Supercoop

What Supercoop does

Supercoop is a consumer cooperative and participatory supermarket headquartered at 19 rue Oscar et Jean Auriac, Bordeaux, France. It opened its first store in Bègles in November 2016 after approximately two years of legal groundwork, relocated to its current Bordeaux site in May 2018, and now offers more than 4,000 product references spanning fresh produce, groceries, household, hygiene, and pet food. Roughly 80% of products are sourced from local producers within a 300km radius, and the assortment is structured around short supply chains and organic produce. The technology stack is intentionally lean: Odoo ERP handles store operations, purchasing, and member coordination, and a member portal (Espace Membre) manages shifts, services, and cooperative participation.

The business model rests on a closed-loop membership structure. Prospective shoppers must purchase one cooperative share at €10 (one-time, no credit card) and commit to 3 hours of volunteer service every 4 weeks (13 services per year, now sharable via a binôme pair system introduced in 2022). In return, members shop at a fixed 20% margin on purchase price (17% on displayed price) with no promotions or false discounts. Only three salaried positions have been funded since October 2019, with roughly 75% of full-time equivalents delivered by volunteer cooperators organized into governance circles (gammes). The revenue mix combines product sales margin, one-time share subscriptions, and ongoing public subsidies from the European Social Fund, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, and several departmental and municipal partners.

Go-to-market is community-led: 2–4 monthly presentation/integration meetings convert prospects into members, supported by a content blog, active Facebook/Instagram/Twitter presence, and earned regional press coverage (Sud Ouest, France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France Bleu Gironde). The cooperative serves conscious consumers and active community members in the Bordeaux Métropole who prioritize transparent pricing, local and organic sourcing, and democratic participation over the lowest absolute price in conventional retail. Logistics and local sourcing are anchored by strategic partnerships with Loc'Halle Bio and Halles Bio d'Aquitaine at MIN de Brienne.

Name

Supercoop

Legal name

Supercoop

Website

https://supercoop.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Supercoop is a cooperative and participatory supermarket in Bordeaux, France, where member-cooperators commit 3 hours of volunteer service every 4 weeks in exchange for shopping rights at a fixed 20% margin, with 4,000+ SKUs and 80% of products sourced locally within 300km.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cooperative Grocery Retail

NAICS

Grocery and Convenience Retailers (4451)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

Keywords

• Cooperative supermarket
• Organic groceries
• Local food retail
• Consumer cooperative
• Ethical sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bordeaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Retail Margin): Single fixed margin of 20% on purchase price (17% on displayed price). Products bought at 1 euro are sold at 1.20 euro. No promotions, no falsely discounted prices.
2. Member Shares: Sale of cooperative shares (parts sociales) to new members at 1 share of 10 euros. One-time investment with limited risk (reimbursement not guaranteed).
3. Public Subsidies: Co-financing from European Social Fund (FSE), Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, various departments, and local municipalities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Supercoop operates a cooperative supermarket in Bordeaux where members purchase a €10 cooperative share and contribute 3 hours of volunteer service every 4 weeks in exchange for the right to shop at the store. The supermarket offers over 4,000 product references including fresh produce, meat, fish, cheese, groceries, beverages, and household items, with pricing based on a fixed 20% margin on purchase price (17% on displayed price) and no promotions. About 80% of products are sourced from local producers within a 300km radius, with a maximum share of organic items, and the cooperative engages in short supply chains through partnerships with Loc'Halle Bio and Halles Bio d'Aquitaine.

Product overview

Supercoop is a cooperative supermarket operating on a participative model where members commit to 3 hours of volunteer service every 4 weeks. The core offering is access to a full-range supermarket with over 4,000 product references, emphasizing 80% local sourcing (within 300km), organic products, and transparent pricing with a fixed 20% margin. The product portfolio includes the main cooperative supermarket, bulk/package-free options, and an accompanying blog for member engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supercoop Cooperative Supermarket A cooperative supermarket in Bordeaux where members purchase a €10 cooperative share and contribute 3 hours of volunteer service every 4 weeks in exchange for the right to shop at affordable prices with a transparent 20% margin on products. Open Monday 14h-20h, Tuesday-Friday 9h-20h, and Saturday 9h-18h30.
• Cooperative Supermarket Product Range Over 4,000 product references including fresh produce, meat, fish, cheese, groceries, beverages, household products, hygiene products, and pet food, with a focus on 80% local products (within 300km) and maximum organic content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Products sold 10% cheaper than competition at equal quality
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Loc'Halle Bio (LHB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistribution platform based at MIN de Brienne near Bordeaux train station, providing logistics and aggregation services for local organic producers.
• Halles Bio d'Aquitaine (HBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic distribution platform based at MIN de Brienne, partnering with local producers to supply the cooperative.
• Zone à PartagerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-place (tiers lieu) in Bègles where the Association and cooperative were originally hosted and where meetings are sometimes held.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Biocoop: France's largest network of organic grocery stores. Competes for the same conscious-consumer segment with broader assortment and scale, but lacks Supercoop's participative member-labor and fixed-margin transparency.
• La Vie Claire: Established French organic grocery chain competing for the same local-organic consumer segment as Supercoop. Comparable in product positioning but uses a conventional franchised retail model rather than cooperative membership.
• Naturalia: French organic and bulk-focused grocery chain (subsidiary of Casino). Overlaps with Supercoop on organic assortment and zero-waste bulk offerings, but operates conventional retail with paid staff.

Direct peers

• Park Slope Food Coop: The original NYC member-owned food cooperative that inspired the wave of French cooperative supermarkets including Supercoop. Operates on member volunteer shifts in exchange for shopping rights and emphasizes local/organic sourcing.
• The People's Supermarket: London-based cooperative supermarket that operated on a similar member-participation model with volunteer staffing and ethical sourcing. Comparable peer in cooperative grocery retail in a European market.
• La Belle Verte: Cooperative supermarket in Marseille following the same member-labor, fixed-margin model pioneered by La Louve and Supercoop. Comparable in product mix, organic/local sourcing, and member volunteer requirements.
• La Louve: Paris-based consumer cooperative supermarket operating the same participative model where members contribute 3 hours per month to shop at a fixed-margin store. Direct peer sharing identical governance, volunteer-labor, and transparent pricing principles.
• Otsokop: French cooperative supermarket based in Le Havre, built on the same participative model inspired by Park Slope Food Coop, where members volunteer shifts in exchange for shopping rights. Closely comparable in operating mechanics and member-engagement approach.

Emerging players

• Day by Day: French zero-waste/debulk grocery franchise directly aligned with Supercoop's growing bulk/package-free product line. Comparable on the sustainability and waste-reduction value proposition, though operates on conventional retail rather than cooperative membership.

Regional players

• Satoriz: French organic supermarket chain headquartered in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Competes in the same organic/local consumer segment as Supercoop but with regional concentration in eastern France rather than Bordeaux metro.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SupercoopBdx
• Facebookfacebook.com/supercoopbdx
• Instagraminstagram.com/supercoopbdx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/supercoop-bordeaux

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Supercoop