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Alara Wholefoods Vineyard

London, South East, England

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Email

info@alara.co.uk
marketing@alara.co.uk

Address

Alara Wholefoods Ltd, 110-112 Camley Street, London N1C 4PF

Location

London · South East

Grape Varieties (1)

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Alara Wholefoods - London's Pioneering Organic Cereal Maker With a Hidden Vineyard

Tucked away on a single street in King's Cross, north London, sits one of the most quietly revolutionary food businesses in Britain. Founded in 1975 with two pounds found in the street, Alara Wholefoods has spent half a century rewriting what a cereal brand can be. It was the first company in the world to produce an organic certified cereal, the first to launch Fair Trade muesli, the first to earn a Coeliac UK licence for gluten-free cereals, the first Zero Waste food factory on earth, the first plastic-free cereal brand, and in early 2021 the first manufacturer to put a genuinely net zero carbon breakfast bowl on the table. Right next to the factory, alongside an orchard and what is thought to be the largest yacon plantation in Europe, a small permaculture vineyard grows among more than eighty different food crops.

This is the story of Alara: a London wholefoods manufacturer whose uncompromising ethics have made it an industry reference point, and whose Camley Street site contains a vineyard you can almost miss if you are not looking for it.

A Wholefoods Manufacturer Hiding in Plain Sight in King's Cross

Most people who buy a bag of muesli in a British health shop have eaten Alara. The company supplies its own brand, the Alara Wholefoods range, and acts as a contract manufacturer for some of the most respected organic and natural food labels in the country. From its factory at 110-112 Camley Street, London N1C 4PF, it produces every kind of wholegrain breakfast cereal you can imagine: mueslis, birchers, porridges, granolas, overnight oats, oat and wheat bran, milled linseeds and a complete line of Of the Earth Superfoods powders, syrups, seeds and nibs.

What is unusual is that, unlike almost every other cereal maker in the UK, Alara is based in central London rather than on a sprawling rural site. The Camley Street factory sits within walking distance of Coal Drops Yard, Regent's Canal and the redeveloped King's Cross quarter. The factory's address is the heart of its identity: a manufacturing business rooted in a dense, urban, working community.

How to Contact Alara

The Story: From a Squatting Shop to the World's First Organic Cereal

Alara was founded by Alex Smith, a pioneer of natural and organic food in the UK who is still actively involved in the business. Alex's story is one of the more remarkable origin tales in British food.

In the mid-1970s, Alex was very active in the squatting movement. He decided to live without money for almost a year. The day after he resolved to start using money again, he found £2 on the street. He spent the money taking a van around New Covent Garden Market, gathering fruits and vegetables that were destined for waste, and sold them on from a squatting shop. That squat shop became one of the first proper health shops in London, trading in flakes, fruits, dried fruit, seeds and nuts.

By 1977, the team had developed a mix of those ingredients that became the first muesli recipe with no added sugar. From that point on, the Alara focus has always been clean, healthy food.

A Timeline of Industry Firsts

  • 1975: Alex Smith founds Alara with £2 found in the street.
  • 1977: First no-added-sugar muesli recipe created.
  • 1988: Licensed by the Soil Association to produce the first organic certified cereal in the world.
  • 1993: Produced the first certified Fair Trade cereals, both for Traidcraft and under the Alara brand.
  • 1996: First company licensed by the Coeliac Society (now Coeliac UK) to produce gluten-free cereals.
  • 2005: Permaculture garden project begins on land next to the factory.
  • 2008: Alara's King's Cross factory becomes the first Zero Waste food manufacturer on earth.
  • 2015: Begins contributing to Rainforest Saver to support Inga alley-cropping carbon offsetting.
  • 2018: Switches to home-compostable packaging across the range.
  • Early 2021: Becomes the first manufacturer on Earth to produce net zero carbon cereals.
  • 2024: Alara transitions to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

The Alara Permaculture Garden and the Vineyard

Surrounding the factory is Alara's Permaculture Garden, a project that began in 2005. What started as the transformation of a derelict piece of land into a working garden has grown into a much bigger idea. The site now incorporates a vineyard, an orchard and a community garden, producing a remarkable range of biodiverse fruit and vegetables in the heart of London.

The garden is home to more than eighty different food crops. Among them are silverberry, pomegranate, Japanese wineberry, apricot, apple, pear, plum, edible hawthorn, and (in what is believed to be the largest yacon plantation in Europe) the Andean tuber that Alara has popularised as a natural sweetener through its Yacon Syrup and Chocolate Yacon Granola.

What the Vineyard Means

Alara does not produce commercial wine: the vineyard is part of the permaculture experiment, alongside the orchard and the community garden, rather than a winery operation. The fact that grapevines are growing on a former industrial scrap of land next to a working cereal factory in central London speaks volumes about the company's philosophy. As Alara puts it: "We believe that there is a necessary change to a sustainable future and food, as a fundamental requirement of society, must be at the forefront of that change."

