NCG and SPINS are excited to announce that they have signed a new retail cooperation and collaboration agreement—a major evolution in our partnership. Under this new agreement, NCG and SPINS will undertake several development projects aimed at increasing the competitiveness of member co-ops. These projects include:

• Providing co-ops with access to conventional channel sales and performance data
• Development of a process to collect and report bulk and PLU-coded product sales

Two additional development projects are aimed at breaking down barriers that our industry partners face when working with NCG and member co-ops, especially in the areas of promotions and product innovation. These projects are:

• A new stream-lined reporting portal that allows trading partners freer access to sales and promotional performance measures. This access will allow industry partners who are already investing in co-ops through Co+op Deals to tailor future promotions and programs to more effectively meet shoppers’ needs
• A program that will work with new, emerging brands as they begin doing business in the natural products industry. Through this program, new brands will gain access to data, insights, and business advice that will allow them to thrive. The intention is to help brands that align with our shopper’s values compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace while allowing co-ops access to unique products.

SPINS remains committed to providing co-ops with great support and service. They recently added a second on-site business consultant to our St. Paul office. In the coming months they will debut a new reporting platform that builds on the success of their existing portal.

SPINS will continue to support co-ops with a suite of training opportunities. SPINS Literacy training will move to Co-op U to better align with NCG’s other educational offerings. The popular Category Management Intensives with SPINS (CMIS) will continue to be offered and improved over time.