An innovative and transformative supermarket model
The SIS Project (Inclusive and Social Supermarkets and Cafeterias) employs particularly vulnerable people, either at risk of social exclusion or with mental health disorders.
The SIS Project (Inclusive and Social Supermarket and Cafeteria) is a pioneering initiative born in 2021 as a result of the inter-cooperation between various worker cooperatives and other organizations in the social and solidarity economy, led by Entrem Grup Cooperatiu d'Inserció Laboral. The initial objective was to develop an innovative and transformative supermarket model that would create jobs for vulnerable groups with a value proposition that integrated inclusion, community development, and economic viability through cooperative principles. The idea ultimately materialized into two interconnected spaces: the SIS supermarket, managed under a social franchise model with Caprabo—the alliance with which it contributes knowledge of the sector, minimizing risks—and the Espai SIS Cafeteria, a comfortable space with a restaurant service and designed to promote cultural activities.
Socio-laboral integration and social and community impact
Since its implementation at the end of 2023, with the opening of the first SIS supermarket and Espai SIS in Vilafranca del Penedès, the project has not only served to highlight the capabilities and skills of the particularly vulnerable people it serves (11 of the 14 participating communities), but has also generated a social and community impact for sixty cooperatives and social economy providers, while simultaneously creating an open space for cultural revitalization and social inclusion. Not only that, but the SIS Project serves as a framework for developing educational initiatives on responsible consumption and sustainability.
The SIS Project, therefore, is presented as a Catalan benchmark and demonstrates that it is possible to combine economic viability with a positive impact. "This proposal is committed to a dynamic, innovative, and people-centered model, ready to transform the sector with a vision for the future," commented the governing body, while also highlighting the project's 2025 objective: to increase the number of cooperative and local product suppliers.