WHAT GOLIATH CAN LEARN FROM THE CREATIVITY OF DAVEY
How One Community Food Co-Op Braces Against Wal-Mart’s Stake In Organics
By Guest Writer, 8-16-06
By Kelly Dean Wiseman"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." —Carl Jung
Every day I receive e-mails from cooperators across the country on our rather free-form list serve. Currently the big chatter in cyberspace is about the recent news that Wal-Mart is moving into organics.
There is talk about a national co-op advertising campaign, and suggestions about what to do to explain "our difference" to folks who may be tempted to switch their organic shopping to the world's largest retailer.
Some of our co-op members have approached me with at least mild alarm about the threat to our organization, wondering exactly what we plan to do about it.
The competitive pressure comes not from Wal-Mart alone, but from all sides. It seems that everyone, from Safeway and Albertson's to the local warehouse grocer, is jumping on the bandwagon. My response is: Good! Imitation, as they say, is the highest form of flattery.
I can't help but feel a nice confirmation by the huge success of organics throughout the marketplace. The flip side of this is that smugness is not the right response, either.
The best action for long-term success is to predict where the market is going and move ahead into terrain few are likely to follow. So long as there is probable success, we please our members and we follow our mission statement.
It is no secret that for the last four years the fastest growing part of our operation is our deli. Our staff and managers have created an eating experience unlike anything available in southwest Montana. The rampant growth in our food service side is an indication that not only are we meeting a need in the community, but we have found a great niche in the marketplace.
Even better is the fact that the big boys will never be able to compete with us on this level. Not only do they have no inclination to run what is essentially a large restaurant, they have no idea how to cook from scratch, motivate a diverse and ever-changing workforce, or tap the creative talents of young cooks and merchandisers.
So my message regarding the threat of increased competition is to meet it with a different model. We not only sell canned tomatoes and organic milk, but we also offer a solution for quick meals, sumptuous salads, and fine lunch and dinner options. My imagination just cannot conceive of people wanting to go to Wal-Mart for a great meal.
This is a prime motivator for the construction of our Central Kitchen down the street, which will not only take pressure off our deli in the main store, but also allows us to improve and expand our dessert bakery, reduce the space-crunch on our cheese department, increase the offerings of our Real Food To Go, and explore the opportunities of baking our own bread.
If we choose to do a second store we will likely model it after our success here on Main Street. Attempting to build a warehouse grocery and offering cheap canned beans would be lunacy.
Instead we will do what we now do best: Offer a great selection of organic grocery and bulk foods, yes, but also do everything the others cannot or will not do.
The Co-op is a different kind of shopping experience. We like the size, and we like the crowd of friends looking for the best food around. As a sister co-op in Florida coins it, "Large enough to meet your needs, small enough to meet your neighbor."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Kelly Dean Wiseman is the general manager of the Community Food Co-op in Bozeman, Montana, located at 908 W. Main Street
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I really think the next frontier in this movement is to help provide the necessary education and accessibility that allow a greater proportion of our population to ride this wave. The realities of low-income life often equate to poor diets. Nobody can argue against the social benefits of healthy eating -- I just hope we can figure out how to make it happen for more people.
Comment By Truxton Rolfe, 8-15-06Kelly-
I think you are spot on with the perceived threat from Wal Mart and how to combat it on your local level. I often times travel to Bozeman and the first place I go a grubbin' is the co-op, where even as an out-of-towner I was welcomed as member and receive regular co-op updates. The local experience, combined with the consistently changing exciting menu options are second to none and will never be encroached upon by the box store chains. To my knowledge, there are few national organic grocery distributors (Tree of Life for example). Won't increased demand for their products lower prices for all vendors ordering from them? I would hope the Bozeman co-op, Real Food Store in Helena, Good Food Store in Missoula and others that use these national distributors would see a wholesale savings as the demand increases, in turn making their organic products accessible to a more varied economic collection of community residents. Thanks for the article and stimulation of good conversation on an important topic with real local impact.
Good luck to Kelly and the Co-Op. The Boise Co-Op and Portland's now-defunct Nature's both tried to expand on the success of their delis. In Boise, the Co-Op's attempt failed, probably due to bad timing (this was in the late 80s). Nature's restaurant didn't do very well in part because of location, and perhaps because of their buyout by GNC. I hope timing and location are with you, and that you don't sell to a big company!
Comment By jeff, 8-16-06The Co-Op has grown up with Bozeman. We are a long way from having to depend on the 7th Day Adventist store for bulk grains and meat substitutes. I've been a member from its (extremely) humble beginnings on South Broadway to cashiering at the College location and then shopping and drinking coffee at the big store on Main Street.
It's a great lesson in community, and capitalism for the community. The Co-Op is as good a home grown success story for local business as any in the area, particularly since it's stayed here.
I'm glad to see Kelly and the Co-Op leaders looking at ways they can compete and niche market. They've always been a place for "early adopters" of new food products and I sometimes go there just to see "what's new".
It's also good to see that they do not try to exercise political influence as a substitute for competence and creativity.
Well done. Congratulations to Kelly, and Dana, who was a huge dedicated contributor in the lean times, and the others equally dedicated who make this a Bozeman landmark of business and community success.
I agree that the Co-Op can differentiate itself by expanding their deli selections, but I'd like to suggest that an equally important differentiation and advantage that the Co-Op can tout and expand upon is their commitment to providing locally grown, seasonally appropriate meats and produce. I'm not convinced that the WalMart-ization of organic farming is going to be an entirely good thing. Certainly reducing industrial agriculture's use of petrochemicals, pesticides, and fertalizers will benefit the planet and its consumers, but the model they're engaging in is still one of large-scale, industrial monoculture -- only this time with an organic label. (Though I have yet to read it, I understand that Michael Pollan's new book has an interesting duscussion of this trend.) We certainly need to applaud the increased availability of organic food, but don't forget the importance of locally grown. I'll consider giving WalMart my business only when they've got locally grown, organic meats and produce.
Comment By Rebecca Resop, 9-09-08Our Bozeman Montana Co-op folks are well informed and in position to serve the needs and wants of local consumers. Managemant at it's finest. wal mart, yes, yes, we have one in our community, right off the the interstate, to serve your cotton q tip needs, and et cetras. Again, management at it's finest on the corporate level. 24 crayons for 20 cents, how can any smart shopper resist that purhcase in september?
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