AnnualReport2023 - Flipbook - Page 8
Thriving Co-op
Developing a sustainable 昀椀nancial model
Owner Participation
Owner support is the foundation of our co-op.
Owners account for half of our customer visits,
but almost two-thirds of our sales.
* 2021 pro昀椀t includes government covid subsisdies
2023 was a challenging year 昀椀nancially and we ended
the year with a $890,000 loss. The loss was due to three
factors:
1) Sales were 昀氀at due to the lingering impact of Covid.
Eat-in sales lagged pre-covid levels, and the downtown
Raleigh store suffered from the slow return of of昀椀ce
workers.
2) Food costs climbed rapidly and we absorbed much of
the increase which lowered our gross margin.
3) We held 昀椀rm on our commitment to increase employee pay, which meant that our payroll costs went up without a corresponding increase in revenue.
We expect to return to pro昀椀tability next year. We are
now achieving 5% sales growth, food price increases
have slowed, and the sales growth can fund higher employee pay.
Growing the local food system in NC
Although we are mostly occupied with current
priorities, we are also looking to play a leadership
role in building the local food system in NC.
More Food Co-ops
More and more organizations see food co-ops as
a key ingredient to grow the local food system.
We are working with these organizations to create a viable model for new food co-ops in NC. The
goal is to leverage the resources and expertise of
existing co-ops, local non-pro昀椀ts and community-based developers, and regional and national
support organizations.
Regional Food Campus
We are exploring becoming a partner in a proposed regional food campus that will 昀椀ll a gap in
the local food system by clustering food production, co-packing, distribution, and other support
functions. An initial study by NC Growth at UNC’s
Kenan Flagler found that it’s viable and will create
jobs, tax revenues, over $20M in annual economic output.
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