Unicorn Grocery – a worker co-operative

Britta Werner

• Grocery store located in South Manchester

• Selling fresh organic fruit and veg and over 3,000 different lines from olive oil to organic beer and wine.

• A good range of non-food items

• Fresh bread made by another co-operative

• Food from our deli counter with a good variety of food made by Unicorn staff.

Our model

• direct purchasing • competitive pricing• Bulk buying• Concentrating on

wholefood, encouraging cooking from scratch

• As local as possible, organic if possible,

fairtrade

• Opened in 1996 with 6 people • 10 staff after the first trading year.• By 2003, we had 15 full-time, 7 part-time members,

turnover of £1.5m a year, £30,000 a week. • In 2003, we purchased the 3,000m² site with the help of

Unicorn customers £350,000 of loanstock bonds were sold.

• In 2007 we converted our roof into a green living roof• In 2009 we raised more loanstock and bought 8.5hectars of

farm land (now farmed by another co-operative) • Last year we installed solar panels• This year we are building an extension with a commercial

kitchen• We are now 39 members, 8 probationers and several casual

workers • Turnover is now £4m a year, £ 85k a week with over 4500

customers weekly. 

Structure • All directors are workers and

our structure is flat• No elected management

committee • There are specialist teams

with an 'overview‘ for every team

• Overviews meet fortnighly to make smaller operational decisions e.g. spends of up to £1,000.

• Any larger decisions will go to a meeting with at least 75% of the membership present.

• All decisions are reached by consensus

Why do we not open more shops?

• A few of our staff have started new ventures, e.g. • Moss Brook Growers and Glebelands City Growers, both

worker co-operatives that grow some of our veg• Dig, a box scheme that supply organic fruit and veg• Soundbites in Derbyshire, a worker co-operative retail

shop. • Environmentjob.co.uk website for ethical jobs

But there is a need for more…

• We wrote a guide of how to set up a shop like Unicorn “Grow a Grocery”

• http://unicorn-grocery.co.uk/grow-a-grocery.php

• All is covered from People and Produce to Planning and Policies

Other resources

• Co-operatives UK offer many tools, help and advice uk.coop

• For example uk.coop/start-co-op and uk.coop/grow• Radical Routes new guide “How to set up a Worker

Coop” radicalroutes.org.uk/publicdownloads/setupaworkerscoop-lowres.pdf

• Sustain has many case studies and resources sustainweb.org

• www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk

• britta@unicorn-grocery.co.uk