A new supermarket, The Food Warehouse (Iceland), has been granted a provisional licence to sell alcohol and make home deliveries when it opens its new Falkirk store.
The shop at Unit 14, Phase 2, Central Retail Park, Falkirk will create around 30 jobs when it opens.
The Food Warehouses are on a much bigger size and scale than the group’s well-established Iceland stores, members of Falkirk Council’s licensing board were told.
Neil Hassard, representing the business, said: “The new stores very much have their own identity and are very much referred to as The Food Warehouse – it’s not just a big Iceland, it’s so much more than that.”
Like Iceland’s original shops, there will be a large frozen food section but there will also be fresh fruit and vegetables and other “cook-from-scratch” foods, as well as a range of convenience foods.
Customers will be able to buy either single units or in bulk, depending on their needs, and trade customers will be welcome.
“I’ve been involved in many of these openings in Scotland and the new stores are well received in the areas they come to,” he told the board.
“Generally, they get good feedback, whether it be from young professionals or people with children or even older individuals.”
The board was told that alcohol was not a massive part of the Iceland offer, at five per cent of sales.
However, said Mr Hassard, it was important to sell alcohol so that customers could do a full shopping in the one location and he promised it would be a well presented area.
“It’s not about bulk – there is nice presentation of the wines and nothing to suggest any promotional activity,” he added.
Councillors were assured that home deliveries will all be made by Iceland employees who all receive the mandatory training, which is delivered in-house by their own training department.
They also heard that Iceland were at the forefront of environmental awareness and were taking steps to remove all own-brand plastic packaging by 2035.
Members of the board said they were very impressed with the application.
They agreed to grant the provisional licence, which will be granted fully once the new store is complete.
