Things people like to know

General Info

  • Wait, what is this?

    Sadly, much of life is tedious and dull – comprised of things like unloading the dishwasher, worrying about your bad back and pretending to listen whilst your partner moans about not feeling ‘sufficiently valued’ at work or whatever.


    To further compound the boredom, each month we typically spend nearly seventeen hours – one waking day – shopping for groceries. That time feels especially wasted when you consider that the things we buy are mostly the same things we bought last month, and the same stuff we’ll most likely be buying next month too.


    So Per Diem is a deliberately different kind of shop, selling things in monthly batches. We specialise in the kinds of repetitive basics that you find in 90% of households – the staples people buy again and again – flour, sugar, pasta, olive oil, rice, soap, cleaning stuff and so on.


    The idea is to take away the boring weekly chore of flogging round a supermarket buying things on an endless loop; freeing up people’s time to do more rewarding stuff – write a novel or eat some tacos or watch ‘The Bear’ or whatever. That is our reason for being, our core purpose. Whatever their cutesy ads may claim, most supermarkets reason for being is to sell you as much processed crap as they can. Harsh, but true.


    We want you to support local, independent retailers producing amazing products – the family-run butcher or fishmonger, a great baker, a brilliant farmers market. It’s easier to do this if the boring essentials which you use every day have been responsibly and cost-effectively taken care of.


  • Am I getting locked into some kind of nightmarish subscription or ongoing commitment?

    Not at all. There is absolutely zero obligation at any point in the process. Cancel, pause, skip at any time; no small print, no catch. Completely up to you.

  • Why wouldn’t I just use Amazon Fresh or Ocado or whatever?

    Per Diem doesn’t sell individual items in the way that traditional e-commerce retailers do – instead, we only supply goods in monthly batches. We get that may seem counter-intuitive at first as it’s not how we’re used to buying stuff, but we think it makes sense for a bunch of reasons:

    
1. Our products are all hand selected. 
Increasingly many people feel they don’t want or need twenty-eight different types of olive oil or hand soap or granola to choose from. They just want one good one. So Per Diem do in-depth research and come up with just one product in each category, using strict criteria based on ethics, provenance, cost and taste.


    2. Our products are more cost effective. Per Diem wants to help households everywhere save money. Buying larger quantities of “raw” ingredients is cheaper for us, so we happily pass those savings directly on to our customers. We can’t always guarantee that we will be cheaper than low quality ingredients sold in a supermarket – they have more bargaining power than we do – but our prices are extremely competitive and constantly assessed.


    3. Our products are ethically sourced. Per Diem products all come from ethical and fair suppliers – those who are as committed to the use of quality ingredients as they are to minimising waste and pollution in their supply chains. Wherever possible we choose small, family-run British suppliers to help support local economies and to minimise food miles.


    4. Our products are packaged and delivered sustainably. Per Diem use the most environmentally responsible packaging we can – using recycled cardboard boxes and bags. Additionally, as we supply in monthly batches, we use way less packaging than typical retailers who sell a larger volume of smaller packs. Per Diem deliveries are carbon neutral – either by bike, foot or electric car. We also save customers carbon emissions by reducing their supermarket trips.


    5. Our products make meal planning easier. Buying products via Per Diem makes it easier to plan, budget and create healthy meal sizes for you and your family. Buying basic essentials a month ahead also gives families a clearer insight into where their household expenditure goes and helps to work out how much to spend on basic ‘dry goods’ versus fresher, perishable goods.

    
6. Our customers come first. At Per Diem we care as much about our customers as we do about the products we send them. This means that we will go to any lengths to ensure that the service customers receive from Per Diem is the best of any company operating online. So if you have any question, issue or problem at any point please do not hesitate to get in touch, and we will resolve it immediately.



  • OK. Sounds reasonable I guess. But can you incentivise me further please?

    Okay, sure.

    Unlike a typical supermarket where after 12 years your points give you like £1.50 off a massive box of Daz or whatever, Per Diem send presents with each and every delivery. Specifically:

    – Buy 5 things and get a little bag of Jelly Babies

    – Buy 10 things and get 5 pretty postcards

    – Buy 15 things and get a classic modern novel

    – Buy 20 things and get 2 surprisingly tasteful water glasses

    – Buy 25 things and get a beautiful scented candle

    Like Andy Warhol said – ‘You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you’. That’s our philosophy and we’re sticking with it.

Quantities

  • How do I know the monthly quantities will be right?

    You can either choose your own quantities, or we can make a suggestion as to what sizes make sense based on your family’s likely usage of a product in a typical month. This varies not just according to obvious things like how many people there are in your household and their ages and genders, but the time of year, changing trends in broader consumption habits and so on.


