Project
La Cagette is a cooperative store located in Montpellier, that opened in 2017. To be able to shop there, you must be a member of the cooperative and participate 3 hours every four weeks in the daily life of the place. The supermarket offers nearly 3000 product references from 90 suppliers on a sales area of 250m². 7 employees are responsible for monitoring and supervising the work of the cooperative members.
The purpose of the store is to:
- Allow everyone to improve their diet regardless of their means and beliefs
- Remunerate the producers fairly
- Co-build sustainable and transparent sectors, if possible locally
Cagette's policy is to promote total transparency on the margin made and to reinvest all of the profits back into the cooperative. Each member represents a voice in the General Assembly and participates in the management of the store which aims to be a place of exchange, sharing and debate on food.
Results: After only one year of opening, it had a turnover of over 40,000€ / week. This means that the cooperative can hope to reach a financial balance as from its second year of existence. In February 2019, there were more than 2,200 cooperative members.
Context
"We want to stimulate quality agricultural production in Montpellier and its surroundings by offering new outlets with good remuneration for farmers."
"The city of Montpellier has an extremely rich associative fabric. We hope to build on this to develop this major cultural project around the themes of food and consumption. ”
Project leaders
In early 2016, one of the founding members of La Cagette actively participated in the construction of the La Louve cooperative supermarket in the 18th arrondissement in Paris. He meticulously collected all the documentation necessary to launch a similar project in Montpellier.
The Little Extra
La Cagette offers a range of food, hygiene and cleaning products :organic or not, local and short circuit, in bulk and consumer products from national distributors. These different ranges make it possible to democratize access to the store for all.
Written by Alice Deshons, LFC volunteer - March 2019.
Last modification : 29 Apr 2020.
La Cagette
La Cagette is a cooperative non-profit supermarket, open to all, whose members participate three hours every four weeks and are the only owners, the only decision-makers and the only customers.