Introduction and Overview › Glossary for the Networking Language · 3 min read
Koopernikus is a cooperative based in Eastern and Central Switzerland that is building a regional, cooperative food supply system. It connects producers, processing businesses, logistics, gastronomy, stores, food co-ops, and public institutions into a shared supply structure.
Koopernikus develops a regional supply structure in which agricultural businesses, processing, logistics, and customers collaborate long-term. The goal is a reliable, ecological, and socially responsible food supply that strengthens regional value creation and promotes direct connections between agriculture and the community.
Koopernikus handles the regional consolidation of food supply for the Zurich urban area. The cooperative coordinates collaboration between agricultural businesses, processing companies, logistics, and regional institutions, developing the necessary organizational and logistical structures for this purpose.
A special focus is on the public procurement of regional organic food for the city of Zurich. Koopernikus organizes orders and logistics between agricultural businesses and the kitchens of public institutions such as kindergartens, schools, retirement homes, and other community catering operations. Since October 2025, around 160 businesses have been supplied through this system.
Koopernikus develops shared structures for:
This creates reliable processes between agricultural production, processing, logistics, and regional institutions.
Koopernikus plans to map the day-to-day operations of regional food supply in the future using the software from Lightwave.
The software is intended to support, among other things:
Lightwave provides the shared digital infrastructure, while Koopernikus is responsible for regional implementation and operational coordination in the Zurich urban area. Open question: whether and how Koopernikus contributes to the financing of Lightwave.
Koopernikus finances the development and expansion of its infrastructure through several pillars:
A significant portion of the financing comes from the operational organization of food supply for the Zurich urban area. Additionally, cooperative shares enable investments in logistics, digital infrastructure, and new regional projects.
Koopernikus is a regional entity within the emerging European network of cooperative food supply. While Koopernikus organizes regional consolidation, logistics, and supply in the Zurich urban area, Lightwave develops the shared digital infrastructure. Both approaches complement each other and create the foundation for interoperable supply regions.
Koopernikus organizes the regional consolidation, ordering, and logistics of organic food for the Zurich urban area and connects agricultural businesses, processing, public institutions, and communities into a cooperative supply structure.
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By the TEIKEI editorial team, with support from AI (ChatGPT)
Created on August 6, 2026 · Last updated on October 14, 2026
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