A speculative cooperative model for supermarkets

hypercoop

Equally owned by Planet and Community,
unlocking the supermarket as interface
through which to truly feed our surroundings,
human and non-human alike.

50% of profit for community

Tracked by the Community Flower, whose stem grows until the store goes into profit for the month, with the blossom size indicating how much.

50% of profit for planet

Tracked by the Planet Flower, whose stem grows until its profit share offsets the store’s carbon footprint, with the blossom size indicating the surplus available for additional climate repair.

HyperCOOP was devised to
seamlessly plug into the existing
infrastructure of supermarket
chains such as ICA.

Swedish ICA supermarkets are all independently owned, with each owner allowed to pick their own profit margins, while paying a monthly fee to access ICA’s distribution deals of low wholesale prices. HyperCOOP simply exchanges the single owner for a collective, with a stated use of profits.

The proposals for community investment are put forward by a board that rotates on a quarterly basis—voted in by the community too.

The community owners, consisting of customers and workers, track their HyperCOOP’s monthly health through the store’s unique digital garden.

From the month’s costs, revenue and profits that define the Community Flower…

…to the (estimated) carbon offset costs and available surplus, that define the Planet Flower.

Full transparency reveals detailed cost progressions and estimated totals for the month…

…alongside the carbon footprint of the store, even extending to second and third scope emissions (of inventory).

Both workers and customers receive voting seeds—one per euro spent or earned—to vote on the use of the community’s profit share.

The proposals for community investment are put forward by a board that rotates on a quarterly basis—voted in by the community too.

The community owners, consisting of customers and workers, track their HyperCOOP’s monthly health through the store’s unique digital garden.

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HyperCOOP is no sure solution, but rather a possible vision.

There’s plenty of questions left to discuss; how can the imperfect solution of carbon offsetting be improved? How can the true carbon footprint of a supermarket be traced? Is linking voting power to buying and labour power actually fair?

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