Co-op is plotting serious online sales growth in 2020. As announced on 2^nd January 2020, the employee-owned grocer is extending its same-day delivery services in towns and cities across the UK and is embarking on a major rollout of vegan products.

The retailer aims to offer same-day online city-centre deliveries from 650 stores. It will expand its partnership with food delivery platform Deliveroo to 400 branches. Co-op will also make inroads in the growing meat-free food market with an exclusive new brand, called GRO. Launched in-store in January, the range will be available at up to 6,000 Co-op and independent stores.

Introducing the Co-op GRO vegan range

The new GRO range caters for the growing appetite for plant-based food making it convenient and easily accessible to shoppers. GRO has been developed to take inspiration from some of Britain’s favourite dishes to create delicious plant-based alternatives, such as the classic chilli con carne and sticky toffee pudding.

More than 35 lines in the GRO range have been created with busy and on-the-go shoppers in mind, with meal solutions for breakfast to dinner. The new range brings lots of innovation to the plant-based category, including a vegan steak bake, a delicious Kashmiri pizza featuring cauliflower and a mozzarella looking vegan cheese.

The full range of more than 35 GRO products will be available in 300 Co-op stores across the UK whilst selected lines will be stocked in 2,000 Co-op stores and up to 4,000 independent retailers from Wednesday 8th January.

Same day delivery services

Over the next 12 months, Co-op’s online same-day delivery services will be available across almost 100 towns and cities, served by 650 Co-op stores. The rollout includes services from Co-op’s own dedicated online shop, known as shop.coop.co.uk, which uses low emissions transport including eco-friendly bikes.

Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton will be among the first new cities to get the service, which is currently only available in London and Manchester. In all, Co-op’s online shop will available from around 250 stores.

Co-op’s Deliveroo partnership

Co-op will expand its partnership with Deliveroo, which provides on-demand delivery of convenience grocery essentials in under 30 minutes. Ordering through Deliveroo will be extended to 400 stores, reaching around 100 major towns and cities.

The partnership allows Deliveroo to offer quick, point-to-point delivery of a range of non-perishable items via its rider network, catering for customers who want a quick, impulse buy rather than scheduled same-day delivery.

Tapping into the latest consumer trends

Jo Whitfield, CEO Co-op Food, said: “We have to provide fantastic products and services with strong ethics and a purposeful focus on convenience. Our new vegan range taps into the latest consumer trends and our online services meet the growing appetite for fast home deliveries.”