A NEWLY refurbished shop in Corringham has brought scents of the Mediterranean to the town – and its products are already bringing in new shoppers from far and wide.

Lemon Fresh UK is a locally-based family business that originated in the back bedroom of a bungalow in Stanford, finding fame on the internet - is now making a success of local service too.

The Corringham store is their second launched in Thurrock and opened in July on St John's Walk in Corringham town centre

Lemon Fresh UK Ltd has been operational online for several years stocking a wide range of Spanish products including cleaning products, air fresheners, laundry products, cosmetic products and more.

In 2020, its first borough store opened in Chadwell St Mary and proved such a big success; its sister store has now opened up .

Ian Colley, after being inspired by his mum to set up the business, is part of the driving force behind it and says he put a lot of thought into where to launch their second shop.

He told Nub News: "Originally the idea came from my mum who was looking to do something from home and she recalled seeing a range of cleaning products in Spain where we used to holiday. She realised that they were almost impossible to obtain in the UK and thought there might be a demand.

"As I was working in web design at the time, I came up with an online platform for her to sell a range of Spanish Cleaning Products including products from Nenuco, 3 Brujas and Asevi catalogues and then the business just took off from there."

Originally the sales and stock handling took place from mum's home in Stanford-le-Hope but Ian quickly realised it was growing so fast they would not be able to cope with the requirements of delivery, storage and shipping, so the company took on a premises in East Tilbury.

There was already a lot of local demand, with locals knocking on mum's door all times day and night wanting to collect products, so the natural and logical step was to open a retail store locally.

The shop at Chadwell was the first shop and now the doors have opened in Corringham. In total 14 people now work for the company – and Ian is proud they are all local people to the places where they work.

"That's the essence of what I wanted to do. Build a business in our local community, for our local community and not lose that 'family run company' ethos for the business – and that was the reason why I decided we should launch in Corringham, a place where I was brought up. Corringham Town Centre is your typical local town centre, full of local community spirit, local characters, lovely people and a local shops.

"You can do many things online, but one of the things you can't do is smell products. The beauty of our products is fragrance, so it only seemed fitting to bring it to a place like Corringham town centre, a local place close to my heart."

There is a wide selction of products to select from at Corringham.

"I think we match the fit of existing shops in the town while bringing something new, fresh and different, and I know that when our customers come here to pick up their Spanish cleaning products, they will enjoy taking in what else Corringham has to offer.

"It's a win, win for everyone. I really believe in the community ethos, and we want to be an active part of the local business community here, helping grow the success for all the traders and the town centre as a whole.

"For example, there are a number of products that we could add to our range in Corringham, but those products are already available at other shops in the town, so for us, it's not about taking custom from other people – it's growing together, so we choose not to stock them. And if someone asks for them, we are delighted to be able to send them to see our neighbours allowing other traders to benefit from our customers visiting the area, and enhancing the town centre as a whole."

"We're here to stay in Corringham. We've invested over £50,000 in refurbishing the shop completely from top to bottom, because we want to be a part of bringing more people into the heart of this wonderful community and see the rise of Corringham town centre now and for generations to come.

"Growing up in the Thurrock area, it's important to me that we really make our local stores flagships for the future! People are quick to knock the high street due to the rise of online stores, but we feel for the high street to flourish once again you need to bring something unique to them, and that is hopefully what we are doing."

"To that end the three staff who work in the shop also live locally, which I think is really great in terms of building up relationships and making customers feel truly welcome. Local people in local jobs is something we really hold close as a family-run business."

As well as a warm welcome, there's a really big range of products to select from too!

Ian added: "We now have over 500 products available in store. We stock a really huge range of cleaning products for your home, laundry products such as detergents, softeners and laundry perfumes, air fresheners for the air and fabrics, as well as some of the finest Spanish cosmetics from Spain and the Canary Islands.

"Many people who have never tried Spanish products ask us what is the difference? The biggest difference are the natural perfumes. Compared to many UK products the Spanish absolutely pride themselves on genuine, gorgeous, and long-lasting fragrances in their products, with products which really do the job well."

"From air fresheners that smell like the Spanish ocean, to floor cleaners which make your whole house smell like amazing flowers for hours, we have just such a huge range of products and such a wide range of smells that everyone can enjoy, all packed with a quality level of perfume ensuring your home smells amazing for longer! Our products actually make you excited to clean!"

"People often think we are going to be expensive, however so many people are so surprised when they come in. Our detergents and softeners for example are actually cheaper than some of the big British named brands in some supermarkets. Our cleaning products in also in-line with some of the British offerings too. We are the home where quality and value are literally combined. Once people try us, they love us, becoming regular customers then effectively turning our store into a grown-up version of a sweet shop to them. People love to come in and try new smells and experiences within their home."

"We are proud to stock products which are also safe to use around pets, are not tested on animals and are cruelty free. We also pride ourselves on products being recyclable as well as working with Spanish manufacturers who operate with the planet in mind. Because we mostly work directly with manufacturers, we have been out to Spain, visited them, toured their factories and made sure first-hand that products really are of the quality and standards we expect."

Lemon Fresh UK Ltd have two stores, which are open Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. They are also open on Saturdays from 10am - 4pm. If you cannot make it to the stores in these times, they also deliver nationwide and also offer a click-and-collect service in store.