It has become something of a buzz word, hasn’t it?

Independence on the high street that is.

There have been many high profile campaigns in the UK , such as Mary Queen of Shops and her mission to save the British high street from becoming swamped by chains and, instead, promoting the individuality and idiosyncrasies of independent shops.

This has lifted this issue onto the national radar.

Many people were concerned that chain stores homogenizing our town centres was not the way forward.

What do you think?

Would you opt for a coffee shop which is independent?

There have been surveys to show that a well-run independent coffee shop does very well thank you very much and can hold its own in the face of competition by the big corporate coffee chain shops.

Often, there is an attention to detail, the creation of a local community or a personal touch in coffee selection, presentation and service, that wins customers over.

One such shop has been in the news of late, championing the cause of the indie.

In This is Kent, an article has shown how the family-run coffee shop is pioneering the independent nature of its business, the Whitstable Coffee Company, a rebrand aimed at emphasizing the relationship between the company and the local town.

The owners are born and bred in Whitstable and want to compete as a true local independent shop.

They started the business four years ago without any prior experience and are still going, notwithstanding the punishing economic climate.