Julian Graves

I think Julian Graves needs to shake up its image a bit, at least in the Kingston branch. I don’t know how they look in the other branches, but this place looks a bit tired and old hat; health food shops are the new meccas, they can be cool if they try, but dear old Julian Graves looks a bit like it’s still 1974, when the only people who shopped in health food stores were geography teachers and Tom and Margo from The Good Life.
Also, I get slightly confused by what kind of shop it actually is. I have always associated it with health food, but it sells nougat, chocolate buttons and the kind of sweets you would find in a Woolies pick and mix. Of course, it sells the huge bags of dried fruit and nuts that it is known for, and has plenty of special offers. I pick up yogurt mixes here — I am making my own yogurt — just like Tom and Margo, but that is usually it. I tried the goji berries here once and they were not as good as other goji’s that I have tried, so for now, I will give it a Must Try Harder grade.

Julian Graves is a bit of a strange one. Ostensibly it appears to be very much a healthy food outlet but look a little closer and many items are definitely more naughty than nice on the good nutrition front. I was surprised to find that otherwise healthy soya nuts had several (unnecessary) additives, including MSG.
It is a handy place to shop for larger bags of herbs and spices which offer better value than tiny supermarket jars. Also good for a wide range of seeds and nuts. If you can be bothered and want to avoid additives, it’s worth checking labels here and visiting regularly as they often have good offers that make their prices more competitive.