News

Rising costs...

Rising costs...

It's with a heavy heart but an optimistic soul that I have to tell you all that we've made the decision to reduce our freezers usage from 4 display freezers to 1 or 2 only starting from this weekend.

We have warned of electricity prices rising by as much as 400%, wiping out profits and forcing us to almost close. Eye-watering energy bills are really piling the pressure on small business owners.

We want to save money on our business energy bill and are reducing our freezer usage as energy bills skyrocket by a few thousand pounds, with landlords describing it as ‘an even bigger crisis than COVID’.

The Secret Grocery has been my 2nd child, to open a Japanese & Korean groceries in Aylesbury and to have it thrive is something that we’re so unbelievably proud of, the fact that our food products became to norm for so many people, vegans, veggies, people with allergies and meat eaters, just makes us smile every time I think on it.

The good news is we still can sell the frozen items but limited to storage in one/two freezers and would like to hear what frozen products you hope still can grab with us. Please leave your comment below by 9th Sep.

Again we just want to say "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your continued support!” xx
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We have an exciting announcement…. LOYALTY CARDS!

We have an exciting announcement…. LOYALTY CARDS!

Without question we have some of the best customers around.  We love seeing new faces in our shop.  But its so awesome how many regulars we have.  Especially for a place that sells Japanese snacks and anime figures!

 

I thought why don’t we have a “loyalty card’ for new and returning guest.  You only need 10 Stamps to have your first reward!

 

Whose gonna be first to get the £15 off?

 

How it’s works

  • Every £10 (before VAT) in the store = 1 stamps
  • First 10 stamps = £2 off; Second 10 stamps = £3 off; Last 10 stamps = £10 (equal to 30 stamps = £15 off)
  • Not exchangeable for cash
  • Stamps cannot be added from another card
  • All stamps expires 6 months after the card was issued

 

Please do not lose, or forget, your card. We will not be giving out another one or re-stamp unless your first one is completely filled out. Thank you for your understanding.

 

We love our customers, and we want to reward you for supporting us.  Grab one at our shop, collect stamps and save money with us.

 

Love,

The Secret x

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The Secret’s Loyalty Card Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions govern your use of the The Secret’s loyalty Programme. 

When certain words and phrases are used in these Terms, they have specific meanings (these are known as "defined terms"). You can identify these defined terms because they start with capital letters (even if they are not at the start of a sentence). Where a defined term is used, it has the meaning given to it in the section of these Terms where it was defined (you can find these meanings by looking at the sentence where the defined term is included in brackets and speech marks).

In these Terms, when we refer to "we", "us" or "our", we mean the Company; and when we refer to "you" or "your" we mean you, the person using the The Secret’s Loyalty Card.

These Terms were last updated on 8th June 2022.

1. Information about us

The Secret Asia Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 12643341, with its registered operating address at Cambridge Place, Aylesbury, HP20 2NQ and with VAT number GB 390841482 (the "Company"). 

2. Obtaining your The Secret’s Loyalty Card

2.1 You can obtain a The Secret’s Loyalty Card free of charge at our store. Your The Secret’s Loyalty Card is issued by, and remains the property of us.

2.2 Your The Secret’s Loyalty Card is not a credit card, charge card or debit card and it cannot be used to purchase products from us.

2.3 To earn stamps and redeem The Secret’s Rewards you must be aged 14 or over and a resident of the UK. Proof of age may be required before we issue or accept the registration of a The Secret’s Loyalty Card and you must act truthfully when providing details of your age. We reserve the right to verify your age.

3. How to earn a stamp

3.1 You can use your The Secret’s Loyalty Card at our grocery store to earn stamps and to earn rewards, as further described in these Terms. 

3.2 You can't currently use your The Secret’s Loyalty Card at our cafe. 

3.3 One stamp can be earned per customer when the qualifying spends in a single transaction for the grocery purchases every £10 before VAT.

3.4 To earn stamp, a valid The Secret’s Loyalty Card must be presented at the time of purchase. Certain items do not count towards the qualifying spend, including non-food items such as The Secret’s Gift Cards and an online pick-up order.  If you are unsure whether an item qualifies, please speak to a member of staff.

3.5 You cannot earn stamps on delivery orders made through the Order Website.

4. Earning rewards, redeeming rewards and checking your balance

4.1 Rewards are earned when you have collected 10, 20 and 30 stamps and can be redeemed on your next visit.

4.2 When you earn 30 stamps you will still be able to redeem all rewards you have previously earned (for example, if you have not redeemed your reward for collecting 10 stamps) and rewards will be valid for up to 6 months from the day that the Loyalty Card was issued.

4.3 Reward options are:

    4.3.1 10 stamps = £2 off

    4.3.2 20 stamps = £3 off

    4.3.3 30 stamps = £10 off

4.4 Rewards may not be redeemed in conjunction with any other offer and there is no cash alternative available to the rewards specified above. 

