeméis, travels much more easily here than to Aveiro."

In the biological grocery, the concern is not limited to consumer satisfaction: here, the producer is approached from a local perspective and proximity, and there is still a focus on health and concern for the environment. "The fact that the products pass directly from the producer's hands to the consumer is extremely relevant to us, and it brings a unique freshness to food. We know everyone who works with us at the level of production, we maintain a local relationship and proximity to the various producers, and this end up giving us a high confidence in the quality of our products"- says Raúl Santos. He also reinforces the assiduous presence of the Vertente dos Sabores in the most varied biological fairs held in a European context, including in Nuremberg, Germany, where it happen the largest biological fair of the world. Always in search of novelty and the latest methods of know-how, the biological grocery store of Santa Maria da Feira also has an innovative process for the conservation and preservation of fruits and vegetables: a temperature controlled room, where the responsible make sure that the product maintains its best state. All this care and attention is based on the type of consumer who visits the space. "The biological consumer is always someone more informed, someone who does not agree with those that are the principles and ways of action of the large distribution, either because of the working conditions or because the forgetting of the part of production and the producer itself."

Correctly certified by Certiplanet, the biological grocery store Vertente dos Sabores can be visited from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., as well as on Saturdays, from 09:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The establishment is even opened at lunchtime, so you can make your shops for the week and fill your food waiver with the healthiest products on the market whenever it's convenient for you.