Emily Schildt, founder of Pop Up Grocer, discusses her innovative approach to retail by creating curated, temporary grocery experiences that highlight emerging brands and combat product overwhelm. The episode delves into how this model addresses critical challenges for DTC food brands seeking physical presence and offers valuable lessons on retail curation, experiential design, and strategic brand showcasing for ecommerce operators.
Key takeaways
Traditional grocery stores overwhelm consumers with over 40,000 SKUs; focus on curation to enhance discovery and perceived value for your customers.
Utilize temporary retail formats like pop-ups to generate buzz, test markets, and provide a unique, experiential touchpoint for your brand, especially if you're primarily online.
Actively source emerging brands and products, leveraging platforms like Instagram, to maintain a fresh and innovative offering that differentiates you from competitors.
Invest in thoughtful display, design, and aesthetics within your physical or digital retail spaces to significantly impact customer engagement and purchasing decisions.
For DTC brands, consider strategic partnerships or platforms that offer physical retail exposure to overcome visibility challenges and connect with new customer segments.
It took a trip to London for Emily Schildt to realize that American grocery stores could do better.
"I came back personally really yearning for a grocery store experience like I had there," she said on the Modern Retail Podcast. "They were just beautiful spaces in which to shop -- gorgeous products, but really thoughtful display and design."
Last year Schildt founded Pop Up Grocer, a traveling showcase of a few hundred products that sets up in U.S. cities for a month at a time. It had four locations to date; the next one opens in Brooklyn this October.
Many of the goods, like cauliflower crust, are available at grocery stores already, but Schildt argues that they're buried in a mass of other items. Since the 90s, the average grocery store's number of items has mushroomed from 7,000 to between 40,000 and 50,000, according to a recent book on the topic.
"It's a lot of cold outreach," she said about how she gets products that are worth the spotlight, many of which she finds on Instagram. A place at Pop Up Grocer helps show off brands that might otherwise remain obscure or have trouble selling online. "I think people find starting their own business so hard if they don't have all of the connections. And it's hard even if you do," Schildt said.
Schildt talked about the company's move into ecommerce, plans to raise outside capital and her favorite place to shop for food in Paris.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Traditional grocery stores overwhelm consumers with over 40,000 SKUs; focus on curation to enhance discovery and perceived value for your customers.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Utilize temporary retail formats like pop-ups to generate buzz, test markets, and provide a unique, experiential touchpoint for your brand, especially if you're primarily online.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Actively source emerging brands and products, leveraging platforms like Instagram, to maintain a fresh and innovative offering that differentiates you from competitors.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Invest in thoughtful display, design, and aesthetics within your physical or digital retail spaces to significantly impact customer engagement and purchasing decisions.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
For DTC brands, consider strategic partnerships or platforms that offer physical retail exposure to overcome visibility challenges and connect with new customer segments.
