What is Central Co-op Membership?

With us, Membership means more. More for you, and more for your community. What does that mean?

With us, you’ll:

• Own more, with a share and a say in our business
• Give more, with our community support fund
• Do more, with our local groups and events
• Earn more, with Reward ££s and points when you shop
• Save more, with Member exclusive offers

Because we’re a co-operative, it means we do business differently. Our Members are our owners, we don’t have independent shareholders.

As we’re Member-owned and Member-led, we don’t just focus on making a profit—we care about how that profit is made and redistribute it back to our Members and communities.

How do I become a Central Co-op Member?

You can download our app by searching Central Co-op Membership on your app store, click ‘join’ at the top of this page, or call us on 0800 050 1601 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri). You’ll need to pay £1 to join – this is the cost of your share in the business and officially makes you a Member owner!

Reward ££s

Reward ££s are another way of us sharing our profits with you, giving you it in a cash-back style ready to spend in store!

You can earn Reward ££s when you shop, ready to use next time or you can choose to save them up for a special treat or a big shop later in the year. You can keep track of your earnings in our newly refreshed Membership app and on your receipt in store.

Share of the profits

When you spend with us, you’ll earn points. These are then converted into your share of our profits once a year. They’ll be paid into your Member pot and you can then spend these in store.

Exclusive offers

Online and in the app, there are even more exclusive games and challenges with rewards and offers available. Plus there are weekly offers you can choose from to redeem in store

Member groups and events

Get more active in your local community with our Member groups, classes and events. There are loads to choose from!

Your Member voice

Democracy is one of our key values – and you have a voice! We have two Member meetings a year, where you can vote on important issues, plus an annual engagement survey, where all our Members can tell us how we’re doing.

If you want to have even more of a say, you can join our Membership panel here: https://centralcoop.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3xWirdryFi0Mjv8

We regularly check in with our panel to help us make decisions and ask what they would like to see from us!

Community Support Fund

For many years, Central Co-op has proudly supported local causes through our Community Dividend Fund, which reinvested 1% of our annual profits into community projects. Over the last five years, we’ve invested £679,400 and supported 665 projects.

In Spring 2024, we paused the fund to redesign it, based on our Member’s feedback.

The refreshed fund will:

Aligns with our key priorities: young people, the environment, and mental health & wellbeing. The things our Members told us were most important to them.

Rewards our most engaged Members, linking applications to active Membership.

Brings decision making closer to communities through our elected Member and Community Councils.

The result is the new Community Support Fund - refreshed to deliver even greater impact.

There are three funding cycles per year, each dedicated to one of our priorities:

October: Young people

February: Sustainability and environmental projects

June: Mental health initiatives (chosen by our Members)

Funeral benefits

We’re here for all the important moments in life, including helping you say goodbye. That’s why our Members can earn benefits when they make a will or LPA through us, buy a funeral plan from Central Co-op Funeral Plans, or arrange a funeral with us. Learn more here