Shoplight has worked with GAIL’s Bakery for many years. With an established and trusted bond and knowing they had shared values and goals around sustainability, Shoplight approached GAIL’s Bakery about its soon-to-launch, brand-new, UK-made, bioplastic, 3D-printed spotlight.
Retail lighting for sustainably driven brands
GAIL’s sustainable ethos runs through the very heart of its brand from the food they create to the materials they use in its properties.
GAIL’s use seasonal ingredients, buy local where possible, and reuse offcuts from a variety of ingredients to make its Waste Not Range alongside a waste-less sourdough made from yesterday’s leftover bread. They also donate surplus food to local charities.
The GAIL’s property team was already reusing and upcycling found and existing materials in their buildings and looking for more sustainable building materials. Materials like Graphenstone clean paint, Tarkett vinyl floors and C2C tiles are standard.
Adding Nort, which is produced using 95% less CO2 emissions when compared to traditional aluminium spotlights was another way GAIL’s Bakery could limit its negative impact on the environment. GAIL’s embraced the environmental benefits of Nort, quickly indicating it would be an early adopter. Nort is now being used in all up-and-coming GAIL’s rollouts that have track-mounted fittings. Additionally, Shoplight’s recessed fittings will be included in GAIL’s standard lighting repertoire once they launch.
GAIL’s Bakery, Senior Project Manager Michelle Pollard-Smith said, “Supporting a long-term partner was the initial draw but importantly we found that Nort supports our drive to use more sustainable materials with a lower carbon footprint across the GAIL’s estate.”
Nort launches in Cambridge
The opening of GAIL’s Bakery Cambridge Market Hill on May 12th 2023 made the bakery the first in the world to use the NonOilen Nort which is made from plant-based polymers. Since then, Nort has also been used in other bakeries including a London Soho refurb and the new King Street and Didsbury Bakeries in Manchester.
In making thoughtful and impactful changes, GAIL’s Bakery is leading the way towards a more sustainable future and the Shoplight team commends them in their decision to use Nort for its circularity and eco credentials.
Together these two brands are demonstrating what it looks like to take action towards a zero-carbon future. By using Nort GAIL’s benefit from:
💡95% less CO2 emissions when compared to some aluminium spotlights 💡A design that maximises thermal efficiency, resulting in highly efficient retail lighting
💡Zero waste from on-demand 3D printing
💡Local UK manufacturing, moving away from all components sourced from East Asia
💡A circular product which uses upgradeable, reusable, recyclable and compostable materials.
Nort has been crafted and designed to maximise thermal efficiency, offering a highly efficient retail lighting option. Furthermore, the NonOilen material chosen by GAIL’s Bakery takes its green features even further with its compostable outer body.
The lighting products were printed and assembled in Peterborough before being installed in Cambridge – compare that to being transported from China, into the EU and then on to the UK. Carbon emissions are dramatically reduced even when only considering transport emissions.
Mark Shortland, Managing Director of Shoplight, said, “With patent pending VenTEC technology and a host of features designed to keep the product in use for many years to come, NORT provides retailers like GAIL’s Bakery with a sustainable alternative to imported aluminium spotlights to light their stores.”
Lighting unique buildings, features, and design concepts
Key to the success of every GAIL’s project is providing a lighting solution that fits with each unique building and location. For Cambridge Market Hill, it was incorporating the iconic Cambridge Punts as inspiration. Shoplight lit details like setting poles which formed ceiling rafts, narrow floorboards to represent decking and traditional bench seats, all carefully thought out by Newman Gauge Design Associates.
In King Street, Nort fitted in perfectly alongside other circular economy products. Being 100% bio-based, Nort starts from the soil and ends in the soil, demonstrating true circularity. In fact, plants used to make the NonOilen material consume greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard plastic made from petrol-based polymers which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Nort was in good company alongside a counter built from Kenoteq’s K-Brick which is made with nearly 100% construction waste, tabletops from Forbo Flooring Systems’ furniture-grade linoleum, and lampshades made from orange peel and pine needles.
Architects and fellow B Corp, Holland Harvey brought Didsbury to life and Nort helped light reused cornice features and timber wall panelling together with stripped-back floor finishes which revealed original character and charm. Shoplight’s contemporary lighting design complemented the monochromatic colour palette which gave Didsbury a spacious modern feel with its light-stained timbers contrasting with the terrazzo and blackened steel.
Working towards a zero-carbon future
“As Shoplight took its first steps on its journey towards creating zero-carbon products that have little or no negative impact on the environment, it has been a real honour to have GAIL’s Bakery as the first brand to use Nort.” Marketing Director, Sara Drawwater.
As Shoplight challenges retail brands to use more sustainable lighting and adopt a circular economy model which minimises waste and maximises resource efficiency, they are developing further products and services to support retailers who are committed to delivering on carbon reduction.
If you are on your own journey to achieving net zero, then investing in Nort is a great sustainable solution. Visit our website and LinkedIn page for example projects and more information.
Contact Sales Director, Matt Carrington on +44 (0)1733 345265, +44 (0) 7921 823725, matt.carrington@shoplight.lighting,
