Organic produce marketer Canova says its street market-style island retail concept is proving extremely popular with shoppers across Italy.
The group has just extended its recent collaboration with retail operator Finiper with the opening of a new concession at an Iper, La Grande I hypermarket in Vittuone, near Milan.
The latest 'store within a store' covers 19sqm inside the outlet’s fresh produce department, and sells a full range of over a hundred mainly loose organic products under the Almaverde Bio brand – including a number of niche exotic fruit and vegetables like black garlic and celeriac.
The stand is manned full time by a dedicated member of staff, who provides shoppers with advice on the products, their provenance and potential uses.
The Almaverde Bio island concept was first developed around three years ago as a way of offering consumers a more authentic, street market-style shopping experience while securing a better price for organically grown fresh fruit and vegetables in return.
A spokesperson for the company commented: “Today, the islands are spread across the entire country with excellent results both in terms of sales and the reaction of consumers, who find the same level of service as a specialised shop in a well-defined, organised area with the comfort of a supermarket.”
