What COOP KOBE does

COOP KOBE (生活協同組合コープこうべ / Consumers Co-operative KOBE) is a member-owned consumer cooperative founded in 1921 and headquartered in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It serves individual member households in the Kobe/Hyogo/Kansai region through a four-channel retail and service platform: home delivery (めーむ/Me-mu), physical stores, mobile stores (移動店舗) that bring approximately 800 SKUs on a fixed weekly schedule to neighborhoods with limited retail access, and the COOP KOBE Net internet shopping storefront. The cooperative's core product is grocery and daily-necessities retail, anchored by its private-label COOP Products (コープ商品) line developed with explicit emphasis on food safety and quality assurance, supported by a Co-op Card (コーピーカード) loyalty program.

Name

COOP KOBE

Legal name

生活協同組合コープこうべ (Seikatsu Kyōdō Kumiai Kōbe / Consumers Co-operative KOBE)

Website

https://kobe.coop.or.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

COOP KOBE is a member-owned consumer cooperative in Kobe, Japan (founded 1921) that serves individual member households through home delivery, physical and mobile stores, and a bundled portfolio of life services including insurance, electricity, childcare, eldercare, and housing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Cooperative Retail and Life-Support Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA)

Keywords

• Consumer cooperative retail
• Grocery delivery service
• Member life support
• Community mutual aid
• Cooperative grocery store

Headquarters

HQ city

Ashiya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

COOP KOBE (生活協同組合コープこうべ) is a member-owned consumer cooperative providing grocery retail and comprehensive life-support services to approximately 1.6 million members across the Kansai region of Japan. Its core offerings span home delivery (Me-mu), physical and mobile retail stores, internet shopping, private-label COOP Products, and an integrated portfolio of member services including insurance, electricity, childcare, nursery, after-school care, nursing care, meal delivery, and funeral services.

Product overview

COOP KOBE operates as a comprehensive consumers' cooperative offering a multi-channel retail ecosystem centered on grocery and daily necessities delivery and retail. The core offering consists of the めーむ (Me-mu) online ordering and home delivery service, physical store locations, and 移動店舗 (Mobile Store) vehicles serving remote communities. The cooperative provides supplementary services including insurance (共済), electricity supply (でんき), sports facilities, childcare and nursing care services, meal delivery, funeral services, and housing support. Member engagement is facilitated through the コーピーカード (Co-op Card) loyalty program and the コープステーション lifestyle magazine. COOP KOBE also offers private label products under the COOP brand, emphasizing food safety and member-driven product development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• コープ商品 (COOP Products): Private label products developed by the cooperative with focus on safety, security, and quality.
• めーむ (Me-mu)
• コープステーション (COOP Station)
• てとて (Teto-te)
• Konoyubi. (コノユビ)
• コープ共済 (COOP Kyosai)
• コープでんき (COOP Denki)

