By James Watts, Weaver Street Market Head Merchandiser
This week’s owner coupon is 50 percent off all Cabot Creamery products, including dairy products, cheese, and supplements (not including Cabot cheese on the food bars). Learn more about the coupon below.
I’ve been a buyer for Weaver Street Market for most of my 26 year career, and I have to say that I still get a lot of satisfaction in finding a great deal for our shoppers. Everyone likes to get a great deal, and we know that folks pay attention to how much they spend on food. The merchandising team at the co-op has experimented with ways to dramatically change the way we buy food in order to win in the hyper-competitive world of food retailing. I’d like to tell you about co-op to co-op trade.
First, let me tell you what I mean by co-op to co-op trade. That’s when Weaver Street Market buys products directly from the farmer or producer cooperative that manufactures those items. So, think of Cabot Creamery, Equal Exchange, Frontier Herbs, or LaRiojana—all co-op to co-op trade partners! By buying directly, we eliminate several intermediaries and brokers from the sales process.
I think of co-op to co-op trade as “win win win” buying. Each time an entity owns a product along the retail path, from growing, to production, then export/distribution, and onward, that entity gets a profit, which increases the cost for the next entity in the chain. So the fewer organizations/individuals involved, the lower the cost when the product gets to retail, which means that Weaver Street Market can price this product at a lower price for you. This is how the customer “wins.” Similarly, Weaver Street Market is able to add to our profit margin and we win, too!
But, what about the third win? Well, because we build relationships with the farmer co-op, we can work with them to make sure that we enhance their profit margin, too. Often, simply by eliminating a step in the supply chain, we’re able to pay less for an item while also getting a better return for the farmer! This is the third win, and often the most important win of all when we are talking about farmers in the developing world.
Our merchandisers/buyers have traveled the world to understand better what our suppliers need in order to meet your needs better. We’ve seen the positive changes when farmers work together as cooperatives, and are proud to offer their products to you. (Watch a video about the Riojana co-op, below.) This week, we’ve got a great (or grate) deal on Cabot Creamery cheeses and dairy products!
This week’s owner coupon is 50 percent off all Cabot Creamery products, including dairy products, cheese, and supplements (not including Cabot cheese on the food bars), good October 24-31, 2018. Owners, look for the coupon in our weekly e-news, sent on Wednesday morning. If you didn’t get the coupon, you may need to update your email address in our owner database. Contact us at ownershares@weaverstreetmarket.coop.
Not an owner? Become one today to receive the weekly owner coupon as well as the other benefits of ownership, like invitations to the Co-op Fair, a logo T-shirt and bag, and the right to vote in board elections. Learn more here.