Project Commissioner

Keells Supermarkets

Project Creator

Whippet

Project Overview

After helping Keells in Sri Lanka evolve into a truly modern, progressive supermarket brand in 2017, Whippet was tasked with moving the Keells brand to the next level.
Dubbed ‘Project Iconic’, a brand new fleet of stores was to be created, with an even more polished and upmarket feel than what was achieved just a few short years ago.
In a rapidly developing country, these new stores were to set a new standard in the Sri Lankan supermarket space.

Team

Steve Stoner - Principal Director Tod O'Reilly - Excecutive Creative Director Adam Rafferty - Client Services Director Peter Forbes - Design Director Matthew Coghlan - Design Director Oliver Ward - Copywriter

Project Brief

Project Iconic tasked Whippet with developing a blueprint for a fleet of premium stores to go in select suburbs around Sri Lanka. Not only were these new stores to offer a more premium selection, they were also to serve as innovation centres for the broader Keells fleet, and to represent the brand vision of ‘bringing the best of the world to Sri Lanka every day’ coming to life.

Project Innovation/Need

To help delineate the ‘Iconic’ stores from the core Keells fleet, we explored a new take on the colour scheme we created back in 2017, named ‘Colombo Pop’. Here we dialled up the darkness for a more premium feel, and opted for sleeker, more sophisticated textures and finishes.
To build further on these quality cues and create a hint of a ‘night market’ atmosphere, we also concepted and developed a range of stylish neon navigation and backlit signs for the varying store zones, and invited a local artist to create a stunning mural at the entrance to each and every new store.

Design Challenge

Compared to the core Keells fleet, ‘Iconic’ stores were to have a significantly expanded ready to eat offering, with everything from curries to lasagne, pizza to waffles, fresh juice to ice cream and more, all available in store. Fitting all these features in a tight space was always going to be tricky, but persistence paid off and we eventually landed on a configuration that made sense, thus giving birth to the Keells Kafè.
In order to house more produce in less space, we also completely redesigned the fresh food bunk layouts, and then explored a range of ways to ensure the bunks always looked full.
To add even more style and flair throughout the store, we developed several premium touches such as a herb mister in the fresh section’s wall chillers and a flower stand at the front of store.
Finally, we reimagined the hugely popular in-store tuk tuk into a fun and attention-grabbing home for the Iconic stores’ expanded food to go offering.

Sustainability

As a brand dedicated to preserving Sri Lanka’s unique and stunning ecosystems for generations to come, Keells was keen to work together with the Whippet team to ensure local suppliers were engaged as much as possible for all the fixtures, from the flooring to the ceiling to the lighting and everything in between.
While the country’s manufacturing industry struggled through a difficult period of political and economic unrest, we’re proud to say that approximately 35% of all materials used were locally sourced.
This goes hand in hand with the brand’s other sustainability efforts such as the use of environmentally-friendly bags and packaging used throughout the store.