Products and services

• Me-mu (めーむ) Home Delivery Scheduled home grocery delivery service for cooperative members, with order books and product catalogs distributed in advance and weekly delivery of groceries and household goods. Targets household members in the Kansai region seeking convenient recurring grocery purchasing.
• Store Services (店舗サービス) Physical retail store operations providing groceries, fresh food, daily goods, and member services to cooperative members and the broader community. Includes 100-yen discount services (100円サービス), membership applications, and Co-op Card issuance.
• Mobile Store (移動店舗) Mobile retail vehicles that travel to depopulated and underserved neighborhoods on fixed schedules, selling groceries and daily goods at the same prices as fixed stores. Designed to maintain retail access for elderly residents and communities where conventional retailers have withdrawn.
• COOP KOBE Net (コープこうべネット) Internet shopping platform allowing cooperative members to order groceries and household goods online, supplementing Me-mu home delivery and physical store channels.
• COOP Kyosai (コープ共済) Mutual Aid Insurance Cooperative mutual aid insurance products for members, including life, medical, auto, fire, and personal liability coverage. Operated through COOP Insurance Plaza (コープ保険プラザ) consultation centers.
• COOP Denki (コープでんき) Electricity Service Retail electricity supply service for members, providing a cooperative-branded alternative to incumbent utility providers.
• Co-op Card (コーピーカード) Loyalty Program Member loyalty and payment card program that enables points accumulation on purchases and is available to cooperative members and other eligible applicants.
• Dinner Support Maikuru (夕食サポート まいくる) Pre-prepared meal delivery service supporting members' dinner needs, including elderly households requiring ready-to-eat meals.
• Nursing Care Services (介護サービス) Elderly care services including in-home care, day service, and care planning for member households requiring support for aging family members.
• COOP Sports (コープスポーツ / COOP Health Sports Club) Member-accessible fitness and sports club facilities promoting health and wellness among cooperative members and their families.
• Terakoya After-School Childcare (学童保育 Terakoya) After-school care services for school-aged children of member households, providing supervised care and learning support during after-school hours.
• Donguri-kko Nursery (保育園 どんぐりっこ)
• Cleri Funeral Services (クレリ案内センター)
• Housing COOP (住まいのコープ)
• COOP Products (コープ商品)
• Kyodo Gakuen (協同学苑)
• COOP Cleaning (コープのおそうじ)
• Eco Farm (エコファーム)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Snow Brand Megmilk (雪印メグミルク)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint promotional campaign 'Summer Vacation Excitement Campaign' (雪印メグミルクとの共同企画「夏休みワクワクキャンペーン」) currently being implemented. This is a marketing partnership for seasonal promotional activities.
• Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union (日本生活協同組合連合会)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-operative union for joint use of personal information and coordinated activities among consumer cooperatives across Japan.
• COOP Kyosai Consumers' Co-operative Union (日本コープ共済生活協同組合連合会)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-operative union for mutual aid insurance services and joint use of insurance-related personal information.
• COOP Kobe Subsidiaries (株)コープエイシス, コープ住宅（株）, （株）コープ環境サービス, （株）コープムービング, （株）コープフーズ, （株）協同食品センター, 阪神友愛食品（株）, （株）コープライスセンター, （株）コープベーカリー, （株）ゆうあいサポート, （株）コープエコファームcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary companies with whom COOP KOBE jointly uses personal information for service delivery, including: COOP Axis (IT/services), COOP Housing, COOP Environmental Services, COOP Moving, COOP Foods, Kyodo Food Center, Hanshin Yuai Foods, COOP Rice Center, COOP Bakery, Yuuai Support, and COOP Eco Farm.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Seven & i Holdings (株式会社セブン＆アイ・ホールディングス): Parent of 7-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado, and York Benimaru. Competes with COOP KOBE across grocery retail and delivery via its supermarket and convenience store footprint, with substantially greater scale and capital access.
• Aeon Co., Ltd. (イオン株式会社): Japan's largest retail group with supermarkets, convenience stores, financial services, and a private label ecosystem. Competes with COOP KOBE across grocery retail and increasingly in delivery and digital services, though as a broad incumbent rather than a niche cooperative.

Direct peers

• Coop Sapporo (コープさっぽろ): Large regional consumer cooperative serving Hokkaido with home delivery, retail stores, and member services. Closely comparable to COOP KOBE in operating model, scale, and multi-channel retail approach.
• Coop Miyagi (みやぎ生活協同組合): Regional consumer cooperative in the Tohoku region operating delivery, retail, and member services. Comparable in cooperative structure and community focus, though smaller in scale than COOP KOBE.
• Pal System (パルシステム連合会): Major Japanese consumer cooperative federation focused on home delivery of food and daily goods with strong emphasis on producer relationships and food safety. Operates a similar member-owned model in Eastern Japan, making it the most directly comparable peer to COOP KOBE.
• Seikatsu Club (生活クラブ生協): Consumer cooperative group emphasizing food safety, producer partnerships, and member-driven product development. Operates primarily in the Kanto region with a similar cooperative philosophy and product standards framework as COOP KOBE.

Regional players

• Izumi Co., Ltd. (株式会社イズミ): Regional supermarket operator headquartered in Hiroshima with strong presence in western Japan. Overlaps geographically with COOP KOBE's Kansai/southern Honshu reach and competes in grocery retail.
• Life Corporation (ライフコーポレーション): Supermarket chain concentrated in the Kanto and Kansai regions with a focus on fresh food and urban household shopping. Direct competitor to COOP KOBE's physical store operations in overlapping metropolitan geographies.
• Maruetsu (株式会社マルエツ): Tokyo metropolitan area supermarket chain focused on fresh food and daily necessities. Comparable business model to COOP KOBE's physical retail operations in terms of product mix, though primarily serves Kanto rather than Kansai.

Others

• Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union (日本生活協同組合連合会): National federation of Japanese consumer cooperatives including COOP KOBE as a member. Provides shared services, national-level advocacy, and coordinated procurement, making it an ecosystem participant and industry body rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/coopkobe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries11 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 COOP KOBE