4.5 In order to redeem, you must present your physical The Secret’s Loyalty Card. Rewards cannot be redeemed on delivery orders submitted via the Order Website.

4.5 All stored rewards earned on your The Secret’s Loyalty Card must be used by the expiry date which is 6 months from the date that the Loyalty Card was issued. Any rewards left on the The Secret’s Loyalty Card after this date will be forfeited.

4.6 We reserve the right to correct or amend the stamps in your Loyalty card if we believe that an invoicing or accounting error has occurred. If you wish to contest such a correction or amendment to your account balance, please speak to a member of staff.

4.7 Stamps are personal to the individual The Secret’s Loyalty Card holder and cannot be pooled with points earned by another individual and redeemed together.  You cannot transfer your stamps or rewards to any other person. It is not possible to merge the stamps and/or rewards balances from more than one The Secret’s Loyalty Card onto a single The Secret’s Loyalty Card.

5. Lost or stolen physical The Secret’s Loyalty Cards

5.1 We are not liable for lost, stolen or damaged The Secret’s Loyalty Cards. However, if you leave your physical The Secret’s Loyalty Card with us, we will replace any lost, stolen or damaged The Secret’s Loyalty Cards with a new The Secret’s Loyalty Card and include the stamps & rewards from the original The Secret’s Loyalty Card at the time that the new The Secret’s Loyalty Card is issued to you.

6. The Secret reserves all the right to remove you from the loyalty scheme without any notice if you have breach of conduct of our rules.

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Hi everyone! Welcome to The Secret!

Hi everyone! Welcome to The Secret!

Oh Hi there! Lots of new followers around here so thought we’d  give you a proper hello and welcome to The Secret!

 

We are Cora & Roy (and of course our little boss Natalie) and we are the owners of The Secret Grocery.  We met each other 17 years ago and we got married 13 years ago. We love all things in Japan & Korea - food, toys, anime, drama and culture!

 

We decided to run our own business in 2020. After a few month of planning, we launched our online store in August 2020 and started our first market in Aylesbury in October 2020. During the time, we were looking for a retail space and lucky to find the Peking Inn.  After a year of paper work and renovation, we opened our very first shop in September 2021, a crazy time to open a shop, but we’d come so far and ploughed all of our savings into following our dream so there was no turning back! And i’m so glad we pressed on as the support has been amazing.

 

Whilst Roy frontline the business, I work behind the scenes on administration, marketing & web.  We work super duper hard to make The Secret the most fun grocery place on earth!   Life is an adventure and who would have ever thought that we would be opening a grocery in Aylesbury.

 

It was our dream and we always knew that we would achieve our goal.  It seemed impossible but believe us nothing is impossible.  If you are brave enough to break down the barriers in your head then you can achieve anything.  We really don’t know what the future holds for us but we are continuing to work hard to continue living our dream and making amazing customer services to you. Our mission is to bring the best of Japanese & Korean food and culture to Aylesbury.

 

These years have been hard on all of us. Soooo many little stores closing, up and down the country. Please support the little stores. You can support us by sharing this to your friends and family to let them know about our small business, it would help us a lot.  As well as in store we have a fab online shop and ship nationwide and packed with a smile.

 

Thanks for supporting a local family and business. It means the world to us that we can do what we love, where we love, with who we love. You’re all amazing!

 

We hope to see you soon!

 

With Love,

Cora & Roy

The Secret x

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Celebrating One Year With Our New Website!

Celebrating One Year With Our New Website!

Pop the Champagne, We just turned ONE!  And we want to Celebrate with YOU! Today only Take 5% Off Sitewide with code “ONEYEAR”.

 

Hi friends! Can you tell we’re a little excited? If we haven’t met yet, I’m Cora, one half of The Secret. My husband Roy is another half, he is the more visible “face” of the company and can be found in the store.  It’s hard to believe that we launched our website one year ago today.  It both feels like I blinked and now we’re here, and at the same time like such a big and hard-earned milestone.  They say when you start your own business the first year is usually the hardest.  And when your first year is 2021… Well, you get the picture!  Becoming a business owner has been quite the roller coaster filled with rewarding highs and lows of doubt and uncertainty.

 

Despite al of the chaos this year has brought, one thing remains crystal clear.  How grateful We are for each and every one of YOU.  Thank you for every like, purchase, follow, referral, DM, share, and feedback.  Your support and encouragement has allowed us to leave my corporate job and pursue our dream, help you feel a touch of Asia and bring the latest authentic Asian groceries to you.  It’s allowed us to spend more time with our kid, and to be so fulfilled by getting to be creative in every aspect of this business from the buying and operating, to the web design, the marketing and beyond.

