UK prepper shops: where to buy emergency food and supplies

Written by James Frost, founder of Flaming Phoenix and the maker of Phoenix Bars. Updated November 2026.

Quick answer: The main specialist prepper shops in the UK are Preppers Shop UK in Cornwall, EVAQ8 in London, Sgt Prepper Shop in County Durham and Base Camp Food in Derbyshire, with military ration specialists such as Military Kit and Springfields alongside them. Almost all of them sell online. You don't need a specialist for everything, though: most of the government's Be Ready checklist is supermarket food, bottled water and batteries. Prepper shops earn their place for the things supermarkets don't sell, such as ration packs, freeze-dried meals, water containers, grab bags and wind-up radios.

This guide is independent. No shop has paid to be listed, and none is connected to Flaming Phoenix, except Base Camp Food, which stocks my bars. I checked every detail and rating on 4 November 2026.

How I chose these shops

Every shop here is based in the UK, delivers across the UK, sells emergency food or kit as a main line rather than a sideline, and has a public review profile. For each one I've listed where it is, what it sells, how long it has been trading and its review scores, so you can pick the right shop for what you need. They are listed roughly by the breadth of their emergency range, widest first.

UK prepper shops compared

Preppers Shop UK

• Where: Wadebridge, Cornwall, with a small shop at the warehouse. Most orders are online.
• Sells: one of the widest emergency ranges in the UK, including military ration packs from several armies, freeze-dried meals, emergency biscuit rations such as Seven Oceans, water storage, fuel and survival kit.
• Trading since: 2014, founded by Lincoln Miles. ITV reported in 2024 that it was handling 200 to 400 orders a day.
• Reviews: 4.4 on Reviews.io from 1,309 reviews, and 2.7 on Trustpilot from 4,692 reviews, where most complaints are about dispatch times.

Best for: the widest choice in one order. preppersshop.co.uk

EVAQ8

• Where: Hanwell, west London.
• Sells: ready-packed grab bags for homes and businesses, emergency food kits, Seven Oceans rations, survival biscuits, and freeze-dried and self-heating meals. It also supplies schools, councils and the NHS.
• Trading since: 2005.
• Reviews: 4.8 on Trustpilot from 6,254 reviews.

Best for: ready-made grab bags and kits for offices, schools and venues. evaq8.co.uk

Sgt Prepper Shop

• Where: Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
• Sells: emergency ration packs, ration water, freeze-dried tins and pouches, ReadyWise buckets, food and water bundles and a ready-made 72-hour bag.
• Trading since: 2020, according to the shop, with over 10,000 orders.
• Reviews: 4.9 on Trustpilot from 364 reviews.

Best for: emergency food bundles from a smaller specialist. sgtpreppershop.co.uk

Base Camp Food

• Where: Melbourne, Derbyshire.
• Sells: expedition food first, with survival food, ration pack and emergency kit sections, including ReadyWise and Fuel Your Preparation. It also stocks Phoenix Bars, which I make.
• Reviews: 4.8 on Trustpilot from 171 reviews.

Best for: lightweight expedition meals that double as emergency food. basecampfood.com

Military Kit

• Where: Hyde, Greater Manchester. Family run.
• Sells: British Army 24-hour ration packs, a 500g emergency food ration, and expedition meals from brands including Expedition Foods, Wayfayrer and Firepot.
• Trading since: 2000, online.
• Reviews: 4.4 on Trustpilot from 132 reviews.

Best for: genuine military-style ration packs. militarykit.com

Springfields

• Where: Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
• Sells: military surplus and outdoor kit, with MREs and ration packs including the British Army 24-hour pack. Its sister shop BushcraftLab has a smaller preppers range.
• Trading since: 1973.
• Reviews: 4.2 on Trustpilot from 370 reviews.

Best for: ration packs alongside surplus clothing and kit. Check stock before you plan around a specific pack. springfields.co.uk

The Bug Out

• Where: near Builth Wells, Powys, with a shop you can visit.
• Sells: emergency food storage, long-life freeze-dried food, MRE and self-heating pouches, ration packs and bulk packs.
• Run by: a UK veteran.
• Reviews: 3.7 on Trustpilot from 9 reviews, which is too few to judge.

