Page 29 - May2021

Mercato Potsdamer in Berlin in April 2022 within the Arkaden retail complex, which is currently undergoing a total refurbishment.
“Contrary to some other food halls and food courts, which develop a concept and roll it out with a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach, we
conceive and design each of our projects around the local community and, while existing footfall is something that we do consider,
the most important piece of research we carry out at the outset is thorough community needs mapping,” comments Claris.
Their approach to doing business is focused on creating spaces that the local socio-demographic context demands and on
delivering the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as much as possible.
“We strive to nourish the stomach and the mind. Our guests are repeat customers who enjoy a low level of ‘preaching’ about
our values and a high engagement with our offer.”
Incredible importance is now placed on a company’s social media presence, and Claris argues that the most important part of
MM’s strategy focuses on ‘word of mouth’, guerrilla marketing and the involvement of its customers and visitors in disseminating
their values, ethos and outstanding offers.
“We began creating our expansion PR & marketing strategy at the end of last year, and we decided to place more importance
on the ‘network’ effect and the concept of movement, rather than rely on traditional marketing channels, such as influencers.”
The business used the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity to reflect on their digital strategy and during the lockdowns, they kept
their locations open for both physical and online business utilising ready-made solutions for online sales, such as Shopify.
They are designing an online experience that will resemble as closely as possible their offline offering by combining artisan,
sustainably sourced food with engagement in the preparation and enrichment through storytelling.
The Mercato Metropolitano model is predicated on adding value through the entire value chain. Using artisan operators they
create a benign business environment that does not require large upfront investments from operators. Because of this, MM allows
these companies to create a viable model and supports them in all aspects of their start-up and growth, where both can reap the
benefits of a successful business.
When discussing the future, Claris explains that in the short-term, Mercato Metropolitano, like the rest of the F&B and hospitality
sectors, must continue with nimble and swift acting management in order to make up for the economic decline brought on by the
pandemic.
“However, we do see a bright future as we embark on our quest to deliver community-focused offers in the F&B and hospitality
space, whilst incorporating international expertise within our networks as we continue to move forward with our glocal approach,”
Claris concludes.

54 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL MAY 2021