Why is big food turning to pop-up stores to tell brand stories?

Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the e-zine, CPGmatters, published twice monthly. Kellogg, Pure Leaf and Chobani are among a number of CPG companies that have been sprouting “pop-up” stores that tell their brand stories. As well as fashioning “stores within a store” in larger retailers, CPG brands are putting these pop-ups into semi-permanent locations on street fronts in New York City and other heavily populated locales. The reason: CPG brands see grocery retailing undergoing unprecedented competitive pressures that stress store chains to promote themselves and store brands, a development that could make it harder for brands to promote themselves in supermarket aisles. What’s more, pop-ups create a new prong in experiential marketing that seems to appeal especially to millennials in search of the next great encounter with food that they can photograph and post to Instagram and other social media. Pop-ups also are a way for brands that have been around a while to demonstrate some of the same sort of street ambition that has helped start-up companies upend the established order in CPG. “You can’t do this in a grocery store,” Pure Leaf senior marketing director Laraine Miller told the Wall Street Journal, speaking of the PepsiCo-owned brand’s elaborate tea house in New York that incorporates museum-style installations featuring the history and uses of tea. Kellogg operates Kellogg’s NYC, a cereal café in Times Square where bowls of the morning favorite are served all day in a wide range of unusual preparations. Among other things, the pop-up allows Kellogg to test out-of-the-box flavor and texture combinations, such as Corn Pops paired with lemon zest, Pop-Tart milkshakes, and Eggo sandwiches with toasted marshmallows and chocolate. John Grace, president of BrandTaxi, told CPGmatters, put it, “What many tactics [in retail stores] can’t successfully communicate is the underlying meaning and essence of a brand – what it stands for and why it is different from its competitors. One of the challenges of our times is how to create consumer ‘brand experiences’ in a digital world,” Grace said. “Pop-up stores are one ingredient in the mix, particularly in high-population markets and cities. If done correctly, word gets out very fast.”

• Why Is Big Food Touting its Brands with Pop-Up Stores?  - CPGmatters
• Consumer Brands Set Up NYC Pop Up Stores to Create Buzz – The Wall Street Journal