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Household’s new ‘food festival’ design for Irish supermarket chain SuperValu offers a fresh perspective on food and how to retail it.
The ‘ultimate SuperValu store’ in Blackrock, opened in Ireland on November 12th as the brand’s flagship. The concept builds on the successful redesign of three trial sites over the summer, by customer experience design agency Household and brings SuperValu out of its recession-beating strategy with a return to the richness of its ‘real food, real people’ roots.
Household has helped SuperValu stop focusing purely on value and promotions and sees it add to this and tell the stories it is proudest of, with an entirely new brand palette of fresh fonts; rich and , tasteful, spirited colours; and an eclectic mix of assets that feel familiar yet free and far from formulaic.
The new store focuses on quality, people, local and freshness. Complete with a new artisan hand crafted feel and ‘Food Festival’ energy in its stores. The new design offers a modern, innovative attitude to service, showcasing and sharing the joy of food. The new shopping journey is now an extension of the kitchen table. This is emphasised by merchandising props and mini food stories, enriching each area of the store. Hand-drawn illustrations show ‘Food Friendships’ such as pork and apples and fish and lemon as great ways to pair food, these are quirky enough to show that SuperValu doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Feature units’ breath life into the experience and highlight the service preparation and skill of the ‘real people’ at fresh counters, whilst tempting customers to try new things. The Butcher’s Block, brought out into the front counter run is an interactive celebration of the butcher’s skill, and engages customers with demos throughout the day. This design breaks down barriers and gives the brand’s customers a chance to ask for help and to discover practical tips. Another standout experience is the juice bar placed right in the Fruit & Veg section, which brings a service element to this area of the store. Fruit & Veg now has theatrical appeal, as customers can pick their own produce to be blended for them right then and there.
It’s with innovations like this, and the sense of the people behind the brand, that SuperValu’s new stores are pioneering and a real destination experience that tells its customer that food is about more than just eating – just as the brand is about more than just shopping.