Consult

Reaching New Audiences

District Bridges

Challenge

Throughout DC and many cities across the country, development has introduced new tastes and spending habits into many established and emerging neighborhoods. Additionally, consumers’ preferences are generally changing — with increased interest in healthy and locally-made products, particularly when it comes to food and beverage purchases. As a result, existing small businesses must rethink their traditional approach to sales and customer engagement, while also continuing to serve their existing customer base. Cureate was engaged to assist two local convenience store owners in refreshing their stores for a modern audience, prioritizing authenticity and convenience.

Solution

Cureate supported District Bridges and the Lower Georgia Avenue Main Streets Program — a 2019 Main Streets America accredited program — by working with local convenience store owners to infuse modern appeal into two neighborhood outposts, HU Shop & Eatery and Gray's Market. Funded by DC’s Robust Retail Grant, this effort sought to preserve the authenticity that earned these markets their reputations—from sambusas hand-crafted daily to a thoughtful selection of artisanal products in a neighborhood noticeably lacking—while providing technical assistance to enhance their business models and tell their stories to a target audience.

Cureate engaged local branding firm Noted in providing naming and logo design services for HU Shop & Eatery next to Howard University, drawing the focus to the owner’s Ethiopian heritage through the new name, Gorebet — Amharic for “neighborhood.” For both Gorebet and Gray’s Market, we worked with Noted to create a fresh visual identity, including eye-catching collateral, that expresses the market’s personality and offerings. For Gorebet, touchpoints like loyalty cards and shelf-talkers deepen customers’ emotional attachment to the market, highlight local makers and educate customers on new products, while A-frames and in-store signage welcome customers into the store and guide them through. 

Cureate also provided technical assistance to Gorebet and Gray’s to re-envision their product mix with healthier, locally-made options meeting a variety of diet restrictions. To inform this work, Cureate conducted a consumer research survey distributed to residents at a new local condominium building. For Gorebet, Cureate tapped into its local procurement platform, Cureate Connect, and partnered with Community Foodworks (now FRESHFARM), enabling the business owner to source in-demand local goods while also supporting other local small businesses.

Results

Gorebet's reopening week included three demos by local vendors and was preceded by a post in a widely-read and influential local blog. Newly sourced products moved quickly off the shelves from the start, and the business owner has established strong new relationships with a variety of local vendors. Gray’s Market has undergone much-needed interior and exterior updates in keeping with its new branding, and has clear strategies for promoting and marketing a new product mix based on a customized report developed by Cureate. Both Gorebet and Gray’s now own all branding assets and are empowered to build upon the foundational branding and product updates made and recommended by Cureate. By ensuring the success of existing local food retailers, this work has also helped maintain and expand access to essential community resources—a key priority for these underserved neighborhoods.

Helping Small Business Survive and Thrive

DC Department of Small and Local Business