Its produce will now bear the Producto Cooperativo mark, allowing consumers to recognise products grown or made by cooperatives
Anecoop, Spain’s biggest second-tier fruit and vegetable cooperative, has signed up to the new national brand, Producto Cooperativo (Cooperative Product), established by the association of agri-food cooperatives of Spain, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias.
The initiative was created with the aim of allowing consumers to view and recognise products produced by cooperatives, highlighting the distinctive principles defended by this business model and its contribution to social sustainability.
The official presentation of the Producto Cooperativo brand took place at the end of March during the five-yearly Congress held by Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias in Palma de Mallorca.
Bouquet, Cultivamos Futuro, and ¿Ysi? de Bouquet are some of the Anecoop brands that will now feature this quality seal, which will give greater visibility to local cooperative products from the Spanish countryside, produced by companies that promote a fair and equitable economic model, committed to rural development and the thousands of farmers they represent.
“The efforts made with this project aim to defend national agriculture, rural life, and enhance the authentic flavour of the countryside,” Anecoop said.
Being part of this initiative, which aims to position itself as a benchmark in the agri-food sector, requires cooperatives to meet strict management parameters that guarantee the quality and traceability of their offer as well as maximum food safety. To be identifiable by consumers, the products of the associated cooperatives include the distinctive graphic of this new brand on their packaging and labels, along with the producer’s logo.
Alejandro Monzón, president of Anecoop, commented: “In the International Year of Cooperatives, joining this initiative means continuing to move forward together to give greater visibility to our products and differentiate them with the support of this seal that promotes sustainable and local consumption.
“Because cooperatives are much more than a way of doing business; we are a way of building community, responding to a society that increasingly demands quality products made according to a series of parameters that are, precisely, the values that cooperatives embody.”
