The Heart of the Village

The Heart of the Village

On a wet, rainy Wednesday morning two squirrels ventured far from their Nest to conduct some important business. They were off to visit Village Organic, a fantastic local store in East London’s Victoria Park Village, that has been part of the Pip & Nut journey since the very start (in 2015!).

The owner, the charismatic Ahmet Sik, has owned Village Organic for seven years and as a result the shop is part of the fabric of this beautiful city village.

These two squirrels were warmly greeted by Burak, Ahmet’s business partner, and Anna, shop assistant and Pip & Nut superfan. In fact, Anna declared: “I love Pip & Nut, when I was 14, I ran a porridge Instagram account and used Pip & Nut all the time. You guys even sent me some free jars!”. The squirrels felt right at home.

It’s clear that Village Organic is a well-loved local spot; one customer, who happened to have a jar of Pip & Nut Peanut Butter in his basket (good choice 😉), chatted with Ahmet like they were lifelong friends.

After snapping a few pics outside the beautiful shop front, the conversation turned to the history of Village Organic and how it came to be.

The story begins many moons ago, seven human year or thirty-five squirrel years, as we like to count.

Hatice, Ahmet’s wife, was looking to find her passion and a way to become more connected to the world outside her home. After some deliberation they decided to set up an organic produce shop.

At this time Ahmet was still a full-time data-analyst, so it was Hatice who managed the shop in its early years. With the support of family and friends, their two sons and daughter in particular, the shop went from strength to strength.

Excellent customer service, great quality fresh produce and a fantastic selection of new and exciting brands proved to be a real hit with the locals. Ahmet says that the success of their shop is down to this strong relationship with their community: “We’re just like a big extended family”.

Two years ago, Ahmet made the brave decision to step away from his corporate career and put all his effort into growing Village Organics.

As the business grew year on year Ahmet decided it was time to branch out and bring in two new business partners: Burak and Fatih. With a burst of new energy, the team soon decided to open a second shop in Clapham Common. Unfortunately, only a few months after opening, Covid-19 hit. Customers’ shopping habits became unpredictable, but Ahmet’s experience in data analytics helped him to stay agile and forecast his sales, meaning he managed to stay well stocked throughout the uncertain months of the pandemic.

Hearing of this exciting new store, the two squirrels scampered down to Clapham Common where they were met by the lovely Fatih, who immediately showed them the stunning display of Pip & Nut!


Thanks to their hard work and excellent customer service, Ahmet, Hatice, Burak and Fatih have built Village Organics into a brilliant business. So, when you’re in Victoria Park or Clapham Common make sure to pop into Village Organic (Victoria Park Village) or Village Wholefoods (Clapham Common) and say hi to Ahmet and his lovely team. And be sure to stock up on a jar or two of Pip & Nut!