It’s food
It’s funeralcare
It’s farms
It’s pharmacies
It’s varied
It’s me

We know that every graduate is different. So rather than pigeonhole you at an early stage, we see your entrance into The Co-operative Group as a door to all kinds of possibilities. Each of our different businesses will all be vying for your talents, so for ambitious people like you, it’s an opportunity to come in and take the lead on high profile projects that will directly influence the future of the Group. If you want to find out a bit more about each of our businesses, the following will give you a quick overview.

Our Pharmacy business is one of the UK’s largest community pharmacy groups with over 470 branches nationwide. Progressive and forward thinking our mission is to give customers advice, support and information on the things that are important to them.

The Co-operative Food is undergoing a transformation. We’re refurbishing our network of stores. Our brand has been refreshed and redesigned to reflect our modern, ethical approach. We have also launched a number of food ranges that have won over thousands of customers and picked up a number of awards.

Within Food there are three distinct functions. Our Head Office team is vital in helping us to build on our reputation and drive the business forward. Store Operations ensure we lead the market in locally sourced, affordable Fairtrade food and drink. While Retail Logistics have invested £40m on modernising our distribution network, so that we can continue to meet the needs of our customers.

The Co-operative Funeralcare is the UK’s largest funeral service provider with over 800 funeral homes. We do everything we can to provide a warm, sensitive and individual service when it matters most.

The Co-operative Travel is the largest independent travel agency in the industry with no ties to a traditional tour operator – so we can offer truly impartial advice. We are a travel business that is part of the community, delivering for the community and 1.3 million people depend on us for their travel requirements.

When people think of The Co-operative Group, very few think of farms. In actual fact, we’ve been farming since 1896, and we’re now the UK’s biggest farmer. Primarily, we’re an arable farmer, but we also grow potatoes, strawberries, cider apples and peas especially for our stores. Our aim is to expand the range of foods we grow and provide high-quality British produce for our customers.

We were inspired to provide Legal Services after our members told us that the legal industry communicates poorly, uses too much jargon, and prices services in a confusing way. The Co-operative Legal Services was launched to bring our ethical approach to the market in a service that builds on our values of openness, honesty and trust.

Corporate includes all the Group functions that operate at the heart of the business, from Marketing, HR and Finance to IS, Legal and Membership & Governance. Together these teams are central to the modernisation, performance and growth of the UK’s largest retail network.

“I chose The Co-operative Graduate Development Programme for its quality and structure. My first project was in Food Retail, working in Location Analysis to help identify the best position for our new stores. I then moved into our Membership function where I delivered a climate change project. Most recently I’ve been working with our Farms business to develop a consumer focused website as part of their new marketing strategy. The fact that I could choose challenging projects from a broad range of businesses, helped me to decide where I wanted to specialise.”
Kath Wright