Empowering others towards wellness — this is the core mission of the newest all-natural and homegrown grocery store in Iloilo City.
Simple and Whole, which officially opened on Monday on the lower ground floor of SM City Iloilo, offers a new and wholesome shopping experience with an array of wellness-oriented Filipino and global products. It has a premium selection ranging from frozen items to organic pantry needs, healthy snacks, personal care, supplements, and lifestyle products.
Beyond being a grocery store, it is also a safe place for people to immerse themselves and take it at their own pace. They consider customer preferences based on where they are and how they want their wellness goal to start.
Its team, headed by founders and happy parents Eugene and Mazie Lim, will assist in determining what curated products will suit customers based on their concerns. They are willing to go beyond with some hard-to-find wellness products. They could even lend a hand to those who are already starting a healthy lifestyle but struggle with sustaining it, with reference books about wellness available, too.
“We strive to consider customer preferences and make it easy and simple for customers to experience the benefits of being healthy and feel good about themselves. With these, my team is empowered and more than happy to empower others.” said mompreneur Mazie Lim.
Unique from the others
Simple and Whole’s focus is more than the products it curates; it aims to help ease customers’ lives regardless of age. It envisions co-creating and inspiring communities to be healthy, prioritizing the well-being of people, and making saving the planet a priority.
It was established to simplify the process of going into wellness by integrating goods and lifestyle items, both safe for the body and the earth, and learnings all in one place.
Simple and Whole was named as such because it is driven to make going into wellness easy and simple with the basic and natural ingredients of food and personal needs — all for a whole, or holistic, day-to-day life.
All brought to you by a team anchored in its corporate values of integrity, respect, passion for excellence, being proactive, resilience, “malasakit,” and perseverance. These are central to everything Simple and Whole does in serving as the channel for people to celebrate life.
Things to be excited about in the new shop
Customers will be greeted by the shop’s nature-oriented interiors which give off an inspiring feel. A mini-lounge area is there for clients to experience and eventually realize that rest is important. It is also designed to cater to pregnant customers or those with disabilities. The wall in the lounge is intended for people to imagine how to have a well-lived life through movement, good relationships, and good food.
There are kid- and family-friendly interiors and offerings, like kiddie carts, designed to promote wellness at a young age. This guides kids to understand what’s good for their bodies and start young without losing the fun. It also makes for a mindful shopping experience for the family.
References and a novelty section with limited editions change from time to time as lots of fun brands continuously come in. And coming soon in the shop is a Wellness Discovery Wall with a young vibe and an interactive feel for clients to explore!
How it all began
Simple and Whole is a homegrown Ilonggo company under Meijin Globalworks Corp. that started in 2016 as a distributor of an organic hair care brand named Hairfood in Iloilo. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many, and the main hair care brand has decided to rebrand and keep a few product lines. Beyond the pandemic struggle, it became more concerned about its client base, which has grown with a dynamic team.
Simple and Whole was then born and conceptualized. It has been in the wellness industry since 2016 and realized that since it has been into a healthy lifestyle as a family for many years and counting, why not share it with the community./PN
Photos by AJ PALCULLO/PN
