#OnShelf: The future of retail for brands

by Louise Burgers. Vans enters the Metaverse in partnership with Roblox – undoubtedly the future of retail for the next generation. Plus all the Olive Oil winners; festive launches from Cadbury; and Montego gives cats something to purr about.

Top 10 Olive Oil award winners

The 2021 Absa Top 10 Olive Oil Awards were celebrated earlier this month. The partnership behind the Absa Top 10 Olive Oil Awards dates back to 2013, when SA Olive and Absa joined forces to launch the Absa Top 5 Olive Oil Awards, as an extension to the annual SA Olive Awards. The awards aim to promote the development of South African Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). In the 2021 edition of the SA Olive Awards, which was held in August-September, 113 South African EVOOs were rigorously assessed by a Judging Panel through a strictly controlled blind tasting. The highest-scoring oils out of the 30 gold medal winners became contenders for the Absa Top 10 Olive Oil Awards. These olive oils were judged and the winners selected by a panel of tasters and local experts, led by olive oil authority Dr Aldo Mazzini who flew in from Italy to preside over the judging. SA Olive Chairman, Nick Wilkinson, remarked that the 2021 season had delivered olive oils of excellent quality, many of which had already been recognised internationally. “There is undoubtedly a growing space for top quality oil produced by smaller producers with smart attention to detail. It’s time to educate consumers to appreciate the taste of good olive oil along with its many health benefits. We need to push our local consumers to buy local and recognise quality over quantity.”

The winners are:

• Willow Creek: Willow Creek Directors Reserve EVOO
• Lions Creek: Lions Creek Karoo Blend EVOO
• De Rustica Olive Estate: De Rustica Estate Collection Frantoio
• Olive Boutique: Olive Boutique Frantoio
• Mardouw:  XXV Intense
• Porterville Olives: Andante Intenso
• Serrado: Serrado EVOO
• Lapithos: LapithosFamily Reserve
• Rio Largo Estate: Rio Largo Premium
• Kleinbergskloof Olive Estate: Kleinbergskloof Olive Estate Blend

CAMPAIGN: Vans enters Roblox Metaverse

This is undoubtedy the future of retail for the new generation. Roblox, a global gaming platform and Vans, have launched Vans World, an interactive experience created by Vans on Roblox. With the launch of this exclusive new experience, Vans is the first brand to bring skateboarding, fashion, and community together in one experience, providing fans with the Vans shoe customiser to create their own unique style; and full skate shop to build their perfect board. Four Vans silhouettes will be available for fans to customise, purchase, and wear in the online experience. Vans World will serve as a persistent 3D space where fans can practice their ollies and kickflips with friends, and try-on and acquire exclusive Vans gear directly in the experience. This is the brand’s first venture into the metaverse. Inspired by the brand’s signature locations such as House of Vans, the Vans Off The Wall Skatepark in CA, owned retail shop environments and revered skate destinations from all over the globe, Vans vice president of global integrated marketing Nick Street said: “Individual expression is deeply embedded in skate culture, and Vans has been supporting and enabling this exact type of creativity for more than 50 years. With the Vans World experience on Roblox, we are empowering creative expression in the digital world, bridging the gap between virtual and real-world fashion and sports in an accessible, inclusive way. Vans is a global icon and advocate for youth culture, and we’re thrilled to bring this authentic brand experience to the millions of Vans enthusiasts where they are playing – on Roblox.”

Mindblowing: The Vans World experience, including the brand’s featured skate shoes, was created by Vans in partnership with Roblox community developers The Gang Stockholm. Roblox’s recently augmented physics layer, which is now available to all developers, helps achieve the true sensation of skating for Vans. The skating physics require vector operations and raycasting that would not have been possible without the incremental engine improvements that are a constant at Roblox. A preview of the experience can be found here.

Cadbury’s new festive range

And so it begins… The Festive Season is upon us, with Christmas decorations sneaking into stores and brands starting to talk about retail high season promotions and specials. Cadbury has released its new Cadbury Festive Range, which comprises three limited edition 150g slabs in three festive flavours. There is Festive Gingerbread, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate with gingerbread pieces; Cinnamon Crunch, Cadbury Dream with crunchy cinnamon pieces; Butterscotch & Crushed Almonds, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate with butterscotch and almonds pieces; and the classic Cadbury Dream-coated Whispers Snowballs with malted honeycomb centres.

Montego’s wet food for cats

Montego Pet Nutrition is expanding their super-premium Karoo Cat range into wet food for adult cats. This limited ingredient, balanced meal for cats is vet recommended and formulated for optimum nutrition and flavour. Karoo wet food for cats contains zero corn, soya and gluten, is a source of moisture, and packed with essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals for good digestion. Suitable for adult cats of all breeds and available in two flavours: Slow Cooked Stew with Real Chicken, Lamb and Carrots or Ostrich, Lamb and Green Peas. Karoo wet food for adult cats now available in a pack of 3 x 125g individual tubs at an RRP of R61.50.

Main image credit: Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash.

Louise Burgers is the Publisher and Editor and Co-Founder of RetailingAfrica.com. She has spent over 20 years writing about the FMCG retailing, marketing, media and advertising industry in South Africa and on the African continent. She has specialised in local and Africa consumer trends and is a passionate Afro-optimist who believes it is Africa’s time to rise again and that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will be a global gamechanger in the next decade.

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