Dive Brief:

• Foxtrot Market, a small-format grocery chain with locations in Chicago and Dallas, has rolled out a brand campaign, "Good Stuff Delivered," that presents shopping for everyday items as an enjoyable experience marked by a sense of discovery, according to a press release. It will highlight its 60-minute delivery service, in particular, which is available on its app. 
• The campaign is based on playful black-and-white graphics. The company plans to use the imagery online, as well as on bags and a new line of coffee products.
• ​The company will give coffee, gift cards and other items to random shoppers who visit its stores or use its online app during the first week of the campaign, as part of its "random acts of fun."

Dive Insight:

Foxtrot’s brand campaign reflects the grocer’s heavy emphasis on the experiential aspects of shopping for groceries, and it is intended to appeal to people looking for a dose of normality even as they navigate the changes to everyday life brought on by the pandemic. What the campaign also appears to do is play up that discovery of different products can be both in-store and online as it touts its digital services, which are the roots of the company. 

Like other retailers, Foxtrot, which was launched in 2013 as a completely online merchant and now runs 10 convenience stores in Chicago and Dallas, has adjusted its operations in response to the public health crisis. The company expanded the number of cafe items available for delivery, repurposed seating areas with shelving and trained employees to perform new roles.

Foxtrot is eager to maintain its whimsical image despite the changes it has had to make.

“We wanted our latest brand expression to capture that sense of fun that happens when a guest enters our stores or receives our deliveries, while still bringing a new sense of immediacy to the value of daily diversions in a world where we are all more challenged,” Foxtrot Chief Marketing Officer Carla Dunham said in a statement.

The launch of Foxtrot’s brand campaign coincides with efforts by other grocers to refresh their images.

On Monday, The Giant Company unveiled a brand platform that will underpin its marketing efforts going forward. The campaign’s theme, “For Today’s Table,” reflects the stepped-up consumer interest in grocery stores that has stemmed from the pandemic. The new graphics and tagline will show up on Giant and Martins’ food stores and company vehicles, as well as in advertisements.

Last Wednesday, Sprouts Farmers Market, which has been enhancing its efforts to reach the health-conscious consumers, rolled out a new logo and tagline, “Sprouts, Where Goodness Grows.” The new imagery and tagline has already appeared on the grocer’s digital platforms and in a television commercial, said spokesperson Diego Romero.