The garden also acts as a research site. Alara's rainwater-harvesting system at the factory is connected to it, and the company's SDG reporting shows that the site contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 6 (Clean Water), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

The Four Pillars of Sustainability

Sustainability is not a marketing line at Alara: it is the operating system. The company spells out the four measures on which it claims to be the most sustainable food manufacturer on earth: Environmental, Economic, Social and Governance.

Environmental Pillar

The food supply chain emits roughly a third of all greenhouse gases. Alara's response touches every part of production.

  • Carbon measurement. An in-house database measures CO2e in all raw food materials every month.
  • Carbon offsetting via Rainforest Saver. Alara works with the small charity Rainforest Saver in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America, supporting Inga alley cropping with indigenous farmers. Inga is a nitrogen-fixing tree; each tree over a 20-year lifespan sequesters around half a ton of carbon, and the system also prevents slash-and-burn farming that accounts for around 3% of global climate emissions.
  • Zero Waste status achieved in August 2008. Nothing is sent to landfill; everything is reused, reduced, recycled or composted.
  • 100% renewable energy from a UK provider guaranteeing hydro, solar and wind sources.
  • Home-compostable packaging: Alara was the first cereal company to offer plastic-free film made from eucalyptus cellulose that biodegrades in a home compost heap in around 90 days.
  • British organic farmers. All oat, barley and rye flakes are sourced from British growers through the Organic Arable Group, which Alara helped to establish.

Economic Pillar

Alara operates on a strict cash-on-delivery (C.O.D.) basis. It pays every supplier on delivery and approval, leaving no creditor ledger. Three reasons are given: it values food properly (because Alex lived without money for a year), it treats cash flow as a real business constraint, and it forces the company to minimise economic waste.

Social Pillar

Alara is now an Employee Ownership Trust. It has an internal human rights policy aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and has undergone a SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit). The company works with central London food banks (including Food For All, the UK's largest free meals provider) and now delivers free meals on its own electric cargo bike.

Governance Pillar

Alara publishes every audit it undergoes (organic, BRCGS quality, ISO 14001 environmental, BRCGS gluten-free, and SMETA ethics). 250,000 people eat food from the factory every day, and Alara treats that as a privileged trust worth verifying in public.

The Net Zero Carbon Cereal Programme

The most measurable expression of all four pillars is Alara's Net Zero Carbon Food programme. It started in early 2021, when Apple & Cinnamon Bircher, Crispy Fruit Muesli, Fruits & Seeds Muesli and Original Muesli became the first four cereals in the world to be sold with their embedded CO2e on the pack. Scottish Oats Gluten Free Porridge followed later that year, and in 2022 Alara confirmed that its entire catalogue, including the Organic Milled Linseeds range, was net zero carbon.

How It Works

Alara works with tutors and students at Westminster University to calculate the embedded carbon of each ingredient. The team evaluates Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (energy-related) and Scope 3 (everything else, including farming, packaging and transport). The carbon figure is offset by donations to Rainforest Saver, which plants Inga trees in Ecuador and elsewhere.

Carbon Pricing and Reporting

Alara has committed a minimum of £550 per month to Rainforest Saver since 2015, and by the end of 2022 cumulative contributions had reached £35,000. The company indexes its donations against the UK carbon market price (around £50/tonne of carbon, or roughly £13.50/tonne of CO2). Monthly carbon reports break down the embedded CO2e of every net-zero SKU.

The Product Range at a Glance

Alara currently lists around 38 stock-keeping units in its online Product Range. Prices below are the standard trade prices and reflect multi-pack case sizes (most mueslis and porridges are sold in 6-box cases).

Mueslis and Birchers

Gluten-Free Mueslis and Porridges

Porridges and Brans

Linseeds

Of the Earth Superfoods

Curated Mixes and Variety Cases

What Alara Does Not Make

Alara does not produce wine, beer, cider or any other alcoholic drink. There is no on-site cellar door, no vineyard tour, no tasting room and no booking system. Alara does not run public events or festivals. Visitors to the factory and permaculture garden are by prior arrangement only.

Delivery, Refunds and Christmas Closures

Alara ships to the UK mainland via ParcelForce 48 at a flat £9, with free delivery on orders over £60. Orders received before 2pm are dispatched within two working days.

Returns are accepted on unopened products within 14 working days. Cancellations or amendments must be emailed before dispatch.

The factory operates an annual Christmas closure: orders placed from 18 December are shipped from 5 January the following year.

Recipes You Can Make at Home

Alara publishes two recipe collections that double as useful ways to use the products: Milled Linseed Recipes and Oat Recipes.

Using Alara Milled Linseeds

  • Linseed Crackers: 250g Alara Organic Raw Milled Linseeds, ¾ cup water, salt, paprika, garlic. Mixed, rolled to 5mm, scored into squares, baked 30 min at 200°C.
  • Vegan 'Meatloaf': Uses Alara Milled Linseed as a binder alongside chickpeas, breadcrumbs, vegetables and Worcestershire sauce; baked 30 min covered, then 15 min uncovered.
  • Beetroot & Milled Linseed Crepe: Beetroot powder, milled linseeds, egg and coconut milk whisked into a pink batter for one skillet crepe.

