Co-op has closed its five standalone On The Go micro-stores following a review of their longer-term viability, the group told Asian Trader today (Sept 24), stressing that it remains committed to the food-to-go proposition and plans to expand it through its existing convenience estate, .
The retailer launched five standalone On The Go stores during 2025, beginning with its first site in Solihull in July, as part of a new small-format concept focused on breakfast, lunch and dinner missions.
However, Co-op has now confirmed to Asian Trader that all five standalone locations have closed. The retailer stressed that the closures do not mark an exit from the On The Go concept.
A Co-op spokesperson told Asian Trader: “Our focus was on the fast launch and learn of the proposition, and following review of their longer-term viability we have taken the decision to close our five stand-alone food-on-the-go locations. These have now closed.
"Where the concept works at its best is integrated into our existing stores, alongside our wider grocery offer – where shoppers can also pick up their Co-op grocery favourites that they would expect to see in a Co-op store."
Co-op originally launched the standalone format as a smaller-footprint convenience concept, with its first store in Solihull occupying around 550-850 sq ft and focused heavily on food-for-now missions.
At launch, the retailer said the format could potentially reach several hundred stores within two to three years.
The five standalone locations ultimately opened in Solihull, Altrincham, Aylesbury, Kingston upon Thames and Chelmsford. The Chelmsford store, which opened in December 2025, closed in early August, while the Altrincham site also closed at the end of August.
Alongside the five standalone micro stores, Co-op also fitted elements of the concept into a further five existing stores in December 2025, located across Yorkshire and London. These stores combine the On The Go proposition with Co-op's wider grocery offer and are continuing to trade.
The retailer said the proposition was performing more strongly when integrated into its existing convenience stores.
“Where we have retro-fitted the new concept into our existing stores we see strong, successful and sustainable opportunities to further elevate and grow the new proposition, combining breakfast, lunch and dinner on the go alongside the convenience of Co-op's broader grocery range in our existing high foot-traffic locations,” the spokesperson said.
The retailer's focus will now be on the existing stores where the concept has been retrofitted, while identifying further locations where elements of the proposition can be integrated.
The retailer said its five retrofitted stores are currently trading strongly, with the On The Go proposition operating alongside the wider convenience offer.
“At Co-op, our food ‘on-the-go’ offer is central to our convenience strategy, and we are focussed on driving sustainable growth,” the spokesperson added.
The move effectively shifts Co-op's strategy away from creating a separate network of micro-stores and towards using its existing convenience estate to capture food-to-go missions.