When it comes to trust in grocery, whether on products, ingredients, price or sustainability, co-ops typically dominate the market in conscientious consumption.
It really boils down to trust in what grocers make available on their shelves. That’s why the National Co-op Grocers (NCG) recently released the 2025 Food Co-op Impact Report grabbed my attention last week.
These community-owned markets are a boon to local farmers and vendors, and do a better job of keeping local dollars within the community.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of sales at the average food co-op come from local products. That’s massive when compared to the average 2% at traditional grocery chains. Co-ops also purchase from an average 187 local suppliers – four and a half times as many as traditional grocers – and an average 41 farms, according to NCG.
“NCG continues to work to maximize members’ success, inclusivity and impact and to grow the cooperative grocery sector in an environmentally regenerative manner,” Allie Mentzer, chief public policy officer, advocacy & sustainability at NCG, said in a prepared statement. “Today, more than 1.3 million US residents belong to an NCG food co-op.”
Those members are spread out across 41 states at 244 stores operated by 167 co-ops, according to the report. Every single one of those locations accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to help low-income shoppers pay for food, and nearly two-thirds (64%) offer needs-based discounts.
Co-ops beat conventional grocers in almost every metric, including:
- Selling certified organic groceries at a higher rate – roughly 38% of the co-op market’s $2.8 billion in annual sales, compared to traditional grocers’ 25%
- Selling more Fair Trade certified products at 5% of total sales, compared to 3% for traditional grocers
- Selling more cooperatively produced products such as dairy and chocolate
In an era when consumers are increasingly searching for healthier food options, why aren’t co-ops flourishing?
I used the NCG’s “Find a Co-op” tool to search for co-ops in my home city of Chicago and discovered there is only one in the city proper – Dill Pickle Food Co-Op, located in my own neighborhood of Logan Square.
The only other two are located in the suburbs of Oak Park (Sugar Beet Food Co-op) and Evanston (Wild Onion Market). Dill Pickle is the oldest of the three, opening in 2009, and Wild Onion is the newest, opening in 2024.
That seems like a pretty abysmal showing for a city with a metro population of nearly 10 million people, but NCG says food co-ops are growing in popularity. Sales growth at a rate of 6.2% at food co-ops in 2025 more than doubled that of traditional competitors’ 2.9% growth rate, NCG said, citing data from RetailStat.com.
That’s a huge white space for growth in the industry and could pose big opportunities for startup food and beverage manufacturers looking to scale.
