Imagine a workplace with no bosses, where everyone has equal pay and an equal say.
Well at Suma they’ve been doing things a bit differently for over 40 years. Not only in their mission to supply everything vegetarian and sustainable, but also in how they are run.
A co-operative of ordinary people built on integrity and equality, Suma is a worker co-op, a business owned and run by the nearly 200 people who work there. They don’t have any bosses or shareholders. Suma’s employees set the direction of the business. Everyone has an equal say in what it does. All get paid the same wage, take responsibility and each do a range of jobs each week, from truck driving to cooking to accounts.
It means that when you meet someone who works at Suma, you’re meeting a co-owner who knows and cares about the business. Your driver might work in accounts and product development when she’s not out on the road, so she can give you the bigger picture.
How our buying group works
Each month the volunteer ‘Suma Coordinator’ informs those who are part of the buying group when the delivery is to be made and what are the ordering deadlines.
Each person in the group then accesses the Suma online account and places their order. A 5% surcharge is added which goes to Transition Chester funds.
Provided the total of all orders achieves the minimum required for a wholesale delivery without charge (currently £375) then the order goes ahead ready for delivery to the delivery point at the Coordinator’s home in central Chester
On delivery day each person placing an order comes to collect their order (once the volunteer coordinator has sorted each of the orders that makes up the total delivery).
Each person then pays the appropriate amount into the Transition Chester Bank account (including the 5% surcharge) so that the invoice from Suma can then be paid.
Have a look at the activity during 2023 by following this link.
Interested to join our Buying Group?
We have capacity to involve more households in our group, so if you think you may be interested to join us please email us to find out more, giving your mobile number in the message.