OUR
STORY
From a single fruit and veg store
that opened in Access Park, Cape Town, in 1993 with a team of 6 colleagues, the Food Lover’s Market Group has thrived to become the country’s largest privately-owned retailer.
For 30 years, we have been committed to making a positive impact on our people, our planet, our suppliers, our communities, and our customers. In 2016, Earth Lovers was born to entrench the family values in an ever-growing business, to ensure that despite our rapid growth, we would remain a company bonded by our family values. Earth Lovers has become an important cornerstone in building a brand that does not incorporate ESG metrics to simply become more efficient but can take an honest look at itself, its impact on the world, our people, and the communities we serve, and then take action to add value wherever possible.
Earth Lovers is at the heart of our sustainable business journey, it is the way we do business. Our goal is to become a truly values-driven purpose-led business filled with exceptional people working day in and day out to make things better for each other, our customers, and our world, while always having fun.
FLM FAMILY VALUES
Our Values celebrate our core principles and represent the spirit of our Food Lover’s Market Family! They are the behaviors that we all, as team members, commit to upholding and living every day.
DRIVEN BY PURPOSE
Earth Lovers News
A WORD FROM OUR CO-FOUNDER
Brian Coppin
When Mike and I began the business
all those years ago, we could never have envisaged the business growing into what it is today – with over 17,000 colleagues serving millions of customers every week.
While we are proud of the growth of the business, I am particularly proud of the way that the business has continued to enhance and deepen its values-based approach to how we do business. Since the beginning, we have been committed to creating a brand that is more than just a retailer, rather a brand that can make a genuine impact in our world. From our refills of milk and honey in our earliest stores, to our market feel that uses less packaging, to the longstanding relationships with our amazing suppliers and partners. And most importantly, ensure that we see each person in our business for the potential that he or she has.
We are committed to looking ourselves in the mirror and asking difficult questions about our impact in society, both positive and negative, and then finding solutions to ultimately make a net positive impact. We are not there yet, however, we are on the journey and committed to building a genuine purpose-led, values-driven business.