Food Lover's Market Bothasig wins SACSC Retail Design & Development Award

L to R: Paul Fouché, Lisa Currey, Michael Coppin, Mario Petim and Sandro Gastaldi. Image supplied

Says Paul Fouché, Food Lover’s Market commercial director, “We set out to create a truly unique shopping experience in Bothasig. In line with our aim to be the best store in any community we serve, we set out to become a community shopping destination that would encourage shoppers to browse, share and interact with the brand beyond just purchasing a product.”

“With Food Lover’s Market Bothasig, we have achieved this with the scale of innovation and design that we’ve built into the store - every facet of the customer experience was considered in the design.”

The store's design was a collaborative effort between the Food Lover’s Market Development Team and Hamiltons in Creative Company, who worked closely with contractors to bring the design vision to life. The Hamiltons Team was responsible for all visual touchpoints in the store.

Delighting customers with innovation and entertainment

Says Lisa Currey, founder and CEO of Hamiltons in Creative Company, “It is every creative’s dream to have an open brief, and that is exactly what we were handed with Food Lover’s Market Bothasig. Our client challenged us to find inspiration through the retailer’s aim to deliver the best destination store in the community. He challenged us to travel with him and find inspiration from around the globe, gather a great project team around us and think spectacularly out of the box.”

“We brought all of our ideas together in a sensory delivery of sight, sound and smells to create an experiential theatre of food with the intention of attracting and delighting customers with innovation and entertainment.”

Image supplied

Creating a Good Food Neighbourhood

This state-of-the-art, 3,800m² standalone store perfectly blends that classic market feel with cutting-edge innovation – resulting in an energy-efficient, locally sourced, trend-setting store that truly sets Food Lover’s Market Bothasig apart from other retailers. The ultimate aim is that when you shop at the Bothasig Food Lover’s Market store, it’s a one-of-a-kind shopping experience, with a wide variety of departments and attractions exciting and delighting the communities we serve.

A striking Tree Of Life greets shoppers as they enter the store, an eye-catching, dynamic addition that adds that extra flare to the store.

While shopping for the best in fresh, young and old will be wowed by the dancing banana and will enjoy dancing and singing with the Farm Fresh Five - a band of fresh characters that are ready to put a smile on your face with just a press of a button.

Harbourside offers ocean-fresh seafood on a specially designed boat, with expert fishmongers making sure every catch is prepared to the highest of standards. While waiting for their seafood delicacy from the deep, shoppers will be surrounded by the soothing sounds of the ocean.

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Further innovations in the store include a spinning doughnut at the bakery, energy efficiencies such as remote cabinet monitoring capability, ice storage systems for air-conditioning and a solar panel that will generate 359.7 kWp DC of renewable electricity annually, and digital screens to create appetite appeal in the butchery and seafood departments. Wider aisles allow for a more pleasant shop, while sleek modern tiling and creative bulkheads draw the customer's eye to various destinations in the store.

Says Currey, “We loved the idea of departmental theatre and creating spaces where the customer can feel closer and more engaged with the product to have a full sensory shopping experience. We are delighted with the RDDA Award as we have truly achieved this in the Bothasig store and set a benchmark for future stores"

“Food Lover’s Market Bothasig is a state-of-the-art store deserving of the RDDA award. The store continues to delight customers from all over Cape Town. Food Lover’s Market always pushes to innovate with every store we open, and with this flagship store, we’ve set a new benchmark in the retail sector,” concludes Fouché

Food Lover’s Market continues with its expansion plans, opening in Kathu earlier this year and refurbishing the Vanderbijlpark store. The retailer is opening new stores in Rustenburg, Malmesbury, and Naboomspruit, as well as revamping Langenhoven Park in November this year.