Co-operative corner shop opens in Schaarbeek

Healthy and affordable food through group buying. That's the idea behind co-operative supermarket Bees Coops, which is to open in Schaarbeek in six months. Until that time, Bees Coop has opened Labo-Market, a smaller 'test store' where members of the cooperation can buy at reduced prices in exchange for a helping hand. The co-operation is still on the lookout for new members.

The temporary corner shop is right next to the future super market, which will move into a former bakery at the Van Hovestraat in Schaarbeek.

"While we're awaiting the necessary permits to renovate the supermarket next door, we want to test the whole system on a smaller scale", Quentin Crespel, one of the three paid employees who set up the supermarket for Bees Coop, told BRUZZ. "We are getting in touch with suppliers, trying out our operating model, and learn about administrative and financial aspects."

Cafeteria
'Brussels Ecologic, Economic and Social Cooperative': that's what Bees Coop stands for. The initiators have chosen local and often biological suppliers, which they pay an honest price for their mainly seasonal products. They also organize group purchases for dry groceries, so they can keep their prices low and reduce the amount of packaging waste.

The test store opened in May, but Bees Coop deliberately kept a low profile. It's only open two half days a week, on Sundays and Mondays. It sells about 250 kinds of food and personal care products, forty of which in bulk bins, without any packaging.

"In the supermarket there will be 2,000 to 3,000 different products, on a surface of 300 square meters", Crespel explains. "There will also be a meeting room, a kitchen and a cafeteria. There, we'll sell soup and small dishes made of unsold foods. The idea is to create a real meeting point for people from the neighborhood."

Only members are allowed to buy in the store and eat in the cafeteria. In order to become a member, you need to purchase shares. Crespel: "We ask people to buy four shares, for a total of 100 euros. But people who cannot afford this, may also invest less." The shares are refundable.

Helping hands

Another important requirement is that members are expected to help in the store. That way, Bees Coop can save on staff expenses. In the test store, for now, people are asked to help two or three hour in the course of three months. In the normal supermarket that will be three hours per month. "It's important to test if all the work gets done this way."

Bees Coop now has 80 active volunteers and 600 members, mainly from the neighborhood. "But we need 1,200 to keep the supermarket open five days a week", says Crespel. "And 1,500 to reach the break-even point."

The cooperative is therefore still looking for members and holds weekly information sessions, in French and (sometimes) in Dutch. "In one hour, you get all the information on the project and afterwards, you can register."

Bees Coop plans to open their supermarket in March 2017. It will be the biggest cooperative store of the Brussels Region.