Calgary Co-op to switch food supplier to Save-On-Foods

Calgary Co-op stores are switching suppliers to Save-on-Foods.

Groceries at Calgary Co-op will soon come from Save-On-Foods, in a move the local retailer says will “better serve members and ensure long-term sustainability.”

The supply change will happen in April 2020 when the Co-op will no longer purchase its grocery products from Saskatoon-based Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL).

The switch will apply to all Calgary stores, though Co-op will still obtain gasoline and convenience store products from FCL.

The High River Co-op store will also continue to be supplied by FCL.

“It’s sad to see them moving away from the Co-op family they’ve helped build,” said FCL CEO Scott Banda in a statement.

“Our senior leadership team and board of directors had prepared for this possibility and we’re now evaluating impacts and planning our next steps.”

Calgary Co-op has more than 400,000 members in the city and reported $1.3 billion in sales in 2018.

The retailer says the decision was approved by its board of directors “after careful review.”

Co-op says the transition will result in more local, healthy items and “a new range of private brands, exclusively available to our stores.”

Save-On-Foods is part of the Overwaitea Food Group based in B.C., though Co-op says its food supply will come from the Alberta-based arm of the company.