A Radically New Retail Display Design Increases sales
The Nottingham Spirk team of researchers, designers, and engineers began by performing an industry analysis and by examining existing formats. Once they understood the existing conditions and challenges, they developed a solution that provided Mars with a radically new display that was easy for retail store operators to use and was compliant with evolving environmental regulations.
Solving the Design and Engineering Challenges
The innovation team addressed several unique challenges. The inside compartments needed to be configured to accommodate the varying sizes of frozen treats, ensuring an efficient and visually appealing display. The biggest challenge was fitting the entire refrigeration system into a shelf-size display. The overall design was made to fit seamlessly into standard shelf configurations while maximizing visibility and accessibility. During protoyping and feasibility testing, the lid seals were continuously refined until the final seal design was easy to open while preserving the optimal temperature. Furthermore, the commitment to sustainability led to using a non-freon refrigerant, ensuring that the freezer display was compliant with the current industry standards.
Our innovation team invented a unique freezer display design that enabled Mars to offer individual ice cream bars at the front of the store near the cash register. This new ‘grab-n-go’ placement provided an exclusive showcase for Mars products and triggered point-of-sale purchases.
The point-of-sale innovation enabled Mars to stand out from its competitors and increase sales.