Best for: a small specialist you can visit in mid Wales. thebugout.co.uk

ReadyWise UK

• Where: London office, shipping from Southampton.
• Sells: its own ReadyWise freeze-dried meals only, including buckets it sells with shelf lives of up to 25 years.
• Trading since: 2021, as a UK company.
• Reviews: 4.5 on Trustpilot from 95 reviews.

Best for: long-life freeze-dried buckets straight from the brand. readywise.co.uk

A note on UK Prepping Shop

UK Prepping Shop (ukpreppingshop.co.uk) is no longer trading. Companies House shows its company was dissolved in August 2026, so don't order through old links or listings.

Where Phoenix Bars fit

I make Phoenix Bars, so here is where they fit. They do a different job from a 25-year bucket. Each bar carries up to 557 calories in only 120g, needs no cooking or water, won't freeze or melt, and keeps for up to two years (12 months for Cherry Bakewell). That makes them right for the grab bag, the car and anyone who needs a lot of calories from small portions, and because people enjoy eating them, a supply gets eaten and replaced rather than forgotten. You can buy these high calorie bars direct from me, and my emergency food calculator works out how much food and water your household needs.

How to choose a prepper shop

• Read the last month of reviews, not the average. Demand jumps after big news moments. When the Be Ready campaign launched in October 2026, specialist shops reported orders rising several times over, and delivery times stretch when that happens.
• Check the production date as well as the best before. A five-year ration that has sat in a warehouse for three years has two years left.
• Buy food you would actually eat. Order one pack to taste before you buy a case, especially for children or anyone with a small appetite.
• Weigh ready-made kits against building your own. A ready-packed grab bag saves time. Building your own from a checklist costs less and lets you choose food your household likes, which is what Dutch consumer groups advised when the Netherlands asked every household to prepare for 72 hours.
• Know what you don't need a specialist for. Tins, long-life milk, bottled water, batteries, a torch, wet wipes and a first aid kit are all supermarket or high street buys.

What to buy from a prepper shop, and what to get elsewhere

From a prepper shop: ration packs, freeze-dried meals, compressed emergency rations, water containers and purification tablets, ready-made grab bags, wind-up radios and emergency blankets.

From the supermarket or high street: tins you can eat cold, cereal, nuts, nut butter, UHT milk, bottled water, batteries, a torch, a power bank, wet wipes and a first aid kit.

My home emergency kit checklist and emergency grab bag list cover everything item by item. For food specifically, compare the main packs in my guide to emergency rations, see what is in army ration packs, or start with the best food to stockpile in the UK.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a prepper shop near me?

Probably not on the high street. Most UK prepper shops sell online only. Preppers Shop UK has a shop at its warehouse in Wadebridge, Cornwall, and The Bug Out has one near Builth Wells in Powys. Outdoor and military surplus shops often stock ration packs too.

What is the biggest prepper shop in the UK?

Preppers Shop UK is usually described as the biggest. ITV called it the first and biggest store of its kind in Europe in 2024. For ready-made grab bags, EVAQ8 has the largest review base of the shops here.

Is UK Prepping Shop still open?

No. Its company was dissolved in August 2026, according to Companies House.

What should I buy first?

Water and food for three days, as the government's Be Ready advice recommends, then light, warmth and a battery or wind-up radio. My emergency food calculator gives you the amounts for your household, and the prepping UK guide covers where to start.

Sources

• Shop websites, Trustpilot and Reviews.io profiles, and Companies House records, all checked 4 November 2026.
• ITV News, Behind the scenes at Europe's biggest preppers store, April 2024. itv.com
• GOV.UK, Be Ready for emergencies checklist, October 2026. beready.campaign.gov.uk
• Consumentenbond, advice on ready-made emergency packs, 2025. consumentenbond.nl

Details and ratings change over time. If something here is out of date, email me at jfrost@flaming-phoenix.co.uk and I'll correct it.