New marketing concept for specialist organic stores in the Netherlands

After three days of conversion work, on 24 September 2009, a 400 m² Natuurwinkel shop was turned into to a Goody Food organic supermarket with 700 m² of retail space. The wholesaler Natudis in Hardewijk is launching a new concept. But before more shops are opened and the model is replicated elsewhere, the results will be carefully analysed. There is the prospect of the Natuurwinkel format, with almost 60 franchise shops, undergoing radical change. The minimum store size for the new concept is 700 m².
(Picture: Natuurwinkel’s new concept in Hilversum
After just one month, it is still too soon to draw any conclusions regarding the new form of communication, that is practically all in English. “Natuurwinkel and bio, that sounds old-fashioned and so yesterday,” is Rob Zentveld’s comment on the new ideas as the owner of the first Goody Food Supermarket. The 54-year-old, a man of experience who opened a wholefood shop (120 m²) in Utrecht in 1978, is the first to operate a Natudis pilot store. Now they are using English words like organic, tasty, fresh and green. In the shop window you see “Goody is all about GOOD FOOD and Goody GOODS. Discover our focus on taste, sustainability and wellness in a store full of NATURE’S BEST. If it’s good….it’s Goodyfood!” (Picture)

“That sounds modern and contemporary,” says Zentveld (picture), who together with two planners from Natudis has been working on the store for a good four to five months. But not every last thing is in English – the info leaflet “Good to Taste” is written in Dutch and draws attention to the benefits of organic methods of production and their collaboration with organic producers under the title De Oosprong (origin). With most of the investment in the new design, the name and the logo coming from Natudis, the logo belongs to the wholesale company. If the trial phase proves successful, more stores could covert or new stores could open under this name.

“The average age of our customers is too high – we’ve got to get younger,” explains Zentveld. By using the new communication concept, the aim is to appeal to totally new consumer groups. After the store reopened, the number of customers rose by just under 20 % from 3,000 to 3,500 a week, and he is anticipating a further rise of 10 % over the next 12 months. One of the main product categories is fresh food, which will be demonstrated by increasing the volume of fully baked bread from 15 % to 30 % of all the bread sold. The cheese counter (picture) has 80 varieties of cheese and is a focal point in this well stocked specialist store.

The old organic store, that with 400 m² was already a good size, was closed for three days to knock down a wall separating it from the newly acquired neighbouring shop and to do a complete re-fit. The floor, the oven and some shelving from the old shop were retained, but tills, refrigeration, trolleys and 30 % of the current shelving had to be purchased. In the middle of the supermarket a circular zone was created where you can see things going on like cooking, baking, and cheese and sausage being sliced. Nearby are tables and chairs for 16 people to sit down and have a little snack. A television with DVD films (picture) has been installed to keep the kiddies occupied and, Rob Zentveld comments with a smile, it has proved very popular with more than just the children.

Another change is the way bread is sold in clear plastic wrapping. Previously, bread was sold at a service counter and often sliced for you by machine. Now you can take the various sorts of bread ready sliced from the wooden self-service shelves. Only a few older customers have complained – the majority have no problem with this way of selling bread, and even found it an improvement,” comments Zentveld. Nevertheless, some other foods are still sold at service counters. The store is open from 8.30 to 18.00 (8.00 to 17.00 on Saturdays) and the number of employees, mainly part-time, is 27.
(Picture: Fresh food represented by the large picture of grapes in the window)

In contrast, the thick white edging on the vegetable crates to make them heavier has not proved popular (picture on right). The owner thinks they just take up space, and you get better results with more fresh goods. The mobile sales islands (picture) are new – they are round and can be used in different places in the store. Other new features are the gas lamps in the ceiling and the glass doors that were retro-fitted along the 10-metre chilled shelves. Zentvelder is pleased with these new doors, because they alone save about 40 % of the electricity costs of these shelves. By extending the chilled shelves he has created 25 % more space, that is used mainly for the newly listed convenience articles.

From the ceiling hang 20 banners that are changed every 3 months according to season. In the autumn you see “heerlijke hollandse HERFST” (picture). Ceiling banners are used in Natuurwinkel stores too with the corresponding logo. At Goody Food the aim is to be different so, at conspicuous points in the store such as on columns, you find the words “enjoy, relax, delicious, fresh and tasty” to get people thinking in terms of the values the store wants to promote. Above the shelves are signs indicating product groups, and they make it much easier for customers to find what they are looking for. Natudis’s partner for fitting out the store was the shop-fitting firm Hessels.

No changes were made to the facility for refills of loose products. The saving compared with packaged goods on the shelves is 5 – 10 %. Another advantage is that the customers can buy just the amount they want. As Zentvelder points out, some things aren’t sold packaged at all, like freeze-dried berries, roasted soya beans, chocolate-coated raisins and tamari cashew nuts.

The total product range consists of 5,000 articles, of which 70 % are supplied by Natudis and 30 % by local suppliers of bread, cheese and vegetables and by the fresh food wholesaler Udea. Juices, water and dairy products are supplied in various types of bottle by wholesalers. You get your deposit back if you return you empties to a Tomra reverse vending machine for recycling (0.7 litre juice bottles, 0.5 litre yoghurt jars and re-usable plastic water bottles). Some German manufacturers like Bionade do not collect empties abroad, so that re-usable is turned into one-way.
(Picture on right: Children’s trolleys for the next generation of shoppers)

To bring in new customers, every two months 35,000 flyers are distributed in the locality. Here too it’s a Natuurwinkel leaflet but carrying the Goody Food logo. Every week a tasting stand is set up either by a manufacturer or by the store itself, so that customers can try out new products for themselves.

(Picture on left: Genuine pebbles decorate counters and mirrors in the newly styled store)

Tip: www.goodyfood.nl