The Spice House, Naperville, Ill.

vm trends: The 2600-square-foot shop is the hub of the customer experience, where product demonstrations and recipe curation happen.

Published

1 week ago

September 15, 2023

Lauren Mang VMSD July-August 2023

TO FULLY IMMERSE shoppers within the experience at The Spice House (Skokie, Ill.), a new store from the fine spice purveyors of the same name, designers at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (Charlotte, N.C.) went for sensory engagement.

“The goal was to engage the senses with the aroma of the spices and the colors within the space so that customers have the feeling of entering a new, modern spice market,” says Rich Glenny, Retail Design Leader at Little.

Spanning 2600 square feet, The Spice House engages customers through sensory merchandising tactics. 📷: Courtesy of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting

The 2600-square-foot shop, located in downtown Naperville, Ill., engages sight via a neutral color palette of greens and grays blended with warm wood tones. Those colors serve as a backdrop for rows of spice jars and packets displayed on a mix of contemporary and locally sourced vintage fixtures. Low tables at the store’s front create an open view of the vast array of spice options on perimeter shelving and enable sightlines toward the cashwrap, which Glenny notes, is the hub of the customer experience, where product demonstrations and recipe curation happen.

The Spice House, Naperville, Ill.

As for smell, that’s where the Scent Experience comes in, a “noses”-on adventure that guides customers through 20 spices and blends and their variations in scent. At the mobile Spice Bar, shoppers can taste their way through a new monthly assortment of four spices, learn their origins and receive pairing suggestions for their next culinary endeavors.

“The Spice House is a place to explore,” Michael Magee, Retail Principal at Little, says. “The store invites home cooks and professionals alike to experience new flavors, cuisines and cultures, and buy the freshest, small-batch spices.” How spicy.

PHOTO GALLERY (6 IMAGES)
📷 Courtesy of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting

Embracing Whole-Brained Thinking in the Design Journey

Strategy needs creative, and creative needs strategy—yep, having both is really the only way of unifying all disciplines with a common vernacular with an eye toward building a strong creative vision that is foundational to the processes. Hear from Bevan Bloemendaal, former VP, Global Environments & Creative Services at Timberland, how to connect the dots between disciplines, claiming and creating a clear differentiation for the brand and ensuring that any asset (experience, product, ad, store, office, home, video, game) is created with intention.