Store Spotlight: Trinity Wholefoods
Ever wondered what’s it’s like on the inside of a workers’ cooperative? Rosie Greenaway hears from Trinity Wholefoods about the difference between making macro and micro decisions as an ensemble, and gets a glimpse of the store’s 40th anniversary celebrations
Bringing together eight co-op directors on the same day, without illness or holiday putting a dent in numbers, is harder than it might sound – but earlier this summer the team at Trinity Wholefoods pulled it off to mark the store’s 40-year anniversary. Proudly wearing their new Lucy & Yak aprons the team captured a rare moment together, cementing the day as another landmark moment in the long history of this small workers’ cooperative in Hastings.
Getting all members to make unanimous macro decisions about the business is an even harder feat, as Nikki Gedney, who joined the team ten years ago, explains. “That is the one thing about the cooperative that we all say is just hilarious. Because you’re all likeminded people in theory, all working in the same environment, sharing ethics, principles and values, you would think that you’d be able to come to a decision fairly easily. But what once took six years was deciding on what colour paint to use for the windows! So it’s always an interesting conversation. We have a monthly meeting which is the only time all the co-op members are together, so that’s when all those discussions happen – or don’t! Things can take a little bit longer than if you had a normal hierarchy in the workplace.”
As ‘custodians of the business’ they’re a close-knit team, she says, striving to uphold the vision set out by the co-op’s 15 founding members in 1985, who wanted ‘a business based on fair and ethical principles, to be a viable part of the community, and to offer the community good value, healthy wholefoods’.
“We won’t stock products that are owned by multinational companies which don’t have human or animal welfare in their consideration.”
In the early days a ‘no sugar’ policy was in place. “They just had one choice of biscuit and nothing else was allowed to have any sugar in it,” recalls Gedney. In today’s store it’s a different story but organic, vegetarian and local remain non-negotiable. “We try to support small, independent producers and other cooperatives. I think people appreciate a business that runs on those values. We won’t stock products that are owned by multinational companies which don’t have human or animal welfare in their consideration. If something that we’ve stocked has been taken over by a company with bad ethical values then as a co-op we decide to take it off the shelf.”
Smaller decision-making, such as what to list or delist, doesn’t require a full head count, and members can make micro decisions alone in their respective departments – which change annually, she notes. “We all have different officer roles and they change every year; it’s important for every member to be able to understand and get a feel of all different areas of the business. Because of my interests (I studied nutrition and health) I’m the supplements and skincare buyer. If I decided I wanted to stop stocking zinc citrate and replace it with magnesium bisglycinate, I would be able to make that decision [without having to consult].”
Keeping customers happy can be complicated, she admits, with each one possessing their own set of nuanced ethics. “We have customers who are concerned about heat-treated products or country [of origin] or sulphur. They can be quite particular; they like to stick to their values. So if something they’ve been buying for some time all of a sudden goes, they will raise the question with us, but once we explain … they get a full understanding of why that decision was made.”
A limited edition, custom tote bag helped mark the store’s 40th, along with a memory box encouraging multi-generational shoppers to share nostalgic throwbacks. Inviting along local suppliers and as many former Trinity members as could be mustered, the team celebrated with a select group of customers, offering food and drink, music, speeches and photo tributes ‘blasted on the walls throughout the evening’. “It was a lovely way to thank each other for everything that we’ve done.”
By Rosie Greenaway, editor