The co-operative was founded in 1978 in Hillington, in the outskirts of Glasgow before moving in 1983 to its current location in Dennistoun in the city's East End.

[1] In 2019 the co-operative reported an annual turnover of £7.7 million and has 54 employee-members.

[2][3] As a worker co-operative the business is directly owned and controlled by its workers through a directly elected management committee and quarterly general meetings.

The co-operative operates a flat wage structure, with every member paid the same hourly wage, alongside a flat management structure and a system of rotating the co-operative's directly elected managers.

[4][5][1] Greencity has many similarities with Suma, a worker co-operative in West Yorkshire, and stocks many Suma brand products.