IBARAKI

What IBARAKI does

IBARAKI Co-op (いばらきコープ生活協同組合) is a member-owned consumer cooperative headquartered in Omitama City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, formed through a 1988 merger of three predecessor cooperatives dating to 1971 and affiliated with the national CO-OP DELI Federation. The organization serves approximately 410,000 member households across Ibaraki Prefecture, offering a multi-vertical service platform centered on grocery retail and home delivery. Core operations include 5 physical retail stores (コープのお店) and 13 delivery centers providing scheduled home delivery (eフレンズ/コープデリ宅配), supported by specialized channels such as a mobile refrigerated store (ふれあい便), drive-through pickup at the Mito store, and evening meal delivery (デイリーコープ). Members also access mutual aid insurance (共済), agency insurance, electricity retail (コープデリでんき), welfare and senior care services (day care, service-supported senior housing), funeral services (コプセ), housing/home repair, ticket discounts, and a member-funded scholarship program for single-parent high school students. Underlying technology comprises conventional digital platforms (eフレンズ ordering portal, ほぺたん mobile app, コープリンク event platform, point card with electronic money) plus a distinctive radioactive-material inspection and traceability regime for all food products. The cooperative is governed by 400 elected delegates representing member districts and is wholly owned by its members through 500-yen share purchases, with no external investors, and operates exclusively within Ibaraki Prefecture.

The business model is subscription-style and recurring: a one-time 500-yen per share capital contribution (up to 100万円 per member) buys membership and yields a 0.2% annual dividend, while ongoing revenue is generated through weekly grocery delivery orders, in-store purchases, insurance premiums and agency commissions, electricity supply, and welfare service fees. Go-to-market is community-led: members are acquired and retained via block committee networks, regional delivery staff relationships, community events (food education, farm visits, peace activities), sports sponsorships (Kashima Antlers, Mito HollyHock, Ibaraki Astroplanets, women's football), and monthly PR magazines (コープスマイル). Customer segmentation is vertical: primary member households in Ibaraki, with secondary focus on families with children, elderly members, single-parent families (via scholarship support), and institutional accounts for childcare and welfare facilities. No revenue figures are publicly disclosed, but the multi-vertical bundle across 410,000 households implies a substantial regional supply business in the ¥60-150 billion range typical of similarly sized Japanese consumer cooperatives.

Name

IBARAKI

Legal name

いばらきコープ生活協同組合

Website

https://ibaraki.coopnet.or.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Short description

IBARAKI Co-op (いばらきコープ) is a member-owned consumer cooperative in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, serving 410,000+ households via 5 retail stores, 13 delivery centers, and bundled grocery, insurance, electricity, welfare, and community services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Cooperative Services

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Co-ops with Online Ordering & Pickup/Delivery (CRAHALAH), Food Co-ops with In-Store Prepared Foods & Deli (CRAHALAF)

Keywords

• Consumer cooperative
• Grocery delivery
• Retail supermarkets
• Mutual aid insurance
• Welfare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Omitama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 小売事業（店舗・宅配）: Core revenue from sales of Co-op branded products and general merchandise through 5 physical retail stores (コープのお店) and home delivery service (コープデリ宅配). Revenue from product sales represents the vast majority of operating income for the cooperative.
2. 共済事業: Mutual aid (共済) insurance products offered to member households, providing coverage and returning surplus to members.
3. 保険代理店事業: Insurance products sold as an agency (コープデリ保険センター), earning commission income.
4. 介護・福祉サービス: Welfare services including day care centers (通所介護施設), service-supported senior housing (サービス付き高齢者向け住宅), and welfare consultation.
5. 出資金配当: Members pay a 500 yen membership fee (一口500円). Annual dividends on member capital at 0.2% (FY2021).
6. 葬祭サービス: Funeral services (コープデリのお葬式 コプセ) providing end-of-life services to members.
7. 電気小売事業: Electricity retail service (コープデリでんき) for members, partnered with CDエナジーダイレクト.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

IBARAKI Co-op is a member-owned consumer cooperative (生活協同組合) that sells groceries and daily necessities through scheduled home delivery (コープデリ宅配) and five physical retail supermarkets (コープのお店), augmented by mutual aid insurance, an insurance agency, retail electricity (コープデリでんき), welfare/elder-care services, funeral services, mobile stores, and a drive-through. It also operates a CO•OP private brand of food and household goods, plus a member-funded scholarship program for single-parent high school students.

