By / Sabine Geissler
COOP Italia, the leading Italian retail chain, has developed a private label range in the organic sector which has become the largest in the Italian retail panorama so far. In the early 2000s, the organic private label was limited to food products, now the brand “Bio-Logico” covers COOP’s overall “green” approach to food and non-food products.
COOP Italia, the leading Italian retail chain, has developed a private label range in the organic sector that has become the largest in the Italian retail landscape so far. While the initial organic private label was limited to food products, the brand “Bio-Logico” covers COOP’s overall “green” approach to food and non-food products.
The philosophy is a globally responsible and low-impact private label program with the brand “Vivi Verde” (“Live Green”) including a wide range of food and non-food products, including organic cotton pads, FSC certified paper towels, compostable dishes, easily degradable detergents and even brooms made with wood and compounds from sustainable origin.
Coop Italia was the first retailer in Italy with a fair trade private label range called “Solidal”. In addition, COOP has been the first Italian retailer to create a specific private label range for babies and toddlers with the brand “Crescendo” (“Growing”), and for Kids with the range “Club 4-10”.
Along with the target specific private label ranges COOP has had on the shelves for some time, there is also the gluten-free range for celiacs with the brand “Senza Glutine” (“Gluten free”), as well as a range called “Bene-Si” with food for specific dietetic exigencies (low fat, low salt, rich in fibers, good for the heart, good for the intestine, good for the weight control).
Debut of Stai Bene COOP >>
On December 5, 2012, in the Italian capital of Coop Italia’s headoffices, Bologna, COOP opened the first store with the brand “Stai Bene Coop”, which features a complete assortment of products for a persons overall health and wellbeing.
Stai Bene Coop, on Via Montegrappa, one of the characteristic streets in the historical city center of Bologna, employs eight, including four pharmacists and offers more than five thousand products in the well-being, ethical trade, organic categories as well as specific Coop private label brands.
This new, neighborhood store format showcases the ViviVerde fresh & dry food range, the BeneSi food range, the COOP Gluten-Free range as well as gluten-free products from other brands. It also carries beauty-care products of primary brands normally sold in the pharmacies, as well as the Vivi-Verde cosmetics assortment, made with ingredients from organic agriculture, with no parabenes or silicones that are dermatologically approved without animal testing. There is also an opticians corner, as well as a pharmacy.
The new Stai Bene Coop store also carries a large baby care assortment including the products with Coop private label “Crescendo” and “Club 4-10” products for kids.
The wellbeing and health care assortment offers a complete range of safe and certified products at competitive prices. According to Coop’s information, it will be possible to save up to 20% on pharmaceuticals and para-pharmaceuticals when compared to other sales channels.
Leading Italian retailers in cooperative format are proving to be extremely innovative, investing on new store formats focusing on quality, wellbeing and opening neighborhood stores which offer high levels of customer service. They enhance and promote their work by collaborating with qualified suppliers, and through investments targeted to build consumer confidence and fidelity through their private labels.
Italy’s food is renown, diffused (and also copied) all around the world … now, Italian retailer’s new store formats, born from their private label brand assortments, are proving to be another good example of new opportunities to develop as well.
