Your Co-op vs. Retail Food Giants

In our annual head-to-head comparison of competitors’ prices to Co-op prices, the Co-op beats the basket price at Haggen and Whole Foods. We take our commitment to sharing honest information seriously, so we don’t tailor our lists to make us look good, and the information hasn’t been edited before publication to improve how we compare to other stores.

We refined our approach a little this year to ensure that the comparison was based on the most frequently purchased products. Our starting point was sales information from our grocery, produce, and wellness departments for September through November 2018. This generated a really big list of over 2,500 products. From that list we identified 700 products that made up 75 percent of the sales for that period.

Your Co-op Offers Solid Value ...
with Honest Values

February 2019

It’s time once again for our annual head-to-head comparison of competitors’ prices to Co-op prices.

We take our goals of providing community access to affordable healthy food matched with honest information very seriously. This comparison is one way we maintain transparency while measuring our success toward affordable healthy food access.

the Co-op continues to beat the basket price at Haggen and Whole Foods

This year’s comparison included our three top competitors (parent company noted in parentheses): Whole Foods (Amazon), Haggen (Albertsons), and Fred Meyer (Kroger). We refined our approach a little this year to ensure that the comparison was based on the most frequently purchased products.

Our Methodology

Our starting point was sales information from our grocery, produce, and wellness departments for September–November 2018. This generated a really big list of over 2,500 products. From that list we identified 700 products that made up 75 percent of the sales for that period.

competition is intense

In last year’s price comparison, the Co-op basket price beat all three competitors. This year, the Co-op continues to beat the basket price at Haggen and Whole Foods, but the basket at Fred Meyer costs less than at the Co-op. This has been more typical of our relationship with Fred Meyer over the years, even before they were purchased by Kroger—the second largest grocery retailer in the country. We are proud of the work our community-owned co-op does to ensure that our prices compare favorably to all three of these tough competitors.

Most people are aware that competition is intense in the natural food category. As a relatively small local business competing against the biggest grocery chains in the country, it is more or less impossible to position ourselves as the “low-price leader” like Fred Meyer does. What we strive for—and achieve—is offering great value on the highest quality products.

Shoppers Choose the Co-op

In addition to our competitive pricing, Co-op shoppers consistently report that they choose to shop at the Co-op because of our knowledgeable staff, rigorous product standards, quality guarantee, and to keep their money circulating locally and support the ways in which the Co-op gives back to the community.

knowledgeable staff, rigorous product standards, quality guarantee

With local farm development programs like the Farm Fund, initiatives that increase access to fresh healthful food such as Fresh Bucks, and our award-winning sustainability measures, we are happy to conduct this annual price comparison and verify that we continue to provide competitive value while still positively contributing to our community.

The Cooperative Business Model

We hope you agree that the cooperative business model—that takes into consideration people, profits, planet, and purpose—is why no other grocery store comes close to our blend of great value for every customer and unparalleled contributions to a vibrant community.

7 Ways to Save at Your Co-op

As you can see, prices at the Co-op are already comparable to our competitors. But, who doesn't want to save more? See these 7 simple ways to save at the Co-op and get the best value from your Co-op shopping trip.

Price Comparisons by Category

Grocery items at both Haggen and Whole Foods cost more than at the Co-op.

Produce items at Haggen cost more than at the Co-op.

Wellness items cost more at both Haggen and Fred Meyer than at the Co-op. Comparison information for Whole Foods was not available at time of publication.