Coco Cart

First concept and branding for new convenience store offer

Known retailer Coco Cart secured a prime location in this newly developed international airport in India, part of the Bengaluru International Airport Limited group.

Barber Design were commissioned in 2022 to help win the tender and then develop a new concept for their Coco Cart Airport Retail offer at Bangalore’s new Terminal 2 Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

The CoCo Cart brand was originally conceived in the Covid Pandemic lockdown and originally started selling online. Such was the success of a wide range of chocolates from within India and International brands that as soon as lockdown ended the brand began to roll out stores on the high street within India, with over 50 stores in the domestic market already, the natural progression was to take the brand into Airports, offering international travellers a wide range of luxurious products and a wider range of essential travel items. The project at Kempegowda International Airport is the first of many planned stores for the brand in the Travel Retail Industry.

Company founder Arjun Ahuja wanted to develop an exciting new Airport proposition to not only encompass Chocolates but also include Travel Accessories, Beverages, Newspapers, Health & Wellness, Snacks, Magazines & News, Gifts and Travel Accessories.

Within each store there is a chocolate tasting bar and a wide range of local and International confectionary to choose from. A self-serve point for customer ease and digital elements such as digital fascia’s have also been introduced to attract and entice customers.

Not only was the retail environment developed by Barber, but they also crafted a new brand identity for the Airport business – ‘Bon Voyage by CoCo Cart’.  This has also been created in the local Kannada language to sit on the fascia along with a design language based on historical influences such as the local patterns and textures seen in historical artefacts.

Doug Barber of Barber Design said; “From the start of this project we knew that the Airport Environment was going to be special, Kempegowda Airport are guided by four principles. Technology Leadership, a Terminal in a Garden, Environmental and Ecological Stewardship and Karnataka’a Rich Heritage & Culture.  We had to tick all these boxes with our original submission and subsequent development of both the Arrivals and Departures retail locations.

Through detailed research we investigated the textures and patterns found in local embroidery and pottery and developed a visual language for the retail environment. We created an intricate pattern for the shopfronts, influenced by Kasuti embroidery  found in the local fabrics and also introduced this within the graphical language and customer communications in-store.  We also developed a Bidri wear pattern found in the local pottery and these references were crafted into a contemporary language and utilised not only in customer communications but also in the design of staff uniforms, packaging and elements such as wrapping paper and loyalty cards.

We have also utilised environmentally friendly materials throughout the stores, such as bamboo, locally sourced materials, and recycled materials wherever possible. Responsible retail should be at the heart of everything we do as a business and wherever possible we aim to utilise materials and finishes that reflect the Airports requirements, the clients wish for a sustainable store environment and our own ethos.”