Behind the Work → Sourced Market

Activities: Desk research, venue observation, digital audit, team member interviews, customer interviews

Sourced Market’s growth strategy had been based on initial success; their St. Pancras Station venue – replete with myriad artisan products, available to grab & go in a positively chaotic environment – had led to the opening of 3 further sites across London.

Naturally, growth led to new challenges. It became clear that customers were struggling to articulate the offer, in turn limiting memorability and advocacy, and the team were unable to master the breadth of the proposition, arresting engagement, generating stress and prompting high turnover.

An ever-increasing range of products was not selling regularly as a result, compounded by poor wayfinding and signage. Sites exhibited high wastage and customer journeys were stunted due to a paradox of choice and a setup that failed to welcome and direct them.

Upon stepping into the work, we also noted that the application of the brand was inconsistent, founded on limited guidelines. The internal team grappled to prepare print & digital material in a business that necessitated daily updates. Simply, the brand did not have the tools to support the team, and therefore the customer.

The landscape that Sourced Market now occupied had also changed dramatically.

Once the sole provider of artisan products in their locales, the business now had to compete with supermarkets selling similar or identical products, while 4,000 restaurants had opened in the U.K. in the prior 4 years, greatly increasing competition.

We segmented the current audience and considered why each would visit Sourced Market when a grab & go, eat-in or retail competitor was close by.

This helped us to hone in on what to accentuate and the appropriate tone to deliver communication. As ever with an independent operator, outspending the opposition was not an option – we had to find a clear, defensible gap in the market for Sourced Market to transition to, own and reinforce.