Food Lover s Market Nelspruit A fresh and innovative approach to food merchandising in the Lowveld By Hippo Zourides With most of the food store brands competing for a slice of the ever-increasing grocery retail cake, Nelspruit has recently welcomed the entry of a new player Food Lover s Market. Nelspruit in Mpumalanga now has the last of the food chains opening its doors in this bustling town that not only caters for the surrounding areas, but also to the Mozambique market. Food Lover s Market opened its doors in March 2015 with a 3 300m 2 store (selling area of 2 700m 2 ) serviced by 19 checkouts and manned by 120 staff members. The store can accommodate 486 cars on three levels of parking. Owned by Bennie Roots, a 12-year retail veteran from the Lowveld, and three silent partners, the store has brought a fresh new approach to food merchandising in the Lowveld. Fresh produce The Food Lover s brand excels in its fresh produce presentation and the Nelspruit offering is at the top of its game. Beautiful bulk displays of loose and pre-packed produce catch the eye in colour-blocked units as one enters the store. The mood is set for a fresh shopping experience. Both dry and refrigerated displays of fresh produce are complimented by the two walls of bulk displays that offer great value for money. The traditional pick n mix area has pride of place next to the produce department selling both nuts and sweets loose. A new innovation in this area is a spice bar that Fresh produce first impression As the customer walks in to the store, she is confronted by an amazing array of fresh produce beautifully displayed. 19
has the merchandise displayed in attractive glass jars and the customer is invited to choose and weigh her purchases, assisted by a sales person. Fresh meat Food Lover s is making great strides in the sale of fresh meat and its variety and presentation have become the hallmark for the group (aside from its fresh produce displays, of course). The usual self service counters are complemented by a long service counter, an aged meat area and a special display of fresh chicken where the price varies for one, two or five birds. The traditional biltong bar serves all the needs of the Lowveld shopper, where this delicacy is a staple. Loose produce is sold next to pre-packed goods, depending on the needs of the product. A wide range of biltong is available both pre-packed and ready to slice. Another hallmark of Food Lover s Market is the sweets and nut display as a pick n mix. Customers have the choice of buying in bulk to save extra money. There is a good balance between the produce displayed at ambient temperature and those items that require refrigeration. 20
At the time of our visit, the butchery displayed a meal suggestion on its fridges. In the beef mince area, which was sold at a special price, the display was complemented by packets of imported pasta and cans of tomatoes from Italy. HMR and deli Due to space restrictions, there are no conventional deli and hot foods cabinets on display. Instead all foods are prepared in a central kitchen and the hot foods are displayed in self-service counters with sneeze guards. The same applies to fresh salads. This concept has reduced the reliance on serving staff and the customers soon adjusted to the idea of self-service. Restaurants, hotels and other catering establishments can source their bacon in bulk from this display at competitive prices. The butchery displays meal recommendations beef mince on special, accompanied by both pasta and canned tomatoes imported from Italy. Savings can be had by buying fresh chickens in singles, double packs or packs of five. The butchery service counter displays a wide range of cuts and many products are marinated with many options to choose from. Both frozen and refrigerated meat is well displayed and easily accessible to customers. 21
Even the sushi is prepared behind the scenes and displayed on a self-service basis. According to sources, in many Food Lover s stores the self service area of sushi accounts for 70% of the sales and in this store there is no need for an expensive rotating conveyor belt nor for any permanent staff in attendance. Another disruptive idea is the lack of a traditional deli counter. Cold meats and cheeses are sold in pre-packed displays on a self-service basis. However, a Market Kitchen and Grill Shack are available to produce fresh sandwiches, toasted goodies, burgers and serve a small coffee shop seating area within the store. The Seattle Coffee brand has a joint venture agreement with the store. A Fruit Stop counter displays its freshly cut fruit salads and the store has its own cut n dice area in the backup area. Bakery The bread confectionery area displays the usual range of plain and speciality breads, as well as outsourced sliced bread loaves. Bread rolls are on full display to the public but are served by staff, suitably attired with head gear and gloves. A range of pies, muffins and the made-on-the-spot doughnuts complete the counter areas. A number of tables display many of the morning goods and the customer can also buy on a self-service basis a wide range of butter cream cakes from an upright refrigerated cabinet. The service counter for cake confectionery has been purposefully designed to hold a small range of cakes, as most of the sales are done from the self-service fridge and the front tables. The prepared foods are displayed on a self-service basis with a sneeze guard. The smell of freshly baked bread and the visual attractiveness draws the customers to this corner. A wide range of pre-packed sliced meats is available and replaces a manned deli counter. Whether customers want to make up a sandwich or get something quick to eat, these two stations are effective in their delivery. 22
