There Grows the Neighborhood:
A natural market takes root in Manhattan.

Mrs. Greens is an up-and-coming natural grocery store chain. They were opening their first NYC location, in the West Village. In the world of Whole Foods, how do you compete and still be a true neighborhood store?

Beth Mart, Carolyn Gargano, and I were charged with this assignment. We huddled, brainstormed and sketched like mad. And here are a few of the many store-opening ideas.

Leading up to the opening, food portraits, aka Vegetars, were fashioned from the fresh food of Mrs. Green’s. These Vegetar characters were used on everything from store posters, bags, and buttons to online characters.

Grand Opening Day.  We wanted to show Mrs. Green’s is now where good food comes from: “a root awakening.” So a huge 3D chalk scene was drawn on the sidewalk outside the store. The chalk art imagines a tractor ripping up the city sidewalk to grow food.  Huge carrots, the symbol of Mrs. Green’s, literally take root in the neighborhood.

3D chalk artist Hani Shihada created the art to an admiring local crowd as hashtagged photos generated buzz.

Director Zeke O'Donnell was on-hand to capture time-lapse footage of the chalk art. Seeing an opportunity, a video was created to capture where good food comes from.

We expanded the film’s theme to include a little girl and her bunny.  This charming film won both awards (AVA Digital | Platinum, Graphis | Gold, Communication Awards | Gold, Rebrand Awards | Distinction, W3 Award | Silver) and many hearts.

The launch was a success and now as new Mrs. Greens stores open, our ideas are incorporated into every location.