Holland & Barrett (Shop)

Advantages: It really can change your life
Disadvantages: Can lead to unsavoury habits and addictions

...sensitivity test in my local Holland and Barrett shop. This move was prompted by my'beautician' Julie (see my dermalogica op)who suggested that my angry skin may be due to certain food types disagreeing with me. I have to say that I went along with a suitably cynical attitude - afterall, if the answer was so obvious, why hadn't my family doctor sent me for such a test years ago when I was an acne-ridden teenager? However, I thought the experience ...
...I would recommend anyone who has £40-ish pounds to spare and minor health quibbles that they think may be allergy related to go along to their local Holland and Barratt and see about getting this done. I'm not saying it will definitely change your life, but it might. ... Read review

Advantages: Great foods, vitamins and herbal supplements
Disadvantages: Absolutely none

...and helpful staff?, yes?, then Holland and Barrett is the place for you, why?, because its great. Its only been in the last eight months or so, that we (my wife and I) have been using Holland and Barrett to do quite a large part of our food shopping, before then, and the only reason we went in, is because my wife used to buy her tea there - she drinks a lot of tea, not the kind that most drink (that’s Typhoo, for me), but she has; Night Tea, ...
...of which she gets from Holland and Barrett. So we were in there one day, and my wife was looking at the tea’s, and, like most bored husbands/boyfriends, when waiting for his partner to choose what she wants, I went for a wonder, now the tea in our shop in Shrewsbury (the one in the square, there’s two you know) is kept at the front of the shop, and so I wondered towards the back of the shop (venturing in to new territory), and discovered ... Read review

Advantages: Reasonable prices, vast product range
Disadvantages: Can be very busy

...I was able to avoid Holland & Barrett. I did this on principle firstly, because I heard that their parent company has links with GM companies (I was unable to substantial this when I researched them, though, so it could be a rumour put about by independent heath food stores!), and also because I assumed they were expensive. Since moving to a town without a big independent HFS, I have to shop at H&B – and I am rather glad that I do. They are ...
...products. This is because they manufacture them and cut out the middle person (!). Their staff are well-trained. I know this because they tell me they are. They do know the basics and are well-versed in the products they sell. It doesn’t substitute for qualified advice though. So if you need nutritional advice go to a nutritionist – same for herbal advice, it’s best from a herbalist. Staff friendliness and helpfulness varies from ... Read review

Advantages: They pay my wages and sell some pretty cool stuff
Disadvantages: Some things are expensive!

...have been working in a Holland and Barrett shop for the last five months, so I am very aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the shop. If you don't know much about Holland and Barrett, or have never been to one of their shops, it's definately worth a look, even if it is just out of curiosity! Holland and Barret have a large chain of health food shops around the UK, and they are not only found in major cities, but in smaller towns too, so chances ...
...health freaks that shop in Holland and Barrett, as I serve a wide range of customers who come to the shop for different reasons. My branch is in Barnstaple, which is a small town in Devon. Because of the lack of places like Holland and Barrett in the area, people come to buy vegetarian and vegan foods, diabetic sweets, dairy replacements etc. because they are not available in many other shops. Although we only have one small freezer, the range of ... Read review

Advantages: low prices
Disadvantages: dubious advice given by sales assistants

I should fess up at the very beginning of this review and say that I used to work in the health food industry. I never worked for H+B though, and I'm not one of their biggest fans. Good Points: H+B is *cheap*. 99p vitamins cheap. They have a wide selection of products, and more recently they have improved their Sports Nutrition range - i.e products for bodybuilders and athletes. Larger stores also sell bodycare products as well as the supplements ...
...largely friendly and polite. The stores are well-laid out and labelled. Bad Points: You have to wonder how they can sell vitamins for 99p when they are 3 times as expensive elsewhere. Part of it is that they are a big chain that manufactures its own products. But be careful! H+B are sneaky little things. They write things like "high potency" on the label, but they don't tell you exactly what is in every product. Similar products in Boots and GNC ... Read review

Advantages: Stylish shopping centre
Disadvantages: Lacking in male orientated stores (excluding the stores you need a second mortgage to shop in)

...not change is the coffee, yes you can by a nice hot drink here for a reasonable price. Chapman's Opticians Sportizus - Signed framed photographs and gold/platinum framed albums. Clinton Cards Regis Hairsylists Gilesports - This sports brand have been advertising that they are closing down in the window for just over a year, but they are still here and still get massive deliveries of stock. Lush - The bain of my life I hate the smell of Lush stores, but I'm on a slight reprieve four weeks prior to me writing this an electrical storm caused the store to burst into flames. As a result the store is undertaking a refit at a snails pace. Holland & Barrett - My favourite health food type shop, I buy Busy Bee tablets from here which perk me up and clear ones body of all imputities, Eeee get me! Contessa - Another lingerie store... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Yummy specialist snacks on your high street
Disadvantages: Not as cheap as it appears

...I discovered Julian Graves a couple of years ago when I was going through one of my obsessive phases with a particular type of food. I’ve had several – most recently it was Peanut M & Ms, before that Bassets candy sticks, before that jelly… Anyway at this particular point in time the object of my desire was yoghurt covered pineapple. Truly, yoghurt covered pineapple is a food of the gods (remember I’m an atheist!), but one which is rather difficult to come by. Holland and Barrett sells it in small quantities, and so do specialist gourmet food shops occasionally, but it tends to be extortionately expensive. At this point I discovered Julian Graves, who have a range of snack foods and sweets, the prices of which are sometimes cheaper than other retailers. They sell 200g packets of yoghurt covered pineapple for only £1.35, compared... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful