Celebrating our Western Canadian Roots with a throwback
In today’s environment customers are proudly waving the Canadian flag, looking to buy Canadian products and support Canadian businesses.
A recent study by Numerator shows 69% of consumers cited ownership by a Canadian company as a key attribute that influences whether a product or brand is perceived as Canadian. The study also noted, “a significant 53% of Canadians indicated they are either very or somewhat likely to avoid shopping at retailers owned by U.S. companies.”
At Co-op, we take pride in our commitment to local producers and have been bringing Canadian products to our shelves for decades. Supporting local business, farmers and manufactures is core to our co-operative model now and always.
While making it easy for customers to find Canadian and Western Canadian products on shelves is important, it is vital for us to continue to share that Co-op was developed by Canadians, for Canadians and we share our profits with our members across Western Canadian communities. It has been this way from the beginning, almost a century ago!
Building on this sentiment, we are excited to have launched our first Co-op Throwback Sale in Co-op Food Stores across Western Canada this past month. The Co-op Throwback Sale features item deals that bring us back in Co-op history to showcase value in an inflationary market environment—with throwback prices from the 1990s and early 2000s going back more than 30 years into the archives!
While finding great deals from our history was an engaging way to showcase value to our customers, the impact of this sale came to life in our ability to showcase heritage moments for the Co-op brand. From our commitment to butchers and in-store cut meat (with a shout out to Four Rivers Co-op Meat Department from the 1960s), our commitment to building relationships with local growers to bring local produce to our members, to when the first Co-op branded products hit food store shelves more than 80 years ago! And in true Co-op style, more than 150 local co-op associations across Western Canada took the opportunity to celebrate their own unique history with their members and communities with localized offers, contests, social media content and in-store experiences.
The Co-op Throwback Sale is more than a weekly flyer sale, but an opportunity to highlight community in our collective heritage and history as a co-operative in Western Canada. We are Co-op—a locally-owned and locally-created Western Canadian co-operative who has been a part of more than 600 Western Canadian communities for decades—making a difference in members lives.
