With more than 40 local, independent businesses trading inside, it’s not surprising that we’ve turned to the vibrant and historic Durham Market Hall for some our previous cover stars, including Jacqueline at Marla Jones Jewellery and Susan at Crafty-Nook.
This time, we’ve headed back there to catch up with Jeff, the owner of recently enlarged health food shop Health Barn.
Located near the lower of the two entrances from the Market Place, Health Barn is the place to head if you’re looking for healthy products such as herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruits, and specialist flours, all presented in Health Barn’s own beautiful and practical biodegradable packaging.
Other popular ranges include a selection of specialist teas, and delicious soup mixes from the Durham Soup Company.
Health Barn certainly came into its own last year when bread flour and yeast were in short supply everywhere else, but it’s great that more people are still discovering Health Barn all the time.
In fact, the shop’s popularity means that just last month it spread into the adjacent unit, where you’ll find an increased gluten-free range, as well as CBD products now in stock.
If shopping online is more convenient, Health Barn recently launched its new website at health-barn.com, where you can click and collect from the Market Hall shop, or get your order delivered elsewhere in the UK.
It’s been a real pleasure to work with Jeff as part of Indie Durham City, after he got in touch via our website not long after our City of Durham Parish Council-funded project launched last year.
Thanks to this funding, any independent business in the parish area can request free marketing and mentoring support from North East-based retail experts CannyInsights.com. After an initial Zoom chat with Jeff, we were able to share some tips about maximising the impact of Health Barn’s website and social media, and have been able to keep plugging the shop – and raising awareness of what it offers – via our own @IndieDurhamCity Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels.
So, if you are a local independent business that hasn’t made contact with us yet, do get involved! Our website has information about what support is available, and to get started you just need to fill out a simple form.
Who knows, you could yet be our next Indie Durham City cover star, being seen across Durham, the North East, and beyond!
