Suma Wholefoods Co-operative
Suma is one of our wholesale suppliers. You may have seen our other posts on Infinity and Fine Food Forager
Suma have been supplying us since January 2024. We share a lot of values with Suma, and they help us keep prices low for our customers.
The Suma Team very kindly answered our questions and provided photos. Some information also sourced from their website.
Who are Suma Wholefoods?
They are a worker co-op, a business owned and run by the nearly 200 people who work there. No bosses or shareholders. Suma’s employees set the direction of the business. Everyone has an equal say. They all get paid the same wage, take responsibility and each do a range of jobs each week, from truck driving to cooking to accounts.
Based in Elland near Huddersfield.
As a co-op they are more than the sum of their parts.
How was Suma founded?
Suma was founded in Leeds in 1975 when a small group of people recognised the need for a wholefood wholesaler in the north of England. At the time, independent wholefood shops were springing up but struggled to access a consistent, affordable supply of quality goods. With a small rented warehouse and a vision of co-operative working, Suma began distributing to those shops.
From those modest beginnings, it has grown steadily over five decades into one of Europe’s largest worker equal-pay co-operatives, still guided by the same principles of fairness, sustainability and shared ownership.
More about their journey
Two years after it began, Suma was formally incorporated in 1977 as a workers’ co-op. That means everyone who works at Suma has an equal say in how the business is run, and profits are continually fed back into growing the enterprise rather than extracted by external shareholders.
This structure has allowed the co-op to invest consistently in its people, infrastructure, and the communities it serves based on seven shared co-operative principles. We're also unusual in that everyone gets paid the same wage.
The name “Suma” is fittingly a Swahili word for greeting - something that reflects the co-op’s open, people-centred ethos.
Over the years, Suma has grown in size and reach, but its co-operative spirit has remained at the heart of everything it does.
What values do they share with Get Loose?
They are honest that sustainability can be messy and complicated!
Pay their staff a living wage.
They source products from small producers where possible.
Sustainability commitments
Products are all vegetarian and sustainable.
Changes they have made to reduce packaging and waste:
Reduced the thickness of shrink wrap by 10%
Supporting their customers’ zero waste activity by supplying bulk commodities and cleaning products, including the dispenser units.
Reuse boxes. We can send these back.
There’s 20% less plastic in own brand pre-packs.
Recycle the plastic wrap and Ecoleaf 5L and 20L containers in the UK. We can send them back.
Recycle all their cardboard waste within the UK.
No longer use plastic wrap when posting their catalogues.
New reusable shopping bags are made from recycled plastic bottles.
Switched away from reusing polystyrene boxes for smaller postal deliveries. These now go out in recyclable packaging.
Increased the range of Ecoleaf products available in 5L and 20L containers.
Retail size kitchen and toilet rolls come wrapped in recycled paper, with the outer packaging made from a 30% post-consumer recycled wrap.
Paper products (toilet rolls and kitchen towels) are made from 100% recycled fibres sourced exclusively in the UK. No chlorine is used in the manufacture.
What are the biggest challenges ahead?
In the short term, Suma faces the same pressures felt across the food sector - rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and the challenge of keeping food both affordable for customers and fair for producers.
In the longer term, the picture is even bigger: climate change is reshaping how food is grown and transported, and adapting supply chains to be both resilient and sustainable is vital.
Another challenge is ensuring the co-operative model continues to thrive in a fast-moving market, and making use of new technology to stay competitive without losing the values-driven, people-first approach that sets Suma apart.
What food trends do you see for 2025?
We’re seeing plant-based eating continue to grow, but with a shift towards more natural and wholefood options. Customers are moving beyond heavily processed alternatives and seeking out plant proteins, grains, pulses and vegetables in their simplest, most nourishing forms.
Fermented foods such as kombucha, kimchi and kefir are also gaining momentum, reflecting the growing interest in gut health and functional nutrition, especially mushrooms.
Protein is another key focus - consumers want high-protein meals and snacks, often from plant-based sources, that support active, healthy lifestyles.
Alongside this, regenerative and local agriculture are increasingly on people’s radar, as shoppers want to know that the food they buy is not just sustainable but actively helping restore soils, ecosystems and biodiversity.
Convenience is another major driver, but today’s consumer is looking for “convenience with conscience.” That means quick, practical options that don’t compromise on ethics, nutrition, or sustainability.
Finally, packaging continues to be a big theme: there’s rising demand for circular economy solutions, from refill and reuse systems to minimal or compostable packaging.
All of these trends point towards a more thoughtful, health-conscious and environmentally aware way of eating, which is perfectly aligned with Suma’s co-operative values.
At its heart, Suma has always been about good food, shared fairly. Whatever the challenges ahead, our focus remains the same: working together to build a healthier, more sustainable future for everyone.
What do we stock from Suma?
Booja-Booja Ice cream
Spaghetti
Cotton Buds
Dental Floss
Fetamorphosis (vegan cheese)
Fine Salt
Frozen Organic Blueberries
Frozen Organic Petit Pois
Frozen Organic Summer Berries
Fusilli pasta
Jarr Original Kombucha
Lickalix Ice Lollies
Oat Milk BULK
Passata
Penne - White
Rosekillys Ice Cream
Sam Smith Lager & Pale Ale
Sponge
Tomatoes Chopped
Tomatoes Peeled
Vegan Block Butter
White Basmati Rice