The Co-op is extending its online reach with the roll-out of same-day delivery services accompanied by the launch of a vegan range.
The grocer will launch same-day online deliveries in city centres from 650 stores and expand its partnership with food delivery platform Deliveroo, which fulfils orders in 30 minutes or less, to 400 branches.
The Co-op also unveiled what it maintained to be “the biggest rollout of vegan products” with the launch of a new brand, Gro. It will be sold through independent retailers as well as in the Co-op’s own shops.
The online services will be made available over the course of 2020, eventually covering 100 towns and cities. They includes services from Co-op’s online store, shop.coop.co.uk, which uses low emission transport such as bikes.
Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton will be among the new cities where the service is offered. It was formerly only available in London and Manchester. Shop.coop.co.uk will be made available from approximately 250 stores.
The new Gro range will be offered online as well as in-store. It comprises 35 meat-free products and will be sold in 2,000 Co-op branches and up to 4,000 independent retailers through the Co-op’s Nisa business. Gro extends the Co-op’s total food and wine vegan range to approximately 1,000 products.
According to the retailer, the market for vegetarian and plant-based food is now worth £1bn and has more than doubled in the last 20 years.
Co-op Food chief executive Jo Whitfield 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.”
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