Radstock Co-operative Society

Radstock Co-operative Society is a small regional consumer co-operative, which was established in Radstock, Somerset, England in 1868 and in 2023 operated 21 food stores across Somerset, three with post office facilities, alongside a 1,000 acre farm.^[4] It is owned and democratically controlled by its customer members, who numbered approximately 7000 in 2014.^[1] The society grew from a turnover of £15 million in 2006 to over £35m by 2016, doubling the number of stores over the period.^[5] The business has held the Fair Tax Mark since 2016.

In 2016, the society operated a large supermarket in Radstock and eighteen convenience shops in nearby areas.^[3] The society also owns Manor Farm at Hardington, a dairy farm^[2] which supplies a substantial portion of the organic milk sold through UK Co-operative Stores. It previously owned a Homemaker Furniture store.

In 2020 the society obtained planning permission to replace its Radstock "superstore" with a housing and new store development. The old single-storey building was beyond economical repair, and will be replaced with two three-storey buildings and a public square.^[6] In August 2020 the store was moved to temporary premises for the duration of the redevelopment.^[2] Demolition of the old building started in November 2022.^[7]

The society participates in the British co-operative movement. As well as supplying cheese for national distribution by the Co-operative Retail Trading Group (CRTG) through a milk processor, it obtains food goods from the CRTG. It is a corporate member and shareholder of The Co-operative Group, a national business that is successor to the Co-operative Wholesale Society. In line with many retail co-operatives across the UK, during the late 2000s the society began converting its stores from the 1993 dark blue Co-op cloverleaf branding, to green “The co-operative food” fascias, alongside acquiring stores in Shepton Mallet and Coleford.^[8][9]