Reliability in times of crisis: cooperatives are the most trusted type of company despite poor public awareness 

Cologne, 3 July 2025 – To mark the International Day of Cooperatives (CoopsDay) on 5 July 2025, the REWE Group published the findings of a recent NIQ survey. The figures show that cooperatives are considered fair, resilient and focused on the common good, but more than 60% of the population has little idea about how they work.

In times of crisis, public confidence tends to wane, which makes the result of a recent representative survey conducted by NIQ on behalf of the REWE Group all the more remarkable. In Germany, cooperatives enjoy the greatest public confidence of all types of company. 36% of respondents expressed a high level of confidence in cooperatives – significantly more than for public limited companies (15.6%) or private companies (22.5%).

And yet, a high proportion of the German public (more than 60%) has little to no idea of what a cooperative is. So, for cooperatives such as the REWE Group, this represents an important opportunity to increase public awareness about the cooperative model. As one of the leading retail and tourism companies in Germany and Europe, the REWE Group today operates supermarkets, specialist stores, travel agencies and more, including REWE, PENNY, toom Baumarkt and DERTOUR Group, and currently has around 380,000 employees.

Fair and resilient in a crisis 

Resilience, regionality and reliability are all values that count in the current climate of ongoing crises. Cooperatives are more commonly perceived as dependable employers (by 34.6% of respondents) and more resilient in a crisis (33.1%) than public limited companies (18.2%) and private companies (10.3%). 40.1% of respondents, and 50% in eastern Germany, consider cooperatives to be particularly strongly rooted in the region. As we hurtle from one crisis to another (inflation, energy shortages, societal fragmentation), these values offer a clear competitive advantage.

Value-based future 

Young people see the cooperative as a model for the future. 31% of 18 to 39-year-olds believe that cooperatives are equipped to meet future challenges. This figure rises to 43.2% among those who are very familiar with the cooperative principle. Particularly striking is the fact that 40% of those under 29 have confidence in cooperatives to leverage digitalisation to benefit people – far ahead of PLCs (17.7%) and private companies (21.6%).

People over profits

The cooperative business model is based on a shared community of values. 64% of respondents associate cooperatives with community focus, much higher than for any other type of company. Cooperatives are associated with values such as the fair treatment of employees and partners (44%), social accountability (48%), cohesion (48.4%) and transparency (37.5%), in particular. They are more likely to be trusted with sustainability (38.7%) than PLCs (11.1%) or private companies (18.5%).

Knowledge is power

Awareness raising offers significant potential: people who are familiar with cooperatives trust them even more. More than 72% of people with a good understanding of cooperatives have a high level of confidence whereas this figure stands at 53.3% for those with a moderate understanding – a significant difference. Men (45%) and younger target groups (e.g. 18 to 29-year-olds) are particularly open and curious.

According to the REWE Group CEO Lionel Souque: The cooperative economic model has a future because it is founded on social accountability and commercial success. According to our survey, anyone familiar with the cooperative principle has a particularly high level of trust in cooperatives. This confirms that the REWE Group’s approach is the right one and encourages us to stay on this course. We want to further strengthen this trust – through transparency, sustainability and partnership-based action.

2025 is the UN International Year of Cooperatives 

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. With this year’s theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World”, the UN underscores the key role of cooperatives in ensuring sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Cooperatives are seen as key drivers in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by fostering inclusive growth, regional responsibility and strengthen resilience in times of crisis. The results of the GfK survey show that public confidence in the cooperative economy is now more relevant than ever.