Volunteers and supporters celebrate re-opening of Filling Good's High Street shop

Volunteers and supporters gathered to celebrate the re-opening of Filling Good’s High Street premises on Saturday morning.

The community-owned refill shop temporarily relocated into the Eco Action Hub after flash flooding caused ‘major damage’ at its premises at 22 High Street in September 2024.

Filling Good was founded by Nelly Semaille in 2019 and started its journey in the Craft Coop in the Nicholsons Centre.

The much-loved shop moved into its High Street home in March 2021 and became a hub for eco-conscious shoppers.

However, the flash flooding of 2024 was ‘devastating’, the team said.

Co-founder and manager Sophie Ibison added: “The stock room had food in it, so we lost a lot of food as well, which was terrible.

“It’s very, very depressing when you’ve worked so hard to build something up and we were doing really well.”

Nelly added: “Straight away, a lot of our volunteers and customers came in with mops and bags and it was amazing.”

Filling Good spent more than a year in the Eco Action Hub and Nelly said the team have been ‘really welcoming’.

“Without them, I don’t know what we would have done in between. They gave us a big part of their hub, so we’re very grateful that they welcomed us,” she added.

In January, Filling Good announced it would be moving back into its newly transformed premises on the High Street.

The re-opening saw around 20-30 people attend to celebrate as the team gathered alongside Maidenhead MP Josh Reynolds to officially re-open the shop.

Both Nelly and Mr Reynolds gave speeches at the event and gifts were also given to both Sophie and Filling Good’s food safety director Nigel Prior, for their efforts in helping to get the shop ready for reopening.

Visitors also enjoyed live music from Elizabeth Slade and Mr Singalong.

As part of the work, walls – including those at the front of the shop – have been taken down to ‘open the shop up’, Nigel said.

The store offers a household cleaning products, toiletries, organic food staples and a variety of eco-friendly and ethical gifts.

Shoppers can bring in their own containers and refill on products including porridge oats, pasta, oils, washing up liquid and hand soap.

The shop also stocks everyday essentials and locally produced goods such as biodegradable toothbrushes and sustainably sourced coffee.

Nelly said refill efforts have kept more than 200,000 pieces of packaging from going into landfill so far.

Operating as a community benefit society, Filling Good has also donated ‘a large portion’ of its profits to organisations committed to sustainability.

Sophie said it is ‘wonderful’ to be back at the High Street venue, with Nelly adding that it feels like a ‘fresh start’.

Dan Pollard, a long-standing customer of Filling Good, said it was ‘great’ to have the shop back at its High Street location, adding that the layout ‘does feel a bit more spacious’.

MP Josh Reynolds said: “It’s great to see it back.

“It’s got completely new life, it feels really different from the previous incarnation [when] it was here, and it’s just great to see so many people.”

Filling Good is open from 10am to 5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 11.30am to 3.30pm on Sundays.