Product overview

IBARAKI Co-op (いばらきコープ生活協同組合) is a consumer cooperative (生活協同組合/生協) operating a multi-channel service platform centered on grocery delivery and retail store operations. The core offering consists of eフレンズ・コープ Delgado宅配 (online and telephone grocery delivery) and コープ Delgado小店 (physical supermarket stores), supported by specialized add-on services including evening meal delivery (デイリーコープ), mobile store service (移動店舗、ふれ合い便), and drive-through pickup. Additional modules include financial services (共済, 保険, コープ Delgadoでんき), welfare/care services (介護・福祉), housing/life services (ハウジング, くらしのサービス, お葬式), entertainment/tickets, and community platforms (コープ Delgadoシェ). The coop also operates its private brand (CO・OP products) and a unique scholarship program for single-parent families. All services are interconnected through a unified membership system, with digital access via the eフレンズ portal, mobile app (ほぺたんアプリ), and point card (ほぺたんカード). The organization serves approximately 410,000 member households across Ibaraki Prefecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• コープ делегиру宅配: Home delivery service for groceries and daily necessities
• いばらきコープのお店 (コープ店)
• ほぺたんアプリ
• コープ делегируでんき
• コープ делегиру共済
• デイリーコープ

Products and services

• コープデリ宅配 (Co-op Deli Home Delivery) Scheduled grocery and daily-needs delivery service to member households across Ibaraki Prefecture through 13 delivery centers, supplemented by mobile store, drive-through, and evening meal delivery in select areas.
• コープのお店 (Co-op Stores) Five physical supermarket-style retail stores across Ibaraki Prefecture offering groceries, daily necessities, in-store bakery, deli, sushi, and bentos, including the CO•OP private brand.
• コープ共済 (Co-op Mutual Aid Insurance) Mutual aid insurance products provided to member households through the CO-OP mutual aid system, offering various coverage plans for members and their families.
• コープデリ保険センター (Co-op Deli Insurance Center) Insurance consultation and sales agency offering a range of insurance products to meet members' protection needs, generating commission income.
• コープデリでんき (Co-op Deli Electricity) Retail electricity supply service for member households, partnered with CD Energy Direct and offering renewable energy options through 地球クラブ.
• 介護・福祉サービス (Welfare and Nursing Care Services) Welfare services including day care centers (通所介護施設), service-supported senior housing (サービス付き高齢者向け住宅), and welfare consultation to support elderly members living independently in their communities.
• コープデリのお葬式 コプセ (Co-op Deli Funeral Services) Funeral services (コプセ) providing end-of-life planning and ceremony arrangements for members.
• 移動店舗ふれあい便 (Mobile Store Service) Refrigerated truck-based mobile store bringing grocery products to areas with limited access to retail stores, serving communities with accessibility challenges as part of the cooperative's social contribution initiatives.
• コープドライブスルー (Co-op Drive-Through) Drive-through pickup service exclusively at the Mito store, allowing members to pick up pre-ordered products without leaving their vehicles.
• デイリーコープ夕食宅配 (Daily Co-op Evening Meal Delivery) Ready-to-eat evening meal delivery service to members' homes, available in select regions.
• CO・OP private brand products Co-op's own private brand of food and household goods developed based on member feedback, with emphasis on safety, quality, and traceability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 410,000+ member households served across Ibaraki Prefecture
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• 茨城県社会福祉協議会coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Inclusive cooperation agreement (包括連携協定) signed in 2024 with the Ibaraki Prefecture Social Welfare Council for joint social welfare initiatives.
• 水戸市coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Inclusive cooperation agreement (包括連携協力に関する協定) signed in 2024 with Mito City for collaborative community initiatives.
• 日立市・日立商工会議所・株式会社良品計画majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Four-party regional comprehensive partnership (地域包括提携協定) signed in 2023 involving Hitachi City, Hitachi Chamber of Commerce, and Ryohin Keikaku (MUJI) for regional revitalization initiatives.
• 水戸ホーリーホックmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Long-term sponsorship (since ~2015) of J.League football club 水戸ホーリーホック. Includes naming rights for 「いばらきコープ サンクスマッチ」 home games, booth exhibitions at matches, and collaborative PR activities. 11th edition ofサンクスマッチ held in April 2025.
• 鹿島アントラーズmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Sponsorship of J.League football club 鹿島アントラーズ as part of regional sports promotion.
• FC QOL 水戸シルエラ（女子サッカーチーム）minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Sponsorship of women's football team in the Japan Women's Soccer League as part of regional sports support.
• 茨城アストロプラネッツ（BCリーグ野球）majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Sponsorship of BC League baseball team since 2019. Includes naming rights for 特別協賛試合. Supports the team in managing and operating the baseball franchise.
• 湖南NASA（協定不明確）minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership with local organizations including NPO法人 ま母亲, チャレンジいばらき県民運動, 翠清福祉会 for community welfare and social programs.
• コープ делец連合会coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Core cooperative group partnership with コープ делец連合会 (Co-op Deli Federation), the national coordinating body for Co-op delivery services. Provides shared technology platforms (eフレンズ), product sourcing, and operational support.
• 茨城県 + 全44市町村coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Comprehensive cooperation and disaster response agreements (見守り協定・災害時協定) with Ibaraki Prefecture and all 44 municipalities, established in 2012 and expanded over subsequent years. Enables coordinated disaster response and mutual support during emergencies.
• つくばみらい市majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Disaster response cooperation agreement (災害時協定) signed in 2008 with Tsukubamirai City for coordinated emergency support.
• JA全農いばらき（全国農業協同組合連合会 茨城県本部）coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-party cooperative alliance formed in 2008 between いばらきコープ, JA全農いばらき, and コープネット事業連合. Joint initiatives include the 「たべる、たいせつ惚れフェスタ」 and other agricultural events promoting local food. JA (agricultural cooperative) supplies agricultural products directly to the cooperative.
• 日立Sun Nexus（社会人ラグビーチーム）minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsorship of social rugby team 日立Sun Nexus as part of regional sports support.
• 日本ユニセフ協会 / 茨城県ユニセフ協会majorStrategic or Co-development Partnerいばらきコープ has partnered with UNICEF Japan since 2010 for international assistance. Conducts emergency fundraising campaigns (e.g., Venezuela earthquake emergency fundraising in July 2026) through the Japan UNICEF Association.
• 日本生活協同組合連合会（日生協連）coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Japan Cooperative Alliance (日本生活協同組合連合会), connecting いばらきコープ with the broader Japanese cooperative movement including other regional co-ops.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Co-op Mirai (Co-op Saitama / Chiba / Tokyo / Kanagawa): Co-op Mirai is a sister regional consumer cooperative within the same CO-OP DELI Federation as IBARAKI. It serves ~2 million member households across Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa via the same shared technology platforms (コープデリ eフレンズ), making it a near-clone peer for benchmarking operations, pricing, and multi-vertical service delivery.
• PalSystem Group (Pal・System): PalSystem is Japan's largest consumer cooperative group, serving ~1.4 million member households with home delivery of groceries and producer-direct sourcing. It is the most direct comparable to IBARAKI Co-op, sharing the same member-owned cooperative model, focus on safe food and traceability, and overlap on welfare/community programs - though at substantially larger scale and across the Kanto region.

