Abel & Cole has revealed the winners of the ‘Abel & Cole Pantry of the Year’. The competition was launched to encourage the nation to make 2023 the ‘Year of the Refill’ and stock their pantries sustainably.
Over 95 inspirational pantries were entered but only three could take home the top prizes:
For the Small Space Pantry of the Year, Abel & Cole were looking for an intuitive use of space that demonstrated that you don't need a big kitchen to make a big difference with your sustainable shopping.
Anna’s Small Space Pantry caught the judges’ attention with her creative ability to make a small area so functional. Minimalistic in design with neatly labelled storage containers, her pocket-sized pantry makes the most of her kitchen space, using cupboards, draws and even the side of her fridge for clever, beautifully organised storage.
She was mainly inspired by styles she saw on Instagram and found that her new design led her to not only save on food but also money. Anna commented: “Being rather short I’ve always struggled to reach high cupboards so I often ended up buying more than I needed because I couldn’t easily see how much I had in. I knew I had to change this, not only because I was wasting money, but I was also creating food waste as things went unused and, eventually, went off.”
“My labelled storage containers now make it really easy to see what I need to refill, helping me save money. Having a pantry filled with different ingredients also makes me more experimental with my food and cooking from scratch encourages me to cook healthier meals.”
When it came to deciding the winner of the Eco Pantry, Abel & Cole's judges were looking for pantries that had been stocked and built sustainably, reusing materials as much as possible.
Joan impressed judges with her green credentials – her Eco Pantry is bursting with home-grown, hand-made jams and chutneys from her garden and only features re-used containers.
Joan commented: “We’re lucky; being retired we have the time to play our part in keeping plastic use to a minimum. Our approach is to really think about how our actions can impact the planet and we do our best to help minimise our footprint on it, so animals, insects and plants all get a look in. We really want the younger generations to be able to enjoy nature as we did.”
“To help keep our own plastics use down, our pantry’s filled with produce from our garden and stocked with jars of jams and chutneys made from raspberries, strawberries, onions, tomatoes, courgettes and beetroot.”
“My advice to anyone making an eco-friendly pantry is to plan your shopping to make sure you’re not buying too much of anything. And, to make your life easier, research companies that offer refill services so you’re not always having to buy more and more plastic packaging – like Abel & Cole’s Club Zero.”
For the final category, the best budget pantry, Abel & Cole were looking for a refill pantry that didn't break the bank, with clever ways to keep costs low.
It’s no surprise that Jeanette’s pantry stood out for the judges with its colour co-ordinated design and jazzy jam jars arranged on her upcycled scaffolding boards.
Her passion for interior design and upcycling furniture was the driver behind the pantry. She commented “I’ve always loved the idea of creating something new from something old. We found the scaffolding boards outside a shop to be thrown away and thought they’d be perfect addition to our pantry.”
When it comes to creating a pantry on a budget Jeanette advised “Keep a look out for freebies to use and use old products! There’s a lot of items out there that need a second home and with a bit of DIY can be so useful to creating something.”
The environmental theme ran through the heart of the competition and was a key criteria for the judging panel, which consisted of professional organiser and TV host Dilly Carter(@declutterdollies), homes & interiors influencer Medina Grillo (@grillodesigns), Hannah Shipton, Managing Director, and Hugo Lynch, Sustainability Project Manager, at Abel & Cole.
Commenting on the competition, Dilly said: “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of Abel & Cole’s Pantry of the Year competition – I’ve got a bit of a pantry passion myself so had a lot of fun going through all the entries. What I particularly loved was that it wasn’t just about the most ‘fancy’ or aesthetically pleasing space; practicality and sustainability were essential as you can see in the brilliant winners we’ve chosen.
“It was so lovely to see my tips being incorporated into so many of the pantries too – I’m such a sucker for well labelled containers!”
Each of the winners received £750 in cash and £250 to spend on Abel & Cole’s Club Zero expanded refillable delivery service to help them join the ‘Refill-ution’.
Research revealed that although eight in ten (86%) Brits agree that refillable services can be a great way to reduce plastic waste, six in ten (59%) don’t currently use one and seven in ten (69%) claim it’s because they don’t know of any retailers that offer refillables.
Luckily Abel & Cole’s Club Zero service offers a brilliant solution for all aspiring ‘Refill-utionaries’! With a growing range to choose from, sustainable essentials can be dropped straight to your door, in zero waste, returnable and refillable packaging.
Hannah Shipton, Managing Director at Abel & Cole and competition judge, commented: “With this competition we wanted to celebrate people embracing refillable living with services like Club Zero.”
“We received so many amazing entries from people doing their bit to reduce their single-use plastic waste. As sustainability is so essential to what we do here at Abel & Cole, it was really important that this was reflected in how we judged the competition.”
“Our winners have shown how having a pantry is so environmentally friendly. By organising your food, you’re going to know what you’re running short of, and having a fully stocked kitchen means the recipes are endless. We hope to make this an annual competition so, for anyone that missed out this year, start getting your pantry ready!”
