Swiss Farms, America’s drive-through grocer, will unveil its new prototype store designed by retail design and branding firm, Chute Gerdeman Retail.
The new store, in Ridley Township, Pa., features a new brand identity, an eye-catching barn motif and 21st century touches, including LED displays that tie merchandise offerings to the weather forecast.
Chute Gerdeman worked with Swiss Farms to develop everything from the new store design to a new brand identity. The resulting new prototype is Swiss Farms 13th location.
Swiss Farms wanted to reposition their stores as the customer’s in-between shopping trip, broadening the focus from dairy to a wider food offering, including produce and hot dinners such as rotisserie chicken. Were a fill-in provisional store, said Paul Friel, Swiss Farms CEO, comparing his store to the express lane of a supermarket with a drive-through option.
Regarding one of Swiss Farms biggest challenges, Friel posed the question, how do you tell people what’s inside the store when it’s all drive-through? Chute Gerdeman designers literally sat in the driver’s seat to answer that question, finding new ways to reach Swiss Farms on-the-go customer, while pulling in new customers as well.
Technology provided one answer, as a 39 high, 63 wide pylon LED sign increases visibility from the street. And a series of 46-inch screen displays communicate product offering to customers in the drive through. Color also was put to work, as Swiss Farms customary colors were reversed, with red walls topped by a white roof. The barn motif has been ramped up a few notches, creating an eye-catching, all-American appeal.
Shopping is easier for customers in their cars, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows and the use of visual merchandising, with strategically placed product displays. Thanks to advanced technology that links the stores to a meteorological website, customers will also find display screens suggesting products appropriate for the current time of day as well as the weather conditions.
Additional service doors have been added, allowing several customers to be assisted simultaneously, and adding to the quick and easy experience Swiss Farms promises to customers.
Chute Gerdeman also worked with Swiss Farms to update its brand identity, creating a fresh from the farm feel with an iconic rooster, sunrise imagery, and new color palette, communicating the freshness of the product offering. The curved horizon line gives the feeling of a landscape and speaks to the speed of the shopping process.
We wanted a design that really told customers what we are, and that created a competitive position against grocery stores, Friel said. Chute Gerdeman did an excellent job at both.
Swiss Farms has plans to retrofit all of the 12 Delaware County Swiss Farms locations over the next three years.
About Chute Gerdeman Retail
Founded in 1989, Columbus, Ohio-based Chute Gerdeman Retail is a retail branding and design firm. The firm’s client list includes Mattel, M&MS/Mars, Target, Levi Strauss, Tween Brands Inc., Shopko, C&A Brazil and Kohls. In addition to its recognition as one of the industry’s Most Exciting Design Firms by the readers of DDI magazine for 12 years in a row, the firm has received numerous awards for its design leadership.
About Swiss Farms
Swiss Farms has been a drive-through with a tradition of quality and convenience since 1968. The neighborhood stores have been providing fresh products to loyal customers in a safe, fast and friendly format that sets them apart from other convenience stores. Originally created by Lebanon, Pennsylvania's Wengert Dairy Farms, Swiss Farms has grown to a chain of stores in Delaware County, PA. Now operating fully independent of Wengert, Swiss Farms is in full expansion mode. As the business grows new stores are popping up across Southeastern Pennsylvania and plans to break into New Jersey are right around the corner. Franchising is now available for those that want to live the dream of owning their own business and driving their future. Many of the customers that grew up on Swiss Farms continue to enjoy the farm fresh goodness with their own children and grandchildren. Experiencing the smarter way to shop with fresher products, competitive pricing and the friendliest service is what Swiss Farms brings to every neighborhood they reside in. Come and shop with America's Drive-Thru Grocer.
