Coop Foodhaul

In this post, I would like to take a closer look at my documented shopping and the assortment at the Coop. This is the fourth of five posts in which I visit a different supermarket in Switzerland every week to show the differences. The purchases are as close to reality as possible and organic when available.

Shopping List

A balanced diet also includes legumes, whole grains and nuts & seeds. These products are always in stock in my household. To avoid food waste, they do not appear in the foodhauls. Nevertheless, I try to buy products that are as similar as possible so that a comparison is representative. My shopping list includes:

  • 2 types of fruit
  • 3 lemons
  • Herbs
  • 1 x dark green leafy vegetable
  • 1 x cruciferous vegetables
  • other vegetables
  • Plant drink
  • Tofu
  • vegan yoghurt
  • 1 processed product

Processed Products

Of course, there are various vegan processed products in the Coop, such as pizza, falafel, vegan cheese, nuggets, “fish fingers” etc.. Which you can now get in every supermarket in Switzerland. Normally, every supermarket has its house brands as far as these products are concerned. Coop also has brands like planted, Andros, beleaf (Emmi), beyond meat, Baukhof, Morga, Flora, Yolo, Greenforce, Elephant Mountain, SimplyV, New Roots, Violife, Vegü, Connie’s Kitchen, Little Lunch, Naturli, Garden Gourmet, Outlawz, Délicorn, the Green Mountain, Fisch vom Feld, Prix Garantie (house brand), Oumph, Vivera, Veganz, Trolli, Nu3, Foodspring, Ben & Jerry’s, Sproud, Alpro and Oatly. The Coop’s house brand is called Karma. Attention! Irritatingly, not all Karma products are vegan, many of them are unfortunately only vegetarian. You therefore always have to look very carefully at the package before putting it in the basket, which is a bit awkward. A large part of the vegan range consists of products from Karma, naturaplan, Qualité&Prix, Prix Garantie and Yolo. Unfortunately, the only Veganz products are frozen pizza and sweets.

Organic Products

Compared to Lidl, the selection of organic vegetables at the Coop is limited. It is about the same as in Aldi. I couldn’t find any organic herbs in the Coop and had to juggle the vegetables as well. The kale, for example, is not organic. In bigger shops, however, the selection is somewhat larger. In the Coop you can find products from Pro Specie Rara, a foundation that supports the preservation of traditional cultivated plants. These are also more likely to be found in large branches, which is a pity. It is also a pity that almost all organic products are packed in plastic. In the Coop, there is no special organic section outside the vegetable department, as was the case at Lidl or Aldi. You find the organic products next to the respective non-organic products.

The Coop’s own brand is called Naturaplan and is certified organic through the Bio-Knospe. On Labelinfo it is classified as excellent. The other two Knospe seals (Bio Suisse & the “normal Knospe“), which can also be found at Coop, are also classified as excellent.

Glutenfree Products

The range of gluten-free products in the Coop is about the same as in Migros. The brands Schär, Free From, Leisi, Baukhof, Roland, naturaplan, Karma, veganz, qualité&prix, Jamadu, Barilla, Ben’s Original, Hero, Masamor, Le Pain des Fleurs, Buitoni and Old El Paso are represented here. The products are labelled with the appropriate gluten-free seal if they are traditionally made with wheat flour, etc. In my experience, however, this large selection of products can only be found in large branches.

CoopPriceLidlPriceDifference
Alpro soy drink unsweetened2.95Alpro soy drink unsweetened2.19+ 0.76
organic tofu nature (260g)4.20organic tofu nature (200g)1.15+ 2.71
coconut yoghurt nature (400g)3.60coconut yoghurt nature (400g)2.99+ 0.61
Yolo Spaetzli2.95vegan Epiphany cake3.49– 0.54
organic carrots (1kg)2.95organic parsley curled0.89
kale (300g)3.75organic rucula (100g)1.29– 0.12
3 organic bell peppers2.952 organic bell peppers1.69+ 0.42
1 organic cauliflower2.651 organic cauliflower2.40+ 0.25
3 organic lemons2.253 organic lemons1.65+ 0.60
4 organic pears5.153 organic fair trade bananas1.40
5 organic apples5.504 organic apples2.79+ 2.05
organic oats (glutenfree)2.501 organic Avocado1.29
organic buckwheat2.95
Total43.8023.22+ 6.74

Conclusion

Coop is significantly more expensive than Lidl Switzerland, but the organic quality of Coop is rated higher on Labelinfo. The vegan range is similar in the two branches I visited. However, this changes when you visit a larger Coop branch. Then you will find more products than in Lidl Switzerland. In addition, Coop is more expensive than Migros and thus the most expensive supermarket in my comparison so far. Next week, I will discuss my foodhaul at Alnatura and draw a further conclusion.


I am talking about Coop in this post, I made the purchase at the Trischliplatz branch in Rorschach on 23 January 2023. This post is not sponsored and therefore contains only unpaid advertising.

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