After decades of describing itself as a “Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy” chain, Harris Teeter wants to simplify its public image.

Earlier this month, the Southeastern grocer introduced a new logo, tagline and marketing campaign built around the theme “In food with love” in an effort to focus attention on the retailer’s identity as a fresh food supplier while paying homage to the classic look and feel it has spent years promoting.

Harris Teeter has replaced the characters it has used since the mid-1990s to convey its name with bold, sans-serif letters in dark red displayed above the words “Your Neighborhood Market.” The supermarket operator, which has been owned by Kroger since 2014, also rolled out a modernized version of the loaf of bread, fish and apple illustration it has long promoted.

The changes reflect a sense within Harris Teeter that the company needed to adjust its branding to convey its commitment to adapting to changes in the grocery industry and people’s lives even as it stays close to its roots, Matt Martin, Harris Teeter’s vice president of marketing, said in an interview.

“We think the right time to make those kinds of changes [is] when the brand is healthy and growing and looking at a future of a lot of innovation, and that's the moment we find ourselves in,” said Martin.

Martin, a CPG and retail veteran who joined Harris Teeter about a year ago, said he realized that by updating its visual image, Harris Teeter could do a more effective job of positioning itself as a flexible company in tune with what matters to its stakeholders.

“We looked at everything that we're doing, from the services we provide, the assortment that we have, the ways we can help customers save, and it felt like the right time for us to look at the most visible part of our business — the way we communicate, including our brand logo — and continue to evolve that in the same way we look to evolve everything we deliver for our customers,” said Martin, who spent nearly 15 years working for Procter & Gamble and also worked for companies including discount chain Family Dollar before joining Harris Teeter.

As it works to introduce its updated look to the public, Harris Teeter has developed TV spots that are airing on broadcast and cable channels in the markets where it operates as well as messaging for social media.

A video provided by Harris Teeter shows people preparing food in a kitchen as a bag with the new Harris Teeter logo sits on a counter, with the song “Get Happy” as a soundtrack.

“You'll see really high-quality imagery of all of the products that you can get at Harris Teeter and what you can do with them at home by creating recipes, and really an elevated experience for your family and for yourself in all the meals that you create,” Martin said. 

Martin said Harris Teeter surveyed associates to understand their point of view about the grocer’s look as it embarked on its multi-month effort to update its brand. The company also took shopper sentiment into account in calibrating the adjustments it made, he said.

Martin noted that while Harris Teeter was able to quickly adopt its new look online, it will take a significant amount of time to update the signage on and in the company’s more than 250 stores and 60 gas stations across seven states and Washington, D.C.

“There's nothing wrong with what we have today,” Martin said. “We're just simply evolving. And so we're okay that the two looks might live together in a store for a period of time.”

Harris Teeter joins other retailers that have also recently taken steps to connect their role in selling food with people’s desire to create appetizing meals.

Last November, Stop & Shop released a spot in its “Feed the Moment” advertising campaign that focuses on its private label assortment while acknowledging the inflation shoppers have been facing. Earlier this month, Albertsons began an omnichannel campaign known as “Sincerely, Food” designed to encourage shoppers to associate the chain’s banners with special moments in their lives.

In 2019, Kroger introduced its “Fresh for Everyone” marketing campaign, which centers on the many fresh items the grocer sells.