The Shoprite Group has 152 000 employees, over 3 000 stores and a network of distribution centres across Africa, and serves over 21.5 million customers per week.
Several major global retailers entered the South African and African markets, introducing new and appealing brands at low prices, increasing competition in an already fiercely competitive environment.
The Shoprite Group traditionally applied an unbranded or generic approach to private-label products. I was invited to partner with the Group in a fast-paced private-label transformation program to develop unique brands and improve packaging design quality for product ranges across all categories, across retail chains.
I collaborated with leadership teams across the company to shape the project process to enable delivery brands with of a portfolio of new brands with distinct identities and self-expressive lifestyle propositions for consumer segments across price points. A key priority was to address consumers’ lifestyle need-states and provide quality at a low price.
Brand architecture and design strategy
We worked at scale across categories instead of addressing one brand or product range at a time. We undertook product audits, analyses and segmentation with internal teams to shape product lines for a structured brand portfolio across consumer segments and price points.
In-store aisle design & merchandising
Our design process started with planograms and aisle design. We set out to provide better shopper navigation in large-format retail environments containing multiple private-label and competitor brands and tiers within each category.
We took a macro and micro perspective to design decision-making throughout the process, and during the brand development phases, we simultaneously designed the aisles. This way, we mapped colour, area and row size, box and card format and size, resulting in layouts that guided shoppers through ranges and tiers, expediting decision-making.
Brand development and packaging design
55 new brands were developed, most of these from the ground up, each with a unique identity, narrative and packaging design system (structural and surface) for approx. 750 stock-keeping units. The parent brand took on an endorsement role, placed at a small size on the back of each pack. This empowered the new brands to build their own new consumer relationships.
Structural packaging
All products were intended for distribution across 15 countries for five of the group's retail store brands. The new packaging formats had to enable better merchandising and display. Packs were redesigned, prototyped and tested to be sufficiently sturdy, provide protection and withstand transport across long distances and rugged terrain. This included reinforced box bases, tamper-proof lids, and new hanging display boxes that did not tilt, tear, or break open when handled by shoppers.
Rollout and production management
Artwork handoff was followed up with the design and implementation of print and manufacture quality management systems for the global packaging production supply chain, and support internal teams.
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