i love co-op

[mchelle81]

so my local somerfield has been turned into a midcounties co-op OMG i love it,
wondering round cause its not really that big but crikey so many vegan goodies crusty cobs, bread, cereals, pasta sauces, pasta, stirfry sauces, rice, shampoo, shower gels, pop,washing up liquid, powder, conditioner, some freezer stuff i LOVE it why cant other supermarkets label their stuff or even bother to not put animal ingredients in stuff, im so excited to have it local to me have read that they do a toothpaste aswell but they havnt got that yet but they still have to get rid of somerfield stuff first :D finally dont have to keep going up town for h&b :thumbsup:

[cedarblue]

my local co-op isn't very good - not much vegan stuff - and some of the stuff is quite pricey. if local shops want to keep local trade from large supermarkets, they should be more flexible in their pricing imo.

prices are important for me at the moment.

[harpy]

Our local Somerfield seems to have started mutating into a Co-op (at last) with some Co-op branded stuff appearing on the shelves, but so far I haven't seen any of the stuff I would find especially useful (e.g. wines labelled vegan, as well as what you have mentioned mchelle). Think I'd better send them an e-mail so we don't end up with one like cedar's...

I wouldn't necessarily expect the prices to be rock-bottom in our one unfortunately, as it's more of a convenience store than a competitor to the major supermarkets, and probably trades on the fact that it's open late and so on.

[mchelle81]

i forgot biscuits :) its good pricing at one by me lots of stuff less than pound there will be more competition soon as theres a sainsburys they have had more offers since the co-op came and by christmas this year were having a aldi right by sainsburys

[suzanne]

Love love co op:). I got so excited when I found crusty rolls(I have so missed crusty rolls). The toothpaste is 54p for 100ml tube :thumbsup: I have yet to find the whitening one that they do:question:.

[mchelle81]

i keep going in practically everyday i know what you mean about the crusty cobs i love them to i keep buying them and the crusty loaf yum they havnt got the toothpaste yet i hope they do will save me loads in h&b its like £3 or something like that didnt think i be so excited to go in a shop but when i see vegan i feel like going YAHOOOOOO

[helen105281]

Love love co op:). I got so excited when I found crusty rolls(I have so missed crusty rolls). The toothpaste is 54p for 100ml tube :thumbsup: I have yet to find the whitening one that they do:question:.

The whitening one is great, let us know if you need us to pick you any up. We last got it in Cambridge but they may do it in Stotfold too:)

[everdream]

I can get the whitening one from my local co op, and it's fairly rural and not such a big one. That said though, it seems to have failed in whitening my teeth, and I've been using it for 2 months now.

[phact0rri]

I was addicted to the local coop when I lived in the South United States. Course haven't found a good one I really like around here yet. Lots of Farmer's markets though.

[pusskins]

Hurrah! That's good to hear it's all finally happening with the old Somerfield's turning in to Co-ops! I LOVE Co-op, too. We have many different branches around here. Not only do they have great labelling for vegans, but I love that they also put on all their tins and stuff the country of origin of the food.

(News article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7508982.stm) from last year about Co-op buying Somerfield.)

[mchelle81]

went in again today no toothpaste still just filled with colegate so im hoping they will stock their own soon do they do a mouthwash or not ??? but bonus was got a litre bottle of shandy having it now its yum

[Mr Flibble]

Yes, co-op sell 3 vegan mouthwashes, cheap too. The blue standard one tastes the best.

[mchelle81]

o great they still have somerfields mouthwash at mo so fingers crossed they be gone soon

[Senza]

Does anyone else have vegan garlic bread in their co-ops? I remember when i was in leeds, the garlic bread was vegan but in my local one, both garlic breads have butter and milk in them (the 'italian' own brand, and standard/low-fat(?) one).

I like co-ops vegetable soap as well. Although my local shop always takes forever to re-stock on toiletries.

The big somerfield near me is turning into a Waitrose instead of a giant co-op though :( But i don't know how good Waitrose are vegan-wise, so it might be a good thing i guess..

[vw misfit]

at the weekend my wife was shopping at co-op and usually picks up fresh donots, fresh apple pies and fresh cooked bagettes (the stuff they usually do daily), however noticed that the packet no longer had ingrediants or suitable for vegan on label. she complained about this at the time and the staff were very good and recorded her concerns about the labelling. I came in from work tonight and there was a message of answer machine from manager apolgising and has told us when next in the store to ask fo rher or one of the supervisors who will give us a copy of the ingrediants sheets that they use in the production section so we can check ourseleves. i know this is not an answers for everyone and changes to labelling but does show that the co-op take complaints on board unlike other stores. don't know if will get labels changed back but if enough people ask it may.

[everdream]

That reminds me when I emailed the co op about their value UHT soymilk.
It only said vegetarian on it, so I emailed and double checked and they said the label would be rectified at the next chance, hopefully they'll be true to their word !

[mchelle81]

the baguettes by me are labelled vegan but the crusty cobs arent ?? i checked the labels on both and they were the same the donuts not labelled either i read somewhere that they were but never know whether to have them if they not labelled vegan,

[vw misfit]

the baguettes by me are labelled vegan but the crusty cobs arent ?? i checked the labels on both and they were the same the donuts not labelled either i read somewhere that they were but never know whether to have them if they not labelled vegan,ts


this is simialar to me and as i said my wife spoke to staff and they arranged for the ingrediants sheet for us, so may be worth asking for it next time your in store.

[mchelle81]

do you buy the stuff that doesnt say vegan or do you just get the ones that are labelled as ok im sure the baguettes and crusty cobs are the same ingredients but one is labelled one isnt ??

[mchelle81]

is their simply value gravy vegan its always empty when i go so cant check ? has anyone got the membership card when you earn points what are they for like sainsburys you can use them in the shop or not ?

[snaffler]

I spoke to a helpful member of staff this morning in Somerfield and she said the stuff is now starting to come in and Somerfield should be fully refitted and officially look like a coop across the Somerfield stores by April 2010 or sooner in some areas.

At last :0)

[hiddenfromview]

the baguettes by me are labelled vegan but the crusty cobs arent ?? i checked the labels on both and they were the same the donuts not labelled either i read somewhere that they were but never know whether to have them if they not labelled vegan,


i'm confused about this too. i finally found the doughnuts but wasn't sure as there were no ingredients, no vegan marking but an allergen list stating what it may contain - including milk and egg. CONFUSED! :confused:

[everdream]

is their simply value gravy vegan its always empty when i go so cant check ? has anyone got the membership card when you earn points what are they for like sainsburys you can use them in the shop or not ?
We have the membership card. basically whenever you buy stuff from the co op, you give them the card before the items are scanned and you earn points. Then at intervals you recieve vouchers. You can either spend this in store, or cash them into a co op account, which kinda works like a bank account, you put in points, and can take out cash whenever you want.

We currently have £900 of saved co op points :D

[mchelle81]

ooohhh they finally have the toothpaste yay 48p woo hoo and they had a label for the mouthwash but it was empty hopefully it be there tomorrow. i found the simply value gravy its not even labelled vegetarian or anything so i didnt get it im loving it more and more each time i go, although they have all the good stuff salted nuts, dry roasted nut, digestive biscuits, rich tea biscuits,, ill be fat soon i cant help myself. wow 900 points i keep goin in everyday i have 110 points at mo at the rate im going ill have loads couldnt have a job in there would spend all me wages

[harpy]

Your branch seems to be converting faster than ours, mchelle.

I wrote them a little note requesting more vegan and fairtrade stuff in ours and got one back ignoring all the rest but noting my request for vegan wine. Still, I suppose they spotted the essential point!