Keys to Success for Food Co-op Start Ups in Rural Areas: Four Case Studies

摘要

The four grocery cooperatives studied for this report are all located in rural communities in Wisconsin or Minnesota. Each case study begins by providing background on the local community and why it ventured to start a grocery co-op. What actually drove the process. A chronology of events leading up to opening day proceeds to an update from the fall of 2004 or later. Each case is then analyzed in terms of five components of the start-up process. Following the presentation of the four case studies, a comparative analysis of eight variables leads to the identification of keys to success and potential pitfalls associated with the start-up and operation of cooperative groceries in rural areas. Based on the preceding analysis, we can identify four key characteristics that contributed to the success of three of the cooperatives in this study: strong operational management; member, community and industry support; reasonable competition, and dedicated organizers. In the one case study that ended in the failure of a coop, factors which seem to have contributed to its demise include: high turnover of leadership and management; too many collateral goals; lack of rigorous financial analysis; a poor location and a failure to change direction quickly.