For approximately ten years, Coop Switzerland has been sourcing its Swiss fresh vegetables through three regional fresh vegetable alliances, Alliance Ost Gemüse AG, Alliance Mitte AG, and Alliance Romande SA.
The retailer announced that these three organisations will merge on January 1, 2023 to form Alliance Gemüse Schweiz (Vegetable Alliance Switzerland) and continue their cooperation with Coop.
Alliance Gemüse Schweiz
Through the new alliance, Coop Switzerland will continue to predominantly rely on Swiss agriculture, the retailer said in a statement.
The merger will enable the retailer to focus even more on local sourcing, with the sourcing of Swiss products being a longstanding priority for Coop.
As part of the alliance, the ordering and delivery processes will be simplified for Coop in the future, while it will also be easier for the retailer to plan the cultivation and delivery quantities, it added.
The intensified cooperation agreement gives the producers affiliated with Alliance Gemüse Schweiz the opportunity to extend their production schedules.
Furthermore, any challenges such as the reduction of food waste and food loss are tackled in a cooperative manner.
Read More: Coop Switzerland Sees Sales Up 5.6 % In 2021
Working Together
Alliance Gemüse Schweiz organises itself and its producers independently and therefore directly represents the Swiss farming industry.
This includes managing the quantities ordered, negotiating the prices with Coop, and working with the retailer to determine the packaging format, for example.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