Emerging players

• Amazon Japan (Amazon Fresh / Amazon Go): Amazon Fresh is Amazon Japan's online grocery delivery service, operating in selected metropolitan areas including parts of the Kanto region. It is comparable to IBARAKI's eフレンズ online delivery service as a competing channel for grocery home delivery, with substantially larger catalog, technology investment, and price competitiveness - though without the community/mutual-aid positioning.

Regional players

• Life Corporation (Life Supermarket): Life Corporation is a Kansai-based supermarket chain that has expanded into the Tokyo metropolitan area with a value-oriented, fresh-focused grocery model. It is comparable to IBARAKI as a regional grocery player competing for similar household customers with private-label and prepared food strengths, though it operates as a conventional retailer rather than a cooperative.
• Maruetsu (Maruetsu Inc.): Maruetsu is a Tokyo metropolitan area supermarket chain with a growing presence in Ibaraki Prefecture, focused on fresh and prepared foods. It competes directly with IBARAKI's physical retail stores in the southern Ibaraki market, offering a similar grocery assortment and prepared-foods proposition without the cooperative ownership structure.

Others

• JA Group (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives / Zen-Noh): JA Group is Japan's national agricultural cooperative federation and a strategic partner of IBARAKI Co-op for direct producer sourcing (産直). It is comparable as a peer cooperative operating in the same region with overlapping membership, sharing the cooperative model and food safety positioning - while operating as a partner and supplier rather than direct competitor.
• Co-op Mutual Aid (Kyosai / 生協共済連合会): Co-op Kyosai is the mutual aid insurance arm of the Japanese consumer cooperative movement, offering life and non-life insurance products distributed through IBARAKI and other regional co-ops. It is comparable as a partner organization that co-creates a significant portion of IBARAKI's insurance revenue stream and shares the mutual-aid/cooperative ethos.

Broad incumbents

• Seven & i Holdings: Seven & i Holdings operates Ito-Yokado supermarkets, 7-Eleven convenience stores, and York Benimaru across Japan, with growing online grocery delivery. It is one of the principal competitive threats to IBARAKI's grocery retail and delivery business, particularly in metropolitan Ibaraki.
• AEON Co., Ltd. AEON is Japan's largest retail conglomerate with nationwide supermarket, convenience store, and online grocery operations including AEON Home Delivery. It competes with IBARAKI on grocery retail and is a benchmark for scale economics, private label development, and digital transformation in the Japanese grocery market.
• CO-OP DELI Federation (コープデリ連合会 / Co-op Net): CO-OP DELI Federation is the national coordinating body for CO-OP delivery services and the strategic parent of IBARAKI's delivery business. It provides shared technology, procurement, branding, and logistics across multiple regional consumer cooperatives, serving as both an enabler and an umbrella organization that defines the cooperative's strategic ceiling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ibarakicoop
• Instagraminstagram.com/ibarakicoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IBARAKI