Many food co-ops produce their own publicity materials such as leaflets and posters.
You should include as much information as possible about how your food co-op runs. The location, opening times, and a contact phone number or email are important, and you might also want to include a short description of why your food co-op was set up and the benefits of shopping there. If you are running a bag scheme, you might consider including the cost and whether they have to be preordered.
If you’re not a brilliant designer, you might want to ask someone you know to help design your printed materials. You could even run a competition together with a local school to design a logo!
When preparing leaflets and posters, if any details such as opening times or phone numbers are likely to change it is best to only print a small number of leaflets at a time, as and when you need them. Simple black and white leaflets or posters can be designed and printed from a home computer. There are several websites offering flyer templates, so if you’re not familiar with graphic design software this could be a good option. Printing in colour is more expensive, but if you’ve got a good design they can be attractive and eye-catching.
To figure out whether printed promotional materials are worth the expense, it is a good idea to ask new customers where they heard about the food co-op - or you might even offer a discount for new customers bringing the leaflet along. Often a well-placed poster is much more effective than door-to-door leafleting. If you’re running a co-op at a school or housing association, you might want to ask if leaflets can be handed out to parents or residents at other events.
To find more useful food co-op related information visit our homepage
Food Co-ops toolkit: The Food Co-ops Toolkit will give you all the information you need to set up your own food co-op.