    We want to minimise food waste, at a time when over a third of all food produced globally is thrown away, but also to make sure you don’t run out of anything.


    That said, we completely understand that the only thing more annoying than running out of something is having too much of something cluttering up your cupboards. As a result, we put a huge amount of time and resource into getting the quantities spot on, but if they aren’t quite right then just let us know and they can be reduced or increased for your next order.


    And remember, if you’d like to manually select the quantities for yourself then we’ve made it really simple just to do that.


Pricing

  • Is Per Diem cheaper than a typical supermarket?

    Per Diem strives hard to help families everywhere save money – buying larger quantities of ‘raw’ ingredients is cheaper for us, so we happily pass those savings directly on to our customers.

    We won’t guarantee that we will be cheaper than lower quality, processed ingredients sold in a superstore as they have more bargaining power than we do (bargaining power which is often used to unfairly dominate the supply chain) – but our prices are extremely competitive and constantly assessed.

    During a period of rampant inflation in food prices, we have done everything we can – including reducing our margin – to keep prices fair and responsible.

Suppliers

  • Where do you source the goods from?

    Our products come from ethical suppliers who are as committed to the use of quality ingredients as they are to minimising waste and pollution.
 Wherever possible suppliers are UK based in order to minimise food miles. We select just one product in each category, using strict criteria based on taste, provenance and price. You can see a representative selection of suppliers here.

    Per Diem doesn’t sell the ‘branded’ goods as you might find in a typical supermarket. We are consciously trying something new based on the realisation that the dark art of marketing which underpins the packaged goods industry (global value $10,000,000,000,000) is fundamentally designed to create a pseudo-justifiable premium far in excess of the value of the goods themselves. We respect our customers too much to do this.

Delivery

  • How do you deliver?

    Per Diem deliveries are carbon neutral – either by bike, foot or electric car. Hopefully we also save customers carbon emissions by reducing their supermarket trips.

  • Are there any delivery fees?



    All Per Diem deliveries are just £3.95

Food Hygiene

  • How do you avoid cross-contamination?



    The goods are packed using assigned scoops and funnels for each product to avoid cross contamination. We use gloves and have regular hand washing intervals throughout the process. Per Diem is significantly more hygienic than many bulk grocery shops which are open to the public to shop and dig through the containers.

Packaging

  • What packaging do you use?

    Mainly plain biodegradable brown bags. For nuts and granola the bags have a film lining to maintain freshness, but these are 100% biodegradable too.
 We do use plastic bags for some cereals but again these are completely biodegradable.

    We strongly recommend that you decant all products into airtight packaging – jars, tins etc – when they arrive please. 
If you would like use to source some pretty jars for you then please email hello@getperdiem.com and we will send you a selection which we can supply at cost price.

    Per Diem doesn’t claim to be entirely perfect environmentally but we do whatever possible to minimise our carbon footprint in terms of closing suppliers, packaging and our delivery partners.

  • Do you offer a refill service?

    Yes, we can collect your glass jars and tins and fill and return them for you if you like. Please email hello@getperdiem.com and we will arrange a collection time at your convenience.


    As above, we are happy to source some beautiful storage jars for you then, again please email hello@getperdiem.com and we will send you a selection having confirmed sizes and so on.


My kitchen storage situation is a right mess tbh

  • For the love of God, can you help me?

    If your kitchen storage situation has descended into some kind of nightmarish chaos, then fear not. It happens to the best of us. Please email hello@getperdiem.com as we offer a service where we can come in and completely reorganise cupboards or larders.

    This involves throwing away foods with 1980s sell-by dates, tidying, cleaning and organising cupboards and drawers, and advising on new storage solutions if desired. Doesn’t extend to washing up after Sunday lunch sadly.

99 problems and a kitch(en) ain't one

  • I have a problem with my order, what do I do?


    Any issues at all with any orders will always be settled to the customer’s complete satisfaction. At Per Diem we care as much about the satisfaction of our customers as we do about the products we send them. This means that we will go to any lengths to ensure that the service customers receive from Per Diem is the best of any company operating online. So if you have any question, issue or problem at any point please do not hesitate to get in touch.


  • Can I change or amend or cancel my order?

    Of course. Log on to your account to amend at any time, or just email us or WhatsApp us, and we will immediately make whatever adjustments are required to your next order. Remember, there is absolutely zero obligation at any point in the process. Cancel, pause, skip at any time; no small print, no catch.

  • What is your return policy?

    In the unlikely event of something going wrong – however small – please email or WhatsApp. We will be back to you within an hour and will do whatever it takes to make things right.

  • Why does it always rain on me?



    Because you lied when you were seventeen. Obviously.