Co-op unveiled a new-look food strategy with a renewed focus on convenience and commitment to offer greater value, led by a major £37M investment to slash the price of over a hundred products. 
 
The Co-op also set out an ambition to make it the largest convenience retailer in the UK, promising the biggest shake-up in its near 180-year history with growth plans built on a large-scale network of franchise stores - as it fleshed out a commitment from early in the year to grow via capital light means. 
 
The community retailer aims to more than treble its existing franchise stores within three years and grow its ecommerce business by building on its successful tie-ups with Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Amazon to support its own direct to consumer online business shop.coop.co.uk. 
 
Lowering prices, in response to the cost-of-living crisis, is the first-phase of Co-op’s food strategy. More than 120 Co-op own-brand products have been reduced in price by as much as 36 per cent and savings average over 13 per cent. A weekly top up shop could now save shoppers over £100 across the year*. Everyday favourites, from pizza, pasta and burgers to fruit and vegetables, have been lowered in price and ‘locked in’ into 2023 as Co-op responds to help its members, customers and communities who face rising household bills.
 
The revised strategy focuses on:
 
• Channels and Partnerships: To boost scale with a capital-light expansion programme through its eComm and Franchise operations and key strategic partnerships.
• Value and range: New price investment strategy and smaller and simpler range to target key customers. 
• Loyalty: Improved Co-op member offers to drive loyalty and grow shopping baskets and trips
 
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op CEO, said: “Convenience is one of the fastest growing channels within the grocery market and our refreshed strategy aims to capitalise on the experience we’ve gained in the market over the last decade. We’ve grown our own business to operate more than 2,500 Co-op operated stores, have built a nationwide franchise platform and serve almost 5,000 independent convenience stores through our wholesale-arm.
 
“As we face into a cost-of-living crisis we are determined to make life fairer for our members, customers and communities in these extraordinary times and lowering prices for shoppers is the first-step in our strategy.”
 
Matt Hood, MD Co-op Food, said: “We are one of the most frequently visited food retailers, with over 16 million shoppers each week. This inflation beating multi-million pound investment will reduce prices on everyday items at a time when consumers face even higher household bills and kick starts our new-look food strategy to extend our scale and reach through capital light opportunities, focusing on launching new stores with great franchise partners.”