An ethical supermarket

Unicorn - Manchester's co-operative grocery

Since it opened in 1996 Unicorn Grocery has offered an large range of affordable, fresh, and wholesome food to customers in South Manchester.

Because of its good prices, Unicorn is now one of the largest and most successful wholefood stores in the UK, named The Observer Food Monthly's 'Best Independent Shop' and Radio 4 Food Programme's 'Best Local Food Retailer’ in 2008.

Unicorn’s basic offer is healthy food with a focus on organic, fair-trade, and local. Ethical principles are important when they decide what to sell. As a workers co-operative the shop is owned and managed by the people who work in it, and they have created a place they want to shop in themselves.

Unicorn’s focus is on basic ingredients for tasty, interesting, and cheap cooking:

About seventy lines of organic fruit and vegetables from the north-west region and beyond, at prices that compare well to supermarket competitors. Unicorn also owns 21 acres of good farmland land, just 14 miles from the shop, lived in and managed by a co-op of organic growers. This gives the store a supply of fresh, regional, organic fruit and vegetables.
Packed on site, there is a wide variety of basic cooking ingredients, including pulses, grains, nuts, dried fruits, and spices, which are good for really cheap and healthy meals. Many of these are organic. There are some unusual products along with all the basic foods.
In addition to a great range of organic beer and wine there's daily fresh organic bread and a vegan deli counter.
In non-food, there is a large selection of environmentally friendly baby products, cosmetics and household goods made from natural ingredients.
Unicorn caters for people who like to cook from scratch using great ingredients.

The shop is full of information about trade and food issues, and tries to help customers make informed shopping choices. Unicorn's turnover has gone from £3,500 to £5 million, and from 4 members to 50. Unicorn donates about 5% of wage costs to local and international projects. It also gives money to a tree planting scheme and pays a carbon tax to try to offset some of the environmental impact caused by the business.

1. Is the store expensive?	Yes	No
2. Does the store sell healthy food?	Yes	No
3. Does the store sell fair-trade products?	Yes	No
4. Does the store have one boss?	Yes	No
5. Does the store sell more than 60 lines of organic fruit and vegetables?	Yes	No
6. Are the products packed in a factory?	Yes	No
7. Can you buy alcohol at the store?	Yes	No
8. Does the store exist longer than 30 years?	Yes	No