Food-at-home experience stars in Harris Teeter brand refresh

A brand update by upscale grocer Harris Teeter spotlights its elevated shopping experience and zest for customer service and fresh, high-quality food, according to Vice President of Marketing Matt Martin.

Launched this month, the refreshed branding includes a modernized logo and multimedia marketing campaign that highlights a new tagline, “In food with love.” The media push encompasses TV, online content and video, social media, print and digital display advertising.

“The line ‘In food with love’ summarizes how we think about the food business. What that’s meant to say is, we’re in the food business with love. We love every aspect of providing the services, the high-quality ingredients, the in-store experience and all of the different ways that you can shop with Harris Teeter,” Martin said in an interview with Winsight Grocery Business. “Our folks are incredibly passionate about what we do and how we are able to deliver that to our customers. And that’s what we intended to convey to the consumers and our customers, that we are in the food business with love and our commitment is to do everything possible to serve them.”

Harris Teeter’s new logo sports familiar elements but in a simpler, cleaner design. The Harris Teeter name and tagline are more pronounced in straighter, darker red type, while a “Your Neighborhood Market” tag against a white background replaces the previous tag of “Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy” inside an elongated green oval. In addition, the bread, apple and fish icons to the left of the banner name now have a splash of color.

The new logo now appears on Harris Teeter’s website, social media properties and marketing communications and will appear in-store over the coming months. Martin said the updated banner hasn’t yet been posted on any storefronts, but the retailer will do so as opportunity permits going forward, such as with remodels and store openings.

He noted that the “Your Neighborhood Market” tagline better conveys that Harris Teeter as a fixture of its communities. The chain now operates 258 stores and 60 fuel centers in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.

“‘Your Neighborhood Market’ tied closely to our role in the communities. We see ourselves as part of the neighborhood, and being a mostly Southeast grocer, it’s really important to us to give back to those neighborhoods and the communities that we serve,” Martin said. “So simplifying that [tag] line was symbolic as much as anything, to say we are your neighborhood market.”

The “In food with love” campaign reflects significant customer research by Harris Teeter as well as shopper input.

“Everything we do really starts with the customer. We’re constantly trying to understand their needs and how they may be changing or evolving. Specific to this marketing work, we spent time talking to customers,” said Martin. “Also, as we evolved some of the communications, we had quantitative [research] and surveys to help us build the right communication plan that’s going to resonate and describe the story we’re trying to tell.”

Harris Teeter's website, social media properties and marketing communications now bear the new branding, which will roll out inside stores over the coming months. / Image courtesy of Harris Teeter

That story is portrayed in the 30-second TV spot for “In food with love,” which captures the food-at-home experience by showing customers and their families preparing and cooking food for daily meals and special occasions and Harris Teeter as their neighborhood resource. Though that has been core to the grocer’s message for decades, it carries added resonance with the ongoing strong food-at-home trend since the pandemic, Martin agreed.

“We absolutely love being able to serve families and meals at home. That’s obviously a central role of what we do, and what we found during the pandemic. Our customers love to experiment and build recipes and create those family occasions,” he explained. “So this campaign to elevate all of those incredible ingredients that you can find from our stores and put them together in your own way to have great family moments will continue. Certainly, it was a big opportunity through the pandemic, but it really has been a big part of our customers’ lives for a long time.”

In announcing the “In food with love” brand refresh, Harris Teeter President Tammy DeBoer noted how the new branding marks more of an evolution of the grocer’s message over its 60-plus years in business.

“Every day, Harris Teeter strives to enrich lives—one meal, one family, one associate and one community at a time,” DeBoer said in a statement. “‘In food with love’ expresses our connection with our 36,000-plus valued associates, the millions of customers we serve and the vibrant communities in which we operate.”