Using Alara Oats and Mueslis

  • Oatmeal Berry Smoothie Bowl: Cooked Scottish gluten-free oats blended with frozen berries and banana, topped with fresh fruit.
  • Christmas Oat Cookies: Alara Fruity Oats Gluten Free Muesli, banana, egg white, cinnamon, vanilla, coconut oil and a touch of brown sugar.
  • Mixed Seed & Goji Berry Flapjacks: Any Alara oats with sunflower, pumpkin seeds and goji berries; the classic tray-bake.
  • Vegan Bean & Oat Burger Patties: Black beans, BBQ sauce, Alara oats and onion, processed and baked.
  • 5-Ingredient Individual Oat Apple Crumble: Apple, sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and Alara Old Fashioned Oats.

The Pen - Alara's In-House Sustainability Magazine

For a deeper dive into the four pillars, Alara publishes The Pen, a series of long-form PDFs exploring each pillar in turn.

  • Edition 1 - Spring 2019 - Governance
  • Edition 3 - Autumn 2019 - Social
  • Edition 4 - Winter 2020 - Economic

Knowledge Garden London - The Wider Plan for Camley Street

Beyond the factory, founder Alex Smith has been working on Knowledge Garden London, a community development project for the wider Camley Street neighbourhood. The submitted plan covers retaining the 500 existing jobs (mostly in food) and building up to 1,000 genuinely affordable homes on the surrounding site. The Alara team is inviting video submissions from local people to marketing@alara.co.uk to feed into the consultation.

Certifications, Audits and Trust Marks

Every claim Alara makes about sustainability is backed by a published audit.

  • BRCGS Food Safety - Grade A, 2024
  • BRCGS Gluten-Free Certification Programme (GFCP), 2024
  • Soil Association Organic certification (GB-ORG-05), current 2024 schedule
  • ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management
  • SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit)
  • TÜV Austria OK Compost HOME and Seedling (for the home-compostable film)

Industry partners include the Soil Association, the Organic Arable Group and the Rainforest Saver charity.

A Note on the Vineyard

Alara Wholefoods is, by its own description, a wholefoods manufacturer first and foremost. It does not bottle wine, run a cellar door or host vineyard tours. What it does offer is one of the most rigorous sustainability stories in British food, with a permaculture vineyard growing quietly next to a working factory in central London as a living reminder that food, farming and climate action can coexist on a single city street.

The Camley Street site sits on the edge of Regent's Canal, a few minutes' walk from King's Cross St Pancras, and embodies the kind of small-scale, deeply thoughtful food production that the UK's natural and organic sector has been quietly building for half a century.

Wines & Products (37)

Of the Earth Superfoods Chia Seeds Organic (250g) · other £4.99
Of the Earth Superfoods Cocoa Powder Organic (180g) · other £8.99
Of the Earth Superfoods Maca Hot Chocolate Organic (180g) · other £8.99
Of the Earth Superfoods Maca Powder Organic (220g) · other £8.99
Of the Earth Superfoods Beetroot Powder Organic (250g) · other £9.99
Of the Earth Superfoods Cacao Nibs Organic (180g) · other £12.5
Of the Earth Superfoods Yacon Syrup Organic (425ml) · other £15.99
Alara Organic Wheat Bran · other £16.14
Alara Old Fashioned Organic Porridge · other £18.54
Alara Organic Oat Bran · other £19.44
Alara Pure Oats Gluten Free Porridge · other £19.74
Alara Luxurious Gluten Free Porridge · other £22.14
Large Box Mix · other £22.29
Arctic Circle Oats Gluten Free Organic Porridge · other £23.24
Alara Everyday Organic Muesli · other £23.94
Alara Fruity Oats Gluten Free Muesli · other £23.94
Alara Rich Organic Muesli · other £23.94
Alara Apple & Cinnamon Organic Bircher · other £24.54
Alara Crispy Fruit Organic Muesli · other £24.54
Alara Delight Gluten Free Organic Muesli · other £24.54
Alara Fruit & Nut Gluten Free Muesli · other £24.54
Alara Fruits and Seeds Organic Muesli · other £24.54
Alara Original Organic Muesli · other £24.54
Gluten Free Mix (Oat Free) · other £25.04
Alara 30 Plants Muesli · other £25.14
Alara 30 Plants Overnight Oats · other £25.14
Gluten Free Mix · other £25.64
Alara Ancient Grains Organic Muesli · other £25.74
Alara Classic Apple Bircher Organic Muesli · other £25.74
Try Me Mix · other £25.74
Alara Super Foods Organic Muesli · other £27.54
Alara Super Fruit Organic Muesli · other £27.54
Premium Mix · other £28.04
Alara Goji & Cranberry Gluten Free Organic Muesli · other £28.14
Alara Active Life Gluten Free Organic Muesli · other £28.74
Alara Milled Linseeds Raw Organic 6x500g · other £29.94
Alara Golden Crisp Gluten Free Organic Granola · other £32.94

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Location

N1C 4PF