Heart of England Co-op has launched a pricing initiative at food stores across Coventry and Warwickshire to help shoppers cope with ithe cost-of-living crisis, as inflation continues.
The retail society says the price of over 40 essential food items has been locked in, covering a
range of affordable meat, fruit, vegetable and dairy products.
“We are an independent co-operative society operating at the very heart of the communities we serve and we understand the financial issues local people face right now,” said CEO Steve Browne (pictured).
“Weekly food budgets are becoming ever tighter. That’s why we have acted to ensure that these essential, everyday items are frozen at fair, affordable prices.
“As a co-operative we have an ethos of fair pricing and giving back to the local community underpinning all our activities. That’s exactly why we have launched this scheme.”
He added: “It’s about helping people as much as we can without having to compromise on quality. Many of the products we have offered in the range are produced in this country and so this also supports British farmers and producers.”
Heart of England has also created a pack of menus for customers and members to enable them to make best use of the products included in the ‘Everyday Prices on Everyday stuff’ scheme.
“The co-operative way focuses on shopper and member benefits, democratic control and continually putting money back into the community,” said Browne.
“Since the turn of the century, we have gifted well over £1m to deserving community causes in the areas in which we trade.
“We hope our new price freeze scheme will bring some relief and peace of mind to local people who are feeling the pinch.”
Meanwhile, the society continues to invest in its estate, opening a new artisan coffee shop in Attleborough, Nuneaton following a £300,000 revamp of food store in Kem Street.
The latest development in a commercial link-up between the Heart of England and Bewiched Coffee, the coffee shop has created ten jobs.
It has two entrances – a glass fronted exterior door and an access point inside the Heart of England store – and seating for nearly 70 people, with more tables outside.
“As an independent co-operative society with a local focus, we have a lot of synergy
with Bewiched, sharing many of the same values,” said Browne.
“As a multi-site franchisee, we have opened a number of locations over recent years, including our first drive thru at Glenvale Park in Wellingborough and the second for Bewiched, with more branches set to open between now and the end of the year.”
The Bewiched chain was founded in 2010 by Matt Fountain in neighbouring Northamptonshire after he invested his redundancy money into launching a coffee shop in Wellingborough. He has since grown the chain to 20 shops.
