Can co-op supermarkets lead the way to sustainability? Potentials and challenges in the shift from food difference to food democracy in Spain

Abstract

This article examines how cooperative supermarkets attempt to scale up alternative food networks whilst creating distinctive consumer experiences that challenge conventional retail practices. Through atmospheric analysis of Spanish co-op supermarkets, I show how these hybrid organisations navigate key tensions between conventional retail efficiency and alternative food values. Using ethnographic methods, the research identifies five interconnected challenges that shape these organisations’ transformative potential: differentiating their consumer experience, aligning consumer-material ethics, fostering community engagement, managing professional-amateur tensions and expanding their consumer base. Whilst these challenges reveal the inherent difficulties of scaling up alternative food practices, the article suggests that co-op supermarkets represent a feasible hybrid model for transforming food consumption. By creating distinctive consumer practices, these initiatives demonstrate how alternative food networks can expand beyond niche activism whilst maintaining their commitment to environmental sustainability and community values during times of increasing ecosocial pressures.