A store brands strategy that gets results

Now more than ever Canadian consumers want
to know where products come from and they have a desire to support products that are manufactured in Canada. They also want to know what goes into the products they consume and feed to their family.

Our Co-op store brands strategy and Made By Us marketing campaign--the latter of which highlights our store brand products that are created together with Canadian producers and manufacturers--allows us to deliver on both of these asks from Western Canadian consumers. We do this by fundamentally focusing on relationships, real ingredients and transparency as our keys to success.

Relationships. It all starts with relationships. At Co-op we not only source a great product, but also partner with the right producer. We aim to develop partnerships to make a difference in producers’ lives and their communities by helping to set them up for success now and in the future. Success for our customers only happens when we take the time and care in developing sustainable relationships and systems that allow both Co-op and our producers to win together.

Real ingredients. The ingredients in our store brand products are just as important as the relationships with the producers. The goal is to develop products that consumers want with real ingredients they can read and understand. Our Co-op Gold PURE line of products is built on this philosophy with a clean label strategy and transparency as a key component. This means only the essential ingredients are put into the product to provide the freshest, best quality product for enjoyment. Our new Co-op Gold PURE Pet Food line is just one example of our commitment to real ingredients.

Transparency. Our Made by Us campaign focuses on transparency in our relationships with local Western Canadian producers and manufacturers. And, transparency of what ingredients go into the products that consumers enjoy.

Our Store Brands Strategy has proven successful with consumers as engagement and sales of store brand products continue to grow across our federation. We see success with our producers as we have been able to help them expand into new product lines and offerings. We have also had our success recognized in the industry as we have started to build our collection of Canadian Grand Prix Awards. As our store brands strategy continues to evolve, three fundamentals will remain–relationships, real ingredients and transparency.