LUNDS & BYERLYS DIGITAL KIOSK

The Challenge

Creating a destination within a destination

“Elevating the experience.” It’s a stylish buzz phrase in retail circles these days. Not so new for destination grocer Lunds & Byerlys. Creating personalized, unusual experiences for their shoppers has been the foundation of this Minnesota-based chain’s business model for going on four generations.

When Lunds & Byerlys acquired an existing store in the toney Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie from another local grocer in 2014, remodeling around their proven formulas began in earnest.

It was then Wild Blue was given the opportunity to create a destination for the new location’s confection aisles. Lunds & Byerlys is well-known for its private label and premium confection assortments, but were hoping to emphasize national brands, so as to increase share within their market.

The deeper challenge? Finding a way to elevate the joy hiding in every confection shopper, yet respecting the subtle elegance that anchors the Lunds & Byerlys brand.

For Lunds & Byerlys, ‘elevating the shopper experience’ has always been the center of their strategy.

The Solution

A store-within-a-store construct lead the efforts. By doing so, Lunds & Byerlys would retain a trendy signature space essential to their brand, yet still provide an experience that would resonate with those looking for more mainstream offerings.

Initial layout sketches showed a confection destination, centered around private-label bulk and a sophisticated digital kiosk. The kiosk was imagined as something that could be tailored to the seasons, with recipes, games, new product promotions and more.