The Co-op has a merchandising team responsible for product selection. This team chooses the products that best fit the values of our cooperative and needs of our customers. Through our Product Designation Initiative, we prioritize products that are sourced and produced locally, ethically, and sustainably, including brands and producers that are third-party certified, cooperatively owned, and owned/led by underrepresented communities.
We evaluate potential new products using several factors, including pricing, seasonality, anticipated volume of sales, industry trends, and whether the products would be unique to our current offerings or very similar to products we already carry. Our team also must consider if existing products need to be discontinued to make room for new ones; we do this based on scan data from our stores and feedback from our employees and customers.
