Store Spotlight

StoreSpotlight

Harvest Market

BY CYNDI LOZA

One of the most unique aspects of Harvest Market is the Farmhouse restaurant, where shoppers can purchase made-to-order food items for carry-out or dine-in. The retailer also has a sushi station, co ee bar and an upstairs mezzanine bar and “Nook” space for food demonstrations and cooking instructions (although the COVID-19 pandemic canceled in-person classes until further notice).

Niemann Foods’ Harvest Market has made shopping for groceries less about pantry- lling and more about connecting shoppers with the food they buy and consume. Quincy, Illinois-based Niemann operates more than 100 grocery, pet and hardware stores, pharmacies and gas stations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. In 2016 in Champaign, Illinois, the company opened Harvest Market, a farm-to-table concept grocery store aimed at connecting shoppers with the farmers and producers who make the food by highlighting their stories and sharing knowledge about the production. Roughly four years later, Harvest Market expanded to a second location in Spring eld, Illinois, and continues to spotlight its store-made and specially sourced items with a focus on delivering entertainment and inspiration within the aisles.

Beyond the restaurant, the retailer also touts freshly squeezed and created juices, its own churned butter and in-house made deli meats and baked goods.

Consistent with the retailer’s “farmhouse” theme and aesthetic, wooden displays are often found within the store. Hint, for example, has enjoyed secondary merchandising space for more than a year now at the Champaign location via this unique oorstand. The display is made of wood (or at least a very convincing composite).

True to its mission, the retailer often spotlights locally sourced products. The wooden oorstand at far left, for example, stocks locally grown basil from Tuscola, Illinois. During the winter holidays, these nearleft refrigerators topped with TV screens showcased eggnog from Greenville, Illinois-based Rolling Lawns Farm.

StoreSpotlight

Shoppers regularly nd spectaculars and creative displays within the retailer’s liquor, beer and wine department. In this case, importer/distributor Proximo Spirits deployed a spectacular containing a larger-than-life margarita in the leadup to this year’s Cinco de Mayo. BeMultiple TV screens throughout the Champaign store play videos depicting Harvest Market dietitian Emily preparing various meals to inspire shoppers. One screen is positioned near the checkout lane above a refrigerator that merchandises weekly meal kits. The retailer also makes recipes and videos from Emily available on its Facebook page.

That Harvest Market is located in a college town (Champaign) is not lost on the grocer. The store tied in to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament by creating this display to show support for the University of Illinois team. The display employed oranges and plums to depict the school’s orange and blue colors and crossmerchandised beer from local brewery Riggs Beer Co.

OMA Award Winners

Each year, Shop! recognizes best-in-class retail displays through its Outstanding Merchandising Achievement (OMA) Awards competition. Showcased here are the 2021 Display of the Year, Budget Award and Creative Award winners.

Display of the Year Award

PERMANENT

Bayer Digital CVS Endcap

Entrant: WestRock, Atlanta Client: Bayer U.S., Whippany, New Jersey Comments: This connected display was positioned as being at the forefront of physical, digital and mobile innovation. It was designed to be a category “allergy center” sponsored by Claritin that educates shoppers with real-time localized content such as the daily pollen count, making it easy for allergy suff erers to know exactly when it’s time to buy helpful products. SEMI-PERMANENT

Aviation Gin Air Stair Display

Entrant: Bish Creative, Lake Zurich, Illinois Client: Davos Brands, New York Comments: The assignment was to develop an impactful merchandising tool supporting Aviation Gin, which has experienced double-digit growth in the last few years. The story needed to relate to today’s consumer yet capture the nostalgia of America’s gin. It was designed to be portable, require minimal fl oor space, and hold an ample amount of product. TEMPORARY

Jeff erson’s Ocean Replica Ship Bookend Display

Entrant: Bish Creative Client: Castle Brands, New York Comments: The objective was to develop an iconic mass display piece that allowed Jeff erson’s Ocean to become the dominant brand within the category. The display was created to secure a large amount of retail space, with the ability to be adjustable like bookends so that it could be altered to fi t the product off erings in each individual store.

Budget Award

PERMANENT

Gerard Bertrand Cotes Des Roses Counter Top Display

Entrant: Bish Creative Client: Gerard Bertrand, Narbonne, France Comments: The assignment was to develop an attractive counter display that promotes this iconic brand in its bouquet of roses bottle on a global platform. This display needed to work at retail in the U.S. and all of Europe with a target demographic of women ages 25-54. SEMI-PERMANENT

CoverGirl Holiday Counter Unit

Entrant: WestRock Client: Coty, New York Comments: This display was designed to attract shoppers with a sense of celebration and excitement during a challenging holiday season of limited and socially distanced parties. The bold print eff ects echo the brand’s message to “Be Bold & Brilliant” this holiday season. The secondary display location captured seasonal shoppers’ attention and drove conversion off -shelf. TEMPORARY

Oreo ‘What’s Your Stuf’ Family

Entrant: Menasha, Neenah, Wisconsin and Eastwest Marketing Group, New York Client: Mondelez International, East Hanover, New Jersey Comments: The display needed to clearly leverage key distinctive assets of the Oreo brand, including the iconic blue color, while specifi cally celebrating Oreo all its creme varieties. The goal was to drive shopper participation in a digital debate about which variety was best, as well as enter a $100,000 giveaway by vote for their favorite Stuf. The target audience included Millennial moms and Oreo lovers of all ages.

PERMANENT

Bayer Digital CVS Endcap

Entrant: WestRock, Atlanta Client: Bayer U.S., Whippany, New Jersey Comments: An animated character, Claire, was created to be an educational category ambassador to help drive engagement and navigate consumers through the endcap’s digital content via the unit’s touchpad and QR code. The result is an educational and engaging shopping experience that delivers key measurement metrics for conversion and continuous optimization at retail.

Creative Award

SEMI-PERMANENT

Pendleton Counter Cowboy Boot Display

Entrant: Bish Creative, Lake Zurich, Illinois Client: Proximo Spirits, Jersey City, New Jersey Comments: The objective was to secure valuable counter space at premium, chain and mom and pop spirits stores. Since the young professional target audience might not invest in an entire bottle, the 50-milliliter trial size at the counter was the perfect opportunity to entice trial purchase. TEMPORARY

Stella Artois Riva Boat Display

Entrant: Rapid Displays, Chicago Client: AB InBev, St. Louis Comments: Stella kicked off the “Summer Like You’re On Vacation” campaign by giving New Yorkers a taste of the Riviera on the East River to illustrate that vacation isn’t about where you are but about how you see things. The beer brand wanted to leverage that out-of-home activation and media buzz about the East River Riviera with a custom display that expanded the French Riviera experience to retail stores across the U.S.

Shop! is the global trade organization dedicated to enhancing retail environments and experiences. The association represents more than 1,400 member companies and affiliates globally. Shop! engages its members with education, insights and events that enable them to co-create innovation that evolves retail worldwide.