Cada creates new visual identity for Dutch convenience store concept

The consultancy was appointed by parent company Ahold Europe on credentials at the beginning of last year.

Cada was tasked with undertaking a comprehensive review of the convenience retail market, using the findings of market research commissioned by Ahold Europe across Europe.

The new ‘optimistic, self confident, quirky and fun’ visual identity will be used across all touch-points including interior and exterior signage and graphics, staff uniforms, point-of-sale materials, ticketing and packaging.

Cada worked with Dutch interior architecture consultancy Claessens Erdmann on store interiors, and another Dutch consultancy to create the website and apps that accompany the relaunch.

Darren Calcott, head of graphics at Cada, says, ‘[Albert Heijn is] so well-known in Holland – people in their 20s, 30s and 40s grew up with it, so it’s very embedded in their day-to-day lives. The supermarket chain is doing one job but the to-go audience and locations are so different that they needed to shift how it is perceived.’

The new designs retain the logotype and cyan colour of the parent brand. Calcott says, ‘We wanted the fun and personality to come through – the bright magenta device we created is quite fun.

‘It’s all about understanding the mood shifts of the customer and turning that into a positive energy through the great staff, the environment and the sparkle – what makes you feel good.’

The first site to show the new branding opened at the World Trade Centre in Amsterdam last week, and there will now be an extensive roll-out programme.