Simply Fresh’s new store in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, is designed to be a shop for food lovers. The area has its fair share of foodies along with students and others of more limited means, but as director Kash Khera points out, there are food lovers everywhere and the store is organised to do everything possible to attract a high basket spend from those dropping in. The site has been developed as a concept by the Simply Fresh group, and will shortly be transferred to an independent retailer to run.
Fresh and bakery
The key things to get right in any Simply Fresh store, director Kash Khera points out, is fruit and veg, fresh meat and bakery, so particular focus is placed on these three categories.
Store design is themed around a rustic appeal, giving the impression of a farmers’ market with different departments coming together to make a complete offer.
Khera wanted the Leamington store to have a nice environment where shoppers felt relaxed and comfortable, whether they wanted to chat to the staff or have something to eat on site.
Food to go
Central to the food to go offering is a pie and mash offer. Pies (from Cuisine de France) are pre-cooked, supplied either chilled or frozen, and take 20 minutes to heat after which they can stand for up to nine hours (if they last that long). The range includes steak, chicken and seasonal options. The mash is also supplied pre-cooked either fresh or frozen, and is microwaved to heat, and then combined with milk and butter before serving. The whole process takes no more than 90 seconds.
The self-service salad bar combines bulk packs of coleslaws with home-made offerings, such as roasted vegetables. Fresh veg items coming near the end of their life are roasted with olive oil in the food prep area and sold as salads to help cut wastage. Wet salad can be similarly re-purposed into the salad bar.
Fresh sandwiches are also made in-house, and the next phase will see spit-roast chickens available in store. The group is also trialling a new coffee machine.
Off licence
As well as a standard range of best-selling wines, the store’s foodie credentials are enhanced with a selection of more premium lines.
Licenced products, including bottles of spiritsk, been brought out from the counter to make them an accessible, destination part of the store. The intention is to make shoppers walk past the licensed sections on their way to the till point.
Points of difference
Premium ready meals from Peggoty Hedge are sold under Simply Fresh’s own brand on a quality, rather than a price, platform. The dishes are organic, traceable (the meat comes from their own farms), and free of preservatives. Artisan bread is also available under the We Love Food label.
A seating area at the front of the store is available for customers (there is free wi-fi too), and doubles as a newspaper display area during quieter periods.
You can’t miss these special offers with this heavyweight promotional unit.
Engaging messages
The core values of fresh, local and quality food are communicated everywhere you look, using both strong colours and witty engagement.
Bananas are a key part of any store’s fresh fruit offer, and this unit encourages shoppers to give them a try.
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