Events
Many food co-ops organise high profile launch events and also promote themselves at other local community events on an on-going basis.
Before committing to a big launch event, you need to think about how many people you want to attract and how much money you have. If starting big is part of your plan, then go ahead. But if you are happy to start small, perhaps with just a few friends or one local school, then a less ambitious event may be more your style.
Rather than simply running a stall with leaflets or putting up a display board you may also want to do something more interactive, such as a smoothie-making demonstration, tasting session or recipe swap (see Educational activities) as this will attract more people to come and find out about what you’re doing.
Attending events can be time-consuming in preparation, attending and clearing up afterwards, and you probably need at least two people there throughout the day. So before attending an event you need to think about the target customers for your food co-op and work out whether the event is likely to attract these types of people. You may have the most success at community events or fun days in your local area, such as school fairs, food festivals, or sustainability and environment events.
You will need publicity materials such as leaflets to give out with your food co-op’s details, and some way to collect contact details of people interested in the food co-op so that you can contact potential customers afterwards.
Useful documents: