Marketing cooperatives are comprised of individual goods or service providers who collaborate to collectively market and sell their products, all while maintaining their independent ownership and operations. This collaborative approach enables members producing similar or identical products to join forces in marketing and selling, thereby avoiding individual competition that could potentially devalue their businesses if pursued independently.
Marketing co-ops are often organized by industry
Agriculture co-op
Marketing cooperatives are most commonly found in the agriculture industry; 30 percent of total agricultural production is marketed by co-ops in the U.S. An example of agricultural co-op is Organic Valley in Wisconsin, which is a $528 million company owned by the 1,300 organic family farms that produce milk, cheese, and meat. The company’s mission is to save the family farm, which means paying as much as possible to farmers. Even though it is a national brand, the company organizes producers into regional pools, which limits the need to truck products over long distances.
Freelancer co-op
Freelance work refers to a type of self-employment where an individual provides services to clients on a project-by-project basis, rather than being employed by a company as a full-time employee. A freelancer cooperative is a type of marketing cooperative because it is focused on helping its members market and sell their freelance services to clients. The cooperative provides marketing and branding services to its members, helping them to find clients and projects.
While the members of a freelancer cooperative may also be worker-owners of the cooperative, the focus of the cooperative is not on producing goods or services collectively, but on marketing the individual services of its members. Therefore, it is more accurate to classify a freelancer cooperative as a type of marketing cooperative rather than a worker-owned cooperative.
The cooperative structure allows them to harness their collective power, create economies of scale, and ensure reliable livelihoods. Benefits also include: using the cooperative platform to find clients, to provide insurance and other services to freelancers, and to advocate for policies that stabilize the freelancer economy.
Artist co-op
Artist cooperatives are most commonly created for marketing purposes, which may include sharing retail or gallery space, marketing over the Internet, or publishing and distributing a catalog. Artist cooperatives, however, can also be formed to purchase expensive equipment that can be shared (e.g. kilns, printing presses), rent studio space, or obtain discounts on materials that can be purchased in bulk.
Social Co-ops
Social Co-ops Social co-ops essentially provide a space for informal sharing of good and services to its own members rather than the public or non-members
Consumer Co-ops
Consumer co-ops allow members to pool their buying power to purchase goods or services as one entity. This often gives them more power to negotiate
Worker-owned Co-ops
Worker-owned cooperatives deliver goods or services to the public as one member-owned entity. There are many different forms of worker-owned coops, which are generally based
