1. You email us at hcoorganiccoop@gmail.com and add the Hibiscus Coast Organic Buying Co Op to your contacts list

2. We send you a form to complete your application to join our comms list  

3. You complete the application, and also apply to join our ordering platform  

4. We confirm your space and add you to the Open Food Network platform, provided we have the capacity to take on more households' orders

5. You become an official member when you make your first order, which will include the one-off joining fee

This Hibiscus Coast Organic Buying Co Op is based in Orewa on the Hibiscus Coast in north Auckland / Rodney area, New Zealand. If you can arrange pick up from there, or are open to paying for delivery, you're welcome to join!

We serve people on the coast, including Silverdale, Millwater, Milldale, Okura, Stillwater, Orewa and Hatfields Beach through to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula; Gulf Harbour, Army Bay, Tindalls Bay, Matakatia, Manly, Stanmore Bay, Arkles Bay & Red Beach. We can also help source organics for people in Waitoki, Wainui, Waiwera, Puhoi and lower Northland including Mangawhai. 

A special shout out to Geeta and the team from Bin Inn Silverdale who help us receive chilled and frozen food deliveries :)

When you join the Co-op, you become part of a local food system that supports local farmers, growers, producers and distributors! 

• A significant discount off retail prices by buying together. By buying together in bulk, you can save up to 30% off retail pricing

• Support local food & farms by keeping your money in the community

Anyone can apply by emailing us and filling out the joining form

Once you have filled out the joining form, you will be sent an email if your application has been accepted, or you will advised that you will go onto a waiting list until there is space.

We use our collective buying power to order larger quantities than any individual families would normally purchase, and split them up into your individual household's order. 

For example: instead of buying a single can of tomatoes, we buy 'outers' which is a box of cans of tomatoes, at wholesale prices.

We also save because:

• the work is done by awesome, local volunteers like you!

• we buy in bulk, which is more convenient for suppliers

• we have direct relationships with suppliers, removing the cost of middlemen

• we don't pay to rent retail space, displays or marketing

Members get a significant discount off retail prices because pricing is based on wholesale prices which would normally only be accessible to companies and stores.

Members pay:

• a $30 joining fee per household

• the wholesale price of any goods supplied plus an admin contribution of up to 10%

The fees contribute to covering the cost of providing refrigeration, use of the ordering platform, incidentals, breakages, recognising volunteers' time contribution, providing spaces for meetings and providing a place for storing equipment and sorting orders for pickup.

Even after the fees are included, you can expect prices that are 7-35% better than retail :) 

1. An email is sent every so often to Members of the Co Op, inviting them to participate in food order(s).

2. Members complete the order forms on ManageMyCoop and/or an ordering sheet with their preferred orders

3. The order is finalised at the cut off time. Orders are only made for products where the group order for that product meets the supplier's minimum order requirements

4. Members are sent an email to show what they need to pay

5. Members prepay to the ordering bank account

6. The group order is placed with the supplier by an Organiser

7. The group order is packed and sent to the Collection Point

8.  Volunteers break up the group order and pack it into individuals' orders

9. Any differences in volumes of product supplied vs ordered are recorded for reconciliation and refund if relevant

Volunteers are the lifeblood of a buyers' co operative. Volunteers do:

• sourcing products, checking quality and maintaining relationships with suppliers

• admin to set up and coordinate orders and volunteers

• number crunching to make sure people are charged fairly and payments are made correctly

• communicating with members (including volunteers), and non members to keep them informed

• unpacking group orders and sorting them into individual orders

Volunteers will be offered a small discount off their order amount, based on the number of volunteer hours contributed. We are still working out how that would work, but propose a 2% discount per hour contributed, per month.

Our Co Op is an unincorporated, not-for-profit group at this point and based on direct, trust based relationships between the Co Op organisers, volunteers members. The Co Op organisers are currently Warrick and Carmia Isaachsen

In future we may consider a more formal legal structure such as an Incorporated Society if needed