How, while working for the HoReCa market, to break the mold and offer the world something unprecedented? The right approach, understanding the DNA of your brand, and a team that collaboratively works on a new solution. Explore the story of the merchandise released by Food Town at the Norblin Factory!
To be popular means... not resting on one's laurels.
It all started almost 10 years ago when I embarked on a journey with AIOLI Cantine Bar Cafe Deli. It was the trendiest food spot in Warsaw at that time. From restaurant marketing, event management to becoming the marketing head for the entire network, a broad perspective and surrounding myself with outstanding individuals significantly shaped my professional path, which later resulted in fantastic projects. What guided me in my daily work over the years were the words of Marcin Wachowicz (founder and creator of AIOLI Cantine Bar Cafe Deli): being popular is a much greater challenge for you. We can never rest on our laurels. More is expected from us; we must surprise every day, break barriers, and defy established patterns. to, że jesteśmy popularni, to dla Ciebie dużo większe wyzwanie. Nigdy nie możemy spocząć na laurach. Od nas wymaga się więcej, musimy zaskakiwać każdego dnia, łamać bariery, utarte schematy.
I knew that representing a restaurant, I had to create something that others hadn't done yet. We weren't afraid of the craziest ideas; we broke stereotypes to continually create trends. This is how projects were born that kept us always one step ahead of the competition. Get to know one of them!
From food to the Food Town clothing line."
Working at the trendiest Warsaw food spot. It was a real creative rollercoaster, a ride that I loved and still love! For almost a decade now, I've been guided by the same principles, creating all marketing projects for the HoReCa market. I seek what others haven't done yet, tailor it to the audience and the nature of the project. That's how the idea for the first in Poland and one of the first in the world proprietary clothing lines for a food hall was born, specifically for Food Town at the Norblin Factory.
źródło: Food Town
Food Town is quite literally the 'loudest' food hall in Poland. Here, we don't face the problem of a lack of guests, but rather a shortage of seats and tables, as we are the largest concept of this kind in Poland – with 23 gastronomic concepts and 5 proprietary bars (6 in the summer), each with a unique offering. Seven days a week, live music plays on our Gimlet Live stage. Last year, we hosted nearly 400 events throughout the food hall – that's over 1 event per day! Just a month ago, after only 2 years of operation (and I'll add that we opened during a pandemic), we closed the bar's millionth (!) bill. We have over twice as many bills at the food stalls.
Food Town is not just a place where our guests come to eat a meal or have a cocktail. We create a kind of social dining, a meeting place, a place for entertainment. Michael Motz – the originator and creator of this place – set such a goal from the beginning, and every day, he gives me and the entire team a tremendous and positive boost, driving and inspiring us to do even better, more, and differently.
We work, actually playing – as a whole team. We love what we do, and I believe that's the only way to achieve exactly these results.
Guest relations
We noticed that our audience... ...is increasingly identifying with us.They ask for our stickers or other unique lifestyle gadgets that we created for creative mailings. We didn't want to create pens with our branding or notebooks – that's not us. We started thinking that we love our branding and what we create so much, and we're proud of it, that we would like to wear clothes with our brand.
We want to see our guests in Warsaw, in Poland, and all around the world in it! And that's how our city-inspired merchandise was created. Because has anyone ever heard of merchandise released by a food hall? This was proof for us that Food Town is not just a food hall – it's a city within the city!
Moreover, we decided that the stars of the fashion show and the entire lookbook collection would be the team creating our place. From bartenders and waitstaff to HR, cleaning ladies, managers, and directors, to the marketing and sales department.
Under the slogan EAT DANCE DRINK REPEAT So, under the slogan, we inaugurated the merchandise at the end of September last year, as September has long been hailed as the month of fashion.
źródło: Food Town
źródło: Food Town
Work on the clothing collection
The work on this project lasted for over half a year. The clothing series was created in collaboration with one of the leading creative agencies – OSOM STUDIO – which also prepared the rebranding of the entire brand identity. Thanks to this collaboration, the products were developed to perfectly fit into the urban fabric. The lookbook session was captured by one of the best Polish photographers – Kamil Kotarba.
źródło: Food Town
In the first capsule collection, which is currently available for purchase in-store at Food Town, there are clothes with slogans related to food, cocktails, and the city. Three t-shirts, two hoodies, socks, a bag, and a mug – and this is just the beginning because soon the Food Town Bars line of bar accessories will also be available for sale, along with additional capsule collections for the lifestyle line. We've already started working on a line inspired by breakfast, which will be associated with the inauguration of our new space in Food Town – Breakfast Corner. The results will be visible later this quarter!
Junior specialist in Marketing Communications and PR.
He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw and the Main School of Agriculture. We have been in the HoReCa industry for more than 10 years. For many years, he has been associated with the Trip group, Sobienie Royal Golf and Country Club, and the Florentin Restaurant in Warsaw.
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw Technical University with a degree in Architecture for the Knowledge Society and Visual Communications at the Polytechnic University of Milan. A specialist in creating a mood. She has gained experience at home and abroad at numerous international seminars (Seville, Lisbon, Florence), fellowships at La Sapienza (Rome), etc. m.in. in Carmi e Ubertis and ADM Milano.
A manager with many years of experience in the cosmetics, food, and children's industries. During his career, he was associated with such companies as: L'Oreal, Samsung, Danone-Nutricia, Unilever. During his professional life, he was responsible, among other things, for the development of e-commerce sales and content in Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 
