Bulk Barn

I like this place. Good selection of flours, nuts, CANDY, and more with regular, organic, and gluten free options. This place is probably a bakers dream as there’s cake moulds you can rent, ready-​made fondant, and decorations galore. The one thing that would bump bulk barn up for me is if they used less plastic (bags especially) as I buying bulk can be a low-​waste option. If they offered paper packaging or glass for the oils and nut butters I’d probably come here more often.

The abundance. The possibilities. For sheer variety and the feeling of possibly needing adult supervision to not go completely overboard, Bulk Barn induces a five-​star feeling. (So why did I give it four? Patience, my pets.)
The secret of bulk shopping, I think, is to not fill up those huge scoops they provide and perhaps also to limit one’s time in the candy aisle. There’s just so much more to this place than gummy bears and mixed nuts. They sell all kinds of baking ingredients, those new healthy grains like quinoa and amaranth and millet, interesting pasta and rice like dried wild mushroom tortellini and black rice, plus seeds, spices, loose tea, granola, snack mixes, you name it. There’s even a little bar at the back where you can buy oils, nut and seed butters and vinegar in bulk.
Now, the only place where it loses a star is in the labelling system. There is nothing provided to label your liquid bulk item containers (and it would be swell if you could bring reusable ones, but it’s apparently a health issue), and the dry ingredients are still on the old «label the twist tie with a pencil» system. Some bins have a little paper you can slip with cooking instructions or recipe ideas, but it would be better if all the bins had a little adhesive label you could stick on your bags to identify things once you got them home. The cashiers actually do a fantastic job of knowing the stock, even if you don’t put bin numbers on things, but some of us could use the memory aid too.
Bulk shopping is also a great way to try new ingredients, though I could wish for some items to be *ahem* officially available for sampling. I could probably spend more if weren’t for my silly sense of self-​restraint.
(EDIT: If you want a sample of something, do feel free to ask the staff, as opposed to surreptitiously sticking your grubby hand in the bin.)

Good baking selections but service is HORRIBLE. i bought almost $ 100worth of baking supplies and vast amount being cake boxes. It is raining like cats and dogs outside. I asked for a bag so the boxes will not get wet. One of the cashiers was soooo lazy and unhelpful, and simply replied no we dont have large bags for u. I said well its raining like crazy outside, you dont even have anything for me? The boxes are going to get soaked. She replied No again with her lazy and careless for the customers attitude. Finally, the manger jumped in and said why dont you get the garbage bag for her. It should be big enough. The store should feel ashame to have an employee like her…

Great selection, very clean, lots of parking. However prices are much too high for bulk items. I asked why they charge so much… they’re response was I had the flexibility to buy less?
Oh well, perhaps they’ll become more competitive in time. Hope so.

I am a happy girl at discovering Bulk Barn not just in the Lower Mainland… but close to home!
Was fist introduced to them on the island just before a friends wedding — when bulk candy was desperately needed for the take away gifts… what a gem of a place… and this local location does not disappoint either.
Very pleased to find that they have a wide selection of not just regular bulk items but speciality items for those with allergies and intolerances. Want gluten free? You should be able to find it. Wide range of different types of flours for baking, the aforementioned candy galore aisle WITH all types of packaging (totally one stop shop!) various cooking oils and grains, nuts.
Prices are very good. Not as expensive as say Save On or SuperStore. Some items I did find a bit on the higher side but when you price it all out, I found I still paid less here that other shopping stores. I will totally be back!

One of the things I miss about living in Alberta was the abundance of Bulk Barn locations, so imagine my delight when I moved back home to BC after living in Edmonton for two years and finding out there was a Bulk Barn in the Lower Mainland! I can’t even recall whether I knew about the New West Bulk Barn’s existence before I moved away from Vancouver, but nonetheless I was really excited to make a trip to check this one out. It’s out of the way for me, as I rarely ever have reason to travel to New West, but it definitely didn’t disappoint.
I used to frequent Bulk Barn several times a month in AB (it’s an addiction!!) to stock up on spices I needed in small quantities for recipes, or different types of flour for baking recipes when I didn’t feel like buying a huge bag. The ability to choose the quantity of what you buy is the main draw here. They sell a ton of baking ingredients and supplies (cake pans, molds, icing colors, extracts, utensils), a ton of spices (their selection is even bigger than the spice inventory at the Edmonton locations I used to go to), candies, chips, and dried bulk items like nuts, beans, pasta, and rice. They also have an impressive selection of organic/​gluten-​free/​vegan products that are sometimes difficult to find at your regular grocery store. I was able to source wheat gluten here, something that wasn’t so easy to find in the Lower Mainland. I find the prices for their bulk items are fairly reasonable; not so much for the packaged goods and supplies you see hanging on the wall and shelves. I would recommend checking out their website often as they regularly post a coupon for $ 3 off if you spend $ 10 before taxes (easily done once you get in there, trust me). Love LOVE this place. I’d give it 5 stars but I only wish it wasn’t so out of the way!