 

6 months ago, we’ve opened our first ever store in Aylesbury.  And while we sit here so proud of what our first year has entailed, most of all, we’re motivated and excited about what this next year will bring.  Growth, challenges, highs and lows, we’ll welcome them with a grateful and curious heart.  Thank you from the bottom of our heart and we hope you continue to follow along on this journey with us.

 

Love,

Roy & Cora

The Secret Grocery

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Small Changes...

Small Changes...

When we started this company a year ago and opened The Secret store 5 months ago, we had no idea how much we would learn. This company has taught us so much about being a business owner and about caring deeply for our loyal customers. To be honest, this week has presented some of the most difficult challenges yet. We’re learning, as we go, how to navigate. Of all the things We have learned in building this business, the most important is to focus on how you, our customer, feels - it is the number one priority of our company. 
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One of the things we promised you is the best price you could possibly find. And we are not going to break the promise! The fact is, as a small business, we aren’t immune to the times we are living in right now. We have been able to shoulder the product price increase for 2021 and the first month of 2022 to shield our customers as much as possible. But now, i’m not going to try to butter you up with fluffy excuse… The long and short is we are increasing our prices. Our products and expenses have almost doubled up. Inflation is a real thing. And look, it just plain sucks. (I know it’s not a laughing matter, but what else can we do? These’s no time to cry). 
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Small changes we’ve made to reduce our cost and protect our earth:
- Remember to bring along your grocery totes when you visit, we will charge 15p per paper bag if you ask.
- We reuse as many boxes as possible. Don't be surprised if you receive a repurposed box for your online order! We also have our own boxes that are made of 100% recycled cardboard. It's a big part of our ethos to be zero waste and reuse as much as possible.
- Small business can’t not control the cost of goods rising. What this means — small businesses will have to start increasing their prices in order to stay afloat!
Our prices are still affordable considering this type of industry and we hope you all understand and stick with us. 
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As a small business, we appreciate all your continued love & support. Make sure to support small brands, businesses, and shops! 
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Thanks and Best Wishes,
Roy & Cora
The Secret Grocery
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Soft Opening Stage

Soft Opening Stage

We are currently in the soft opening stage and focus on bringing you the experience of visiting Japan, the store offers a wide variety of grocery and frozen foods imported from Japan and Korean, as well as Japanese snacks, beverages, and gift products. The store will also have a little cafe opening soon which offer Japanese cakes, boba drinks and fresh coffee & tea made in store.

The name of the store, The Secret, which is a place to eat, shop, rest and fun. The store is outfitted in a stylishly simple Japanese design with a Cherry Tree decoration and two swings for your fun – almost as if you are in Japan.

 

Please stop by and say Hello and share the love! :-)

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Our Dream & Wishes

How did The Secret Asia come to be? It all started with a dream.

 

Years ago Roy and I talked about one day starting our own business. What kind of business we’d want to do, what we’d name it ...  it was just dream talk though and we had no idea at that time we’ll one day start one! As life moved on, Roy spent his work time in Oriental Food industry.

 

We often miss the taste of Asian food and the biggest problem is finding the right ingredients to cook Asian dishes that taste like home. 

 

In 2020, we both knew this was the time! We are luckily to find a shop near Aylesbury Town Centre in July, Roy quit the job and to be focused on our dreams! And that’s what we did... in full force which led us to pivot our dream completely.

 

We then launched our online store and were scheduled our shop to be opening in October. Due to the pandemic, our plan is not going smoothly - we are looking forward to opening our shop soon! 

 

We start doing the market stalls in October.  The first market, I had (I can’t stress this enough) ZERO idea if local people wanted these Asian groceries. Absolutely no freaking clue. The first customer bought a lots of Japanese treats and Korean noodles in once transaction I actually payed and said “really?!?”.

 

The Secret Asia - It’s like a 2nd child to us - we nurture and protect it, help it grow and have a happy and healthy environment to develop in.

 

We don’t want to grown it into a large corporation which we can’t fully control, we want to grow together with our lovely customers.

 

We choose to be a small family shop that only works with customers who appreciate and value our full dedication to them and giving them a brilliant customer service.  Many of our customers have come by word-of-mouth personal recommendations.  We feel grateful to all of you for your lovely review, feedbacks, attention, support, help and subscribes.  We are proud of the way we grow together with each other, with our business, with our suppliers and customers.  And this pride and peace of mind is what we keeps motivating us to constantly improve.

 

It’s been a “wonderful” journey this year. Life has not been easy ... 2020 has filled with a lot of ups and downs, challenges, and most importantly to learn who you really are...

 

When we first dreamed of our own business, We knew it would take a lot of hard work. We are passionate about our business and strive to provide the best service possible. We truly appreciate your support and can’t wait for the opportunity to serve you again. Thank you to all of you who make it possible!

 

I wish you an easy-going days, smooth 2021 and constant flow! Happy New Year friends!

 

Love from,

Cora & Roy

The Secret Asia

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