Kaish Agarwal, a post graduate student from the National Institute of Design, R&D Campus, Bangalore noticed during a field trip at a popular supermarket chain that very less attention was paid in the display of fruits and vegetables in the space. And this triggered his interest to develop a smart display system for Big Bazaar, as a part of his design project that focused on furniture and fixtures.

"The flaws in the display system was not limited to one store or brand, but present in all modern trade outlets housing fresh produce such as vegetables & fruits," says Kaish explaining that this was the reason he chose this particular aspect in the grocery retailing.

During research, Kaish noticed six major shortcomings of the current display system used in Big Bazaar which include:

• Space wastage due to angular display of rectangular crates
• Grocery falling off due to angular display and habit of customers to surf from the bottom of the stock
• No dedicated system for large fruits and vegetables
• No dedicated system for signage and branding
• No hierarchy in display with respect to size and type of grocery
• Improper distribution of plastic bag rolls and weighing machines

He also noticed that current system didn't provide product information and didn't justify the'farm fresh' concept of fruits & vegetables displayed at the store.

After 8 weeks at the drawing board and conceptualisation, Kaish came up with a system which was aesthetically appealing but incorporated important functional aspects too.

"With the new system the customers are able to see through the transparent basket, hence increased visibility under the heap. We can also enhance the shoppers experience through colour blocks where the baskets do not take away the colour of the vegetable & fruits they hold," Kaish added.

Design Intervention : What's New

• An Ergonomic basket which eliminates the concept of slant crate displays hence increasing space utilisation.
• A two-way signage clip and a slide-in signage panel that slides on the basket hence eliminating cumbersome unorganised offer and price displays
• The basket itself slides on a system of double-slit strut channel system using customised brackets
• Being transparent, the basket enhances the feeling of freshness and increases visibility of the fruits at the bottom
• The baskets would be colour coded (still transparent) with respect to the merchandise in them (major colours being red, yellow, orange & green)
• The baskets can be stacked in a straight stack and an alternate stack as well which allows their usage as an appealing aisle display as well
• The basket for large fruits and vegetables mimics the form of smaller basket hence creating an overall integration in the look and feel

Currently, Kaish has developed a prototype of the display system and has registered the design under the ownership of'National Institute of Design and Kaish Agarwal'. He plans to present his design to prospective clients after the design has been patented.

Materials Matter
Transparent basket made of scratch resistant Polycarbonate (moulded to a maximum thickness of 5mm)

• Signage clip made from either Polycarbonate or Poly methyl methacrylate (injection moulding)
• Slide-in signage panel designed out of Poly carbonate (2-3mm)
• Being transparent, the basket enhances the feeling of freshness and increases visibility of the fruits at the bottom
• Strut channel and bracket in mild steel (industrial grade) in 3mm sheet (die cut)
• Basket for large fruits- 3mm and 5mm Stainless Steel rods joined through spot welding