Sugar Beet Food Co-op

What Sugar Beet Food Co-op does

Sugar Beet Food Co-op is a consumer-owned grocery cooperative operating a single retail storefront at 812 Madison St., Oak Park, Illinois, open daily from 8am to 8pm. The co-op sells a full range of grocery products, fresh produce, juices, smoothies, coffee, and a rotating Soup of the Day, alongside adjacent offerings including an Artisan Market on select Sundays, catering services, and educational classes. Its model is built on member ownership: customers can purchase a co-op share to gain voting rights, a 15% discount on regular-priced items, and a 10% wellness aisle discount on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays.

The business has no proprietary technology stack. Its digital footprint is limited to a Squarespace-hosted website and a partnership with the Mercato online grocery marketplace, which enables delivery and pickup ordering of the storefront's physical inventory. Marketing and customer acquisition are driven by community channels — opt-in email/SMS, in-store signage, artisan markets, and classes — with no evidence of paid acquisition or digital advertising spend.

Revenue is generated primarily through direct in-store grocery transactions, with supplements from catering, the juice/smoothie/coffee bar, and merchandise. The co-op layers value programs (Co+op Deals, Co+op Basics) and equity-oriented community programs (Food For All for income-based assistance, LINK Match for SNAP benefit doubling) onto the core retail model. The entity is a private cooperative with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no management team roster in the source data, and no published financial figures.

Name

Sugar Beet Food Co-op

Legal name

Sugar Beet Food Co-op

Website

https://sugarbeet.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sugar Beet Food Co-op is a community-owned grocery cooperative operating a single retail storefront in Oak Park, Illinois, selling groceries, fresh juices, smoothies, coffee, and prepared foods to local residents and member-owners who participate in the co-op's governance and discount programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Grocery Retail

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

Keywords

• Community grocery retail
• Food cooperative
• Fresh produce
• Wellness products
• Local artisan market

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Grocery Sales: Primary revenue from direct sales of grocery products, fresh produce, juices, smoothies, and coffee through the physical retail storefront. Customers purchase goods at retail prices with co-op owner discounts applied for members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sugar Beet Food Co-op operates a single community-owned grocery storefront in Oak Park, IL, selling fresh produce, packaged groceries, wellness items, prepared soups, fresh juices, smoothies, and coffee. The retail offering is layered with community-oriented programs (Food For All, LINK Match), value programs (Co+op Deals, Co+op Basics), and a Co-op Owner Membership that delivers discounts and governance rights to member-owners.

Product overview

Sugar Beet Food Co-op is a consumer-owned grocery cooperative operating as a single unified retail concept. The co-op offers a full-service grocery with fresh juices, smoothies, and coffee, supplemented by rotating Soup of the Day offerings, an Artisan Market on select Sundays, and catering services. The product portfolio is organized around core grocery retail supported by value programs (Co+op Deals, Co+op Basics), community access initiatives (Food For All Program, LINK Match Program), and membership benefits (Co-op Owner Membership with 15% wellness discounts). Additional services include educational classes and a merchandise line.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grocery Retail

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MercatocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline grocery ordering platform partnership enabling customers to shop Sugar Beet Food Co-op products through Mercato's digital marketplace. Provides e-commerce capabilities, delivery, and pickup ordering for the co-op's physical inventory.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Natural Grocers: National natural and organic grocery chain emphasizing wellness, supplements, and produce — competes in the same local/organic category as Sugar Beet's grocery assortment.
• Whole Foods Market: National specialty/natural grocery incumbent with broad local/organic assortment and prepared foods — competes with Sugar Beet for the same wellness-oriented shopper, but at vastly greater scale.
• Sprouts Farmers Market: Public natural-specialty grocer with strong fresh produce, bulk, and wellness assortment — competes for the same local/health-conscious shopper that Sugar Beet targets.

Direct peers

• Seward Co-op: Community-owned grocery cooperative in Minneapolis with owner-member governance, in-store prepared foods, and community programming — directly comparable operating model to Sugar Beet Food Co-op.
• New Pioneer Co-op: Member-owned grocery cooperative in Iowa City with local/organic focus, owner discounts, and community events — Midwest regional peer with parallel co-op economics.
• Wheatsfield Co-op: Ames, Iowa natural foods cooperative with owner membership model and prepared-food offerings — directly comparable community co-op structure to Sugar Beet.
• People's Food Co-op: Community-owned natural foods cooperative operating across multiple Midwest locations with cooperative ownership, wellness programming, and local sourcing — analogous in scale and governance structure.
• GreenStar Cooperative Market: Member-owned grocery co-op in Ithaca, NY with prepared foods, owner discounts, and food-access programs — operates a near-identical retail/community model to Sugar Beet.
• Wedge Co-op: Long-standing consumer-owned grocery co-op in Minneapolis with local/organic focus, owner discounts, and community education — mirrors Sugar Beet's member-governance and community-event-driven model.
• Hunger Mountain Co-op: Community-owned natural foods cooperative in Waterbury, VT offering grocery plus deli/café, owner benefits, and community education — closely matches Sugar Beet's in-store format.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thesugarbeetcoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-sugar-beet-co-op

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Sugar Beet Food Co-op