UK supermarket chain Co-op is launching a new series of food-for-now stores in areas with high pedestrian traffic, enhancing its convenience retail offerings.

With the first store already trading in Solihull, 15 more will open in the second half of 2025.

The Co-operative group aims to expand to several hundred stores by 2027/28.

Co-op food managing director Matt Hood stated: “It is a brand new concept, which we believe there is a big demand for and which we can meet with delicious products, quick service, good value and spot-on locations. I am excited to see this evolution of Co-op stores join our traditional convenience stores across the UK.”

The new format, a first in the UK for a national grocery chain and unique within Co-op's portfolio, is approximately a quarter the size of its standard convenience stores.

The locations will operate from 7am to 7pm and serve key meal solutions to cater to the rising trend of "grab-and-go" customers throughout the day.

It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in various formats; traditional meal deals, hot food served over the counter, and a new deli selection.

The stores will offer exclusive items developed specifically for smaller retail spaces, such as all-day breakfast meal pots and overnight oats.

The Co-op will offer pizzas cooked in store and hot and cold drinks, featuring wines and a selection of ready-to-drink cocktails.

In its next phase, the store will shift to “dark trading” in the evenings, featuring Co-op's Irresistible Pizzas delivered to customers' doors, as the retailer aims to capture a larger share of the expanding "food-for-now" market.

Hood added: “We are always looking at new ways to deliver convenience to our members and customers and these new stores are a perfect example of us using our expertise to refine our ‘on-the-go’ offer so it is focused on giving shoppers exactly what they need, when they need it.”

In September 2024, Co-op announced the launch of a 24-hour online grocery delivery service in the UK, to meet the increasing demand for shopping at non-traditional times.