Woolworths NZ opens world’s first supermarket for bees in new activation via dentsu Aotearoa

To celebrate the return of spring and remind New Zealanders where freshness truly starts, Woolworths New Zealand has opened the world’s first supermarket for bees via dentsu Aotearoa.

Spring is when flora and fauna come back to life. Leaves grow back, flowers bloom, and fruit and veggies flourish. But all of that spring goodness in the garden – and supermarket – relies on bees. Over the last 75 years the global bee population has decreased by 50%, yet around 70% of crops eaten by humans rely on pollination by bees.

So, this spring Woolworths opened the world’s first supermarket for bees to bring awareness to these important pollinators.

The Woolworths for Bees store was designed to cater to the group’s first ever non-human target market, stocking aisles of fresh flowers packed with the pollen and nectar bees love.

Stock was carefully selected in consultation with professional beekeepers, botany experts, and nurseries to cater to the needs of bees. The store layout was designed with bees in mind, with a ‘spring specials’ section stocking spring flowering plants and ‘locally grown’ New Zealand natives such as Mānuka & Kōwhai. Woolworths for Bees even featured an ‘ultraviolet aisle’ stocked with all the purple and blue flowers that are top of bees shopping lists (or at least, are their favourite colour on the spectrum).

Woolworths for Bees popped up at Ambury Farm over the first half of the spring school holidays. While designed as a one-stop shopping destination for bees, it also offered an interactive and educational experience for humans. Human visitors could learn about bees via supermarket signage and an on-site beekeeper, complete educational challenges, and even leave with some treats to enjoy at home, including seeds to grow their own bee-friendly garden.

Says Bríd Drohan-Stewart, director of brand, Woolworths: “Without a healthy bee population, the entire food chain is impacted. And that’s not just produce. Other supermarket staples also rely on bee pollination and wouldn’t be available for us to enjoy without bees. As a supermarket, Woolworths is uniquely positioned to educate people about this issue.

“By creating Woolworths for Bees, we wanted to bring awareness to our pollinators and how our ecosystems and supermarkets are all connected, while creating a fun and unique experience to keep Tamariki entertained over the school holidays.”

Says Alex Barlow, head of talent and activations at dentsu: “With Woolworths launching their new brand platform ‘That Fresh Food Feeling’ this year, we wanted to approach the spring campaign with fresh thinking. Activations lend themselves to more emotive engagement between consumers and brands. We knew an activation was the best way to allow people to experience ‘That Fresh Food Feeling’ for themselves.”

As part of the initiative to bring awareness to the importance of bees to the environment, dentsu Aotearoa has also committed to adopting beehives for their own Auckland office through Bees Up Top.

Ambury Farm was buzzing with excitement all week as bees continued to shop at Woolworths for Bees, enjoying all their favourite flowers.

Says Kelly Sheerin-Niua, marketing manager, Woolworths New Zealand: “It’s a bit harder to get feedback from our new bee customers, but our beekeeper said the bees have been buzzing and the park rangers said Ambury Farm has never been busier!”

Woolworths for Bees opened for a limited time these spring school holidays, Saturday September 28^th – Sunday October 6th.

And after the buzz ended? The bees returned to their home north of Auckland and all shelving and interactive elements will be used by Ambury Farm and Sustainable Schools for educational purposes. Community groups, schools and gardening enthusiasts took the flowers home to re-plant in their own gardens.

Learn more at https://www.woolworths.co.nz/shop/content/woolworths-for-bees

Client: Woolworths New Zealand 
Director of Brand: Bríd Drohan-Stewart 
Head of Brand: Abbe Hale 
Senior Marketing Manager & Chapter Lead: Samuel Gujer 
Marketing Manager: Kelly Sheerin-Niua 
Content Manager & Product Owner: Adele Biggs 
Marketing Coordinator: Emma Tidswell 
Activation Agency: dentsu Aotearoa