Groceries The grocery section is adequate for a fresh food store and the consumer can find all her household grocery requirements in one place no need to visit any other store for all pantry needs. The Freshers private label is evident in most categories and it gets eye-level display space next to the brand leaders. The group imports a great deal of confined labels, which are exclusive to Food Lover s Markets and these are displayed in many areas of the store be it on-shelf, gondola ends or impulse bins. A new innovation in the dry grocery area is the introduction of islands of activity. Thus, as the customers transit from the fresh produce area into the rest of the store, they are confronted by a number of these islands which covers areas such as Asian cuisine, Italian imports, the exclusive to Food Lover s Waitrose range and a Health Food section. A special island is dedicated to the group s private label products and yet another for seasonal displays such as Easter, Mother s Day, Valentine s Day, and other special occasions. The filtered water cylinders that are a Food Lover s trademark are also on display and customers have a choice to bottle their own container or buy empty bottles from the store. An ice display complements this section. The Freshers Private Label is very well displayed next to a limited range of brand leaders in the grocery section. Above: An island display dedicated to Asian cuisine. Left: The exclusive Waitrose range is displayed on its own island display. Right: An island display dedicated to Italian cooking. The Freshers Private Label range gets its own island display. An island display dedicated to health foods. 23
Both tuna and yellowtail have been added to the fish section and the sales are promising. Enclosed frozen food displays have not deterred customers from buying. About 30 different toppings are available to the customer on a self-service basis. Frozen foods Bennie and his partners chose to use island coffin freezers with sliding doors for this area and it does not appear that the sales have been affected by this energy-saving device. The Lowveld heat is a consideration and the consumer can be assured that all frozen foods leave the store in their original frozen state and can travel well for long distances. Apart from the usual frozen foods, Bennie has also introduced a limited range of frozen fish (salmon and yellow tail) sourced from the coast and he is very happy about the upward trend in sales. This range complements a substantial range of sea food products, such as crab sticks, prawns, calamari, mussels and sardines. Having heard about the savings in energy costs from other installations which had allowed a Swaziland retailer to save as much as 48% in costs, Bennie and his partners awarded the contract to a local supplier, who has developed a hybrid system that combines both the airconditioning and refrigeration plants into one unit. Supermarket & Retailer were amazed after a visit to the plant room by the fact that the insulated panels allowed the plant room (with tiled floors, nogal!) to be run at a dropped temperature and the room did not resemble the usual hot and dirty plant rooms visited in the past. The hybrid system is a local innovation and the trade secrets of the installation are cleverly covered up in a box, as it is proprietary knowledge. A neat technician s desk completes the plant room and a techie can sit in comfort in front of a range of panels to pick up on any disruption to the smooth running of the units. It is early days to analyse the savings in energy costs, but we shall re-visit this site in a few months to understand the results better, and report back. Further sales floor innovations Food Lover s are continuously looking for new additions to its ranges and service areas and the latest is something not seen in other stores in South Africa. A joint venture has been established with Angelberry, an innovative company that supplies a whole range of smoothies, frozen yoghurt, pancakes, ice cream, milk shakes and hot drinks. 24
Right: Mix, tower, weigh and dig in are the four basic steps required to enjoy the new Angelberry frozen yoghurt range now rolling out to all Food Lover s Markets. Below: Neon lights draw the eye to the scrumptious range of delicacies stored in frozen format behind the wall. The technician can sit at a comfortable desk and analyse the panels to check on the units performance. The consumer is invited to follow the simple process of collecting a container, serving herself from various display nozzles that produce the various component parts, decorate the contents with some scrumptious toppings and then proceed to the weigh and pay point. Customers can eat at strategically placed tables if they like. This section has become a big hit with kids who insist that Mommy takes them to Food Lover s for their treat. The store has a separate Market Liquors bottle store located as customers leave the store, stocking a wide range of wine and liquor. The centre is in a developmental stage and Food Lover s Market will soon be complemented by restaurants, coffee shops, a baby shop, clothing chains, a furniture store, hairdressing and beauty salons, a pharmacy and doctors rooms as well a variety of ATMs. There is no doubt that the Lowveld shopper has a great choice of stores to shop at in Nelspruit. Food Lover s Market The plant room is beautifully appointed and a simplified compressor rack runs both the air-conditioning and refrigeration for the whole store. Huge savings in energy costs have been attained through this process. has added to the competition for the consumer s Rand. There should be enough for all of them! contractors choose Phoenix Racks! Southern Africa s largest ISO 9000:2008 manufacturer of multiplex refrigeration systems. Trusted by all leading retail chains and food producers in hundreds of plant-rooms across the continent. Ask an astute refrigeration contractor for a high efficiency Phoenix solution for your next project!