Unicorn Grocery

This material is held atNational Co-operative Archive

Scope and Content

Material relating to Unicorn Grocery. Includes: meeting minutes, general business documentation, prices lists, promotional material, and training documents.

Administrative / Biographical History

Unicorn Grocery is a worker owned grocery based in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Registered as a workers' co-operative in 1995, it secured the loan capital required to open in 1996, using as a blueprint two workers' co-operatives in the south of England; Daily Bread Northampton and Daily Bread Cambridge.

Through bulk-purchasing wholefoods, emphasising local and sustainable agriculture, and offering affordable produce, Unicorn fast established itself as a cornerstone in the local community. Unicorn has remained committed to its original values of: secure employment; equal opportunity; wholesome, healthy consumption; fair and sustainable trade; and solidarity in co-operation.

Arrangement

The arrangement largely reflects the original arrangement of the material by members at Unicorn Grocery.

Access Information

The collection is open to any accredited reader, subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Some files in this collection are subject to Data Protection legislation as they contain sensitive information and material under 30 years old is closed to access. It is advised that you contact the Archivist before visiting.

Acquisition Information

In October 2017, the National Co-operative Archive published a call-out for historic materials within the wider workers' co-operative community for Working Together , a Heritage Lottery Funded project seeking to record and preserve the heritage of the workers' co-operative moment. This material was deposited by current members of Unicorn Grocery in response to this call out.

Separated Material

Published book: One Step Too Far, by Tina Seskis, (published by Penguin Books, 2014). Part of the book takes place at Unicorn Grocery.

Related Material

Interviews with members of Unicorn Grocery are held at the National Co-operative Archive for consultation in the reading room. A selection of these are available on the National Co-operative Archive website: Unicorn Oral History Interviews