BACK in 1981, health-food manufacturers were openly debating an interesting question: should their specialist products be sold only in health-food shops and chemists, or in supermarkets and stores?

There was no doubt that the market was a lucrative one. Health-food shops had been growing steadily in number. Chemists were opening specialist counters in order to grab their share of the £75 million market. Grocers, especially in England, had added the products to their ranges.

But, as we reported in August of that year, regulars at Gino Piacentini’s Grain Store, in Shettleston, were already accustomed to buying health food products from there. “Butter, 2lbs of porridge oats and my usual supply of Red Kooga, please, Gino,” is how we summarised many customers’ requests, Red Kooga being a popular brand of ginseng.

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Herald Diary

Shops such as Gino’s were blazing a trail. As we noted: “If you cannot imagine going into your local grocer’s to ask for a cure for your ‘sedentary lifestyle ... or for more mundane problems like brittle nails, or hay fever, it’s time you opened your eyes to the changing image of the corner shop... It is encouraging ... that people are becoming aware of how to improve their health and vitality by diet.”

Gino himself observed that customers who bought ginseng “either become enthusiastic or drop it immediately.”