Truly fabulous. It’s still quiet and relatively unknown, hinged on Annacis Island, in the middle of… somewhere and not accessible by skytrain. I enjoyed looking around and taking stock of all the goodies! It’s a little on the pricey side considering Walmart sells some of the spices and items a tad cheaper but seeing such a huge selection is a great novelty in Vancouver. I was in a hurry when I stopped in to explore but I’ll definitely be making additional trips and I’ve got some events in mind already where this little shop may be handy. Thank you Bulk Barn!

When did Bulk Barn open in the Lower Mainland? I don’t know, and I don’t even care… all I know is that this is another fine Eastern Canada staple that I miss, and am so happy it has made it’s way to the West coast!
The name doesn’t lie — it’s a store for bulk food. While this is not a one-​stop-​grocery-​shop (don’t expect to see a dairy or fresh produce or meat aisle), it is exactly what it’s supposed to be. There are a ton of baking ingredients, and probably every spice you could wish for. Maybe you want only a pinch, and don’t want to have to buy a full bottle. Or maybe you are craving only a few handfuls of a certain snack item and you don’t want to buy the whole bag (this is me). Or maybe you have kids and want to give them a small treat, so you let them choose something in the extensive candy aisle. If you fit any of the above, then Bulkl Barn is for you.
Prices are pretty comparable to your average grocery store chain, but the major difference is that you get to choose you portions. To me, this is the main draw. It’s a no frills chain so don’t expect big flashy lights… as other reviewers have said, «retro» is a good word to describe the look, but this also comes with a very nostalgic feeling of both the 80s and the East coast.
Yeehaw for Bulk Barn!

I was going to Nando’s for a very late lunch and saw this cute-​looking store called Bulk Barn. Immediately, I had 80’s Bulk Foods flashbacks when buying bulk was the thing to do; if you needed a little bit of spice for that one recipe, you would not have to buy a whole jar. That jar would sit in your pantry for years and you would die without seeing the bottom of the bottle. Those Bulk Foods stores disappeared and, in buying bulk. you would have to go to a major supermarket like Safeway or Superstore.
I was glad to see this back, and I hear they are growing. Inside has a whimsical feel. I see pinatas, cake decorating, candies… all that colorful fun stuff. A further exploration, they seem to have almost everything… even gluten-​free baking ingredients (almond flour, amaranth, rice flour and more). Also common ingredients like sugar, white flour, baking powder, and so forth. Spices are plentiful.
There’s even liquid bulk stuff like olive oil, honey, pie filling… several steps up from the Bulk Foods in the 80’s.
I would like to see this store up their game by providing reuseable containers for customers to bring home their purchases and reuse. The idea is to make less garbage.
I bought some flax seeds there and the cost was a lot cheaper than if I bought a pre-​packaged brand.
I like to see more Bulk Barns open in the Lower Mainland.

So Happy
I didn’t know we had a Bulk Barn in BC. I used to live in Ontario and I loved going to the Bulk Barn there. I went down to Queensborough Landing last week and I noticed it as I drove in. I bee lined straight to the Bulk Barn and went in. It was cleaner than any Bulk Barn I’ve ever been to and it had way more healthy stuff. I even found a trail mix that doesn’t have raisins. This is a big deal for me. They had all kinds of gluten-​free choices. There was nothing that I wanted that they didn’t have. The staff was friendly and helpful. The prices were good and were listed in /​lb and /​100g. I’m so happy there’s a bulk barn here and I’ll be travelling from Port Moody to go there often. Yippee!

Get me here a few more times and it will be a five star review.
It looks and feels like a Loblaws chain. Single colour branding with a maple leaf. Whether it is or not, I don’t know.
Either way, it’s very clean inside. It has a lot of items in bulk. So much that I don’t even know where to start. Baking ingredients, beans, rice, various types of flours, candy, salt, yes, salt in bulk, as well as various types of sugar. There is even whey powder in bulk! Mind you, personally, I wouldn’t buy it, but it’s here.
There’s cheese in the cold section.
Need a piñata for a kids party? It’s sold here in multiple forms.
You’ll have to come here to check it out for yourself. Next to the Wok box and the Queensborough Liquor store on the edge of the outlet mall area with a lot less foot traffic.