Kent Start-up Food & Drink Business of the Year Finalist: Nomad Pizza
Nomad Pizza Whitstable is a recent addition to the town’s local independent food and drink scene.
Since opening in August 2020, Nomad Pizza has built a reputation with locals and visitors alike for high-quality fresh pizza to take away, using fresh local ingredients. Pizzas are made with organic dough made daily and topped with freshly-made tomato sauce and locally-sourced ingredients that include local Kentish cheeses, hams and butcher meats.
It is open throughout the year seven evenings a week, offering a collection service and also delivery out of season using its own local drivers. It prides itself on being community driven and a champion of Kent produce. It provides direct employment to up to 11 local people.
It has already won The Pizza & Pasta Association PAPA Industry Awards for Best Independent Pizza Delivery in its first few months of opening and was also a finalist in the National Pizza Awards.
Sustainable practices
Sustainability is at the core of the values of Nomad Pizza Whitstable, which includes a dedicated webpage of its Environmental Policy.
It uses organic flour - which is free of artificial food additives, grown without synthetic pesticides and not genetically modified; it is also a healthier choice, being more natural, with less starch and gut-irritating additives.
Produce is sourced locally where possible and ingredients and drinks are from Kent where possible.
A dedicated webpage – Keeping it Local is an extensive list sharing all the local producers and suppliers used. This includes a brief description of what makes them special, plus the mileage of each from the shop - demonstrating how reducing road mileage can have a positive impact on carbon footprint. Using ‘local’ positively benefits employment and the local economy.
Nomad is very proud of the range and quality of food and drink produced in Kent. Producers it use include: Kentish Pip ciders; Cheesemakers of Canterbury; Owlets fruit juices; Chapel Down vineyards; Simply Ice Cream; Kingcott Dairy; Goody Ales; Shepherd Neame (Whitstable Bay); Beardy Baker brownies; Wooden Spoon jams; and Mighty Fine Things balsamic vinegars.
Suppliers include: Salvatori Butchers Boy; Curd & Cure; Maws Fine Foods; Staines Farm Shop; Alan Longs Butchers; and Page & Son wine merchants.
Fresh local ingredients may not just taste better but it is easier to track their quality and food safety, not least meats from the local butchers – rather than frozen cooked meat from another corner of the world.
Jon and Vicki also invest in the most energy-efficient equipment possible and are mindful of using water, electricity and gas as efficiently as possible, including use of a smart meter in the shop.
The staff team are trained in all aspects of sustainability and that includes managing stock efficiently, prepping with consideration to the length of time ingredients need to be used by and reducing waste.
They reuse and recycle as many materials as possible and encourage customers to do the same by using biodegradable or recyclable packaging, including their pizza boxes and paper bags (the use of plastic throughout the business is minimal.)
Nomad hires staff from the local area and the benefits are many - including earnings being regenerated into the local economy and the reduction of commuting miles to work. Some staff walk to work or take a bike.
The use of other local services and businesses such as manual trades, stationery, printing and uniforms involves local companies.
