Photo Tour of Thanopoulos (Θανόπουλος) - Athens, Greece

Supermarket Tour | Thanopoulos (Θανόπουλος in Greek) in Athens, Greece

While in Greece recently on holidays, I took some time to squeeze in a bit of work. I've been to Greece several times before, (my husband is from Greece) but this was my first time doing a proper supermarket tour of Athens and conducting shopper research there. 

Athens has some lovely supermarkets and one of my favorites is Thanopoulos, known for stocking a wide variety of products from all over the world and the place to 'see and be seen' apparently. For those not already familiar with Thanopoulos, it is a privately-held family business that has been around since 1877.  Thanopoulos currently has three locations in Athens. I visited the Thanopoulos supermarket in the neighborhood of Kifissia (Κηφισιά,) an upscale residential and shopping district, and quite possibly my favorite place in Athens, other than the coast (Vouliagmeni is still my most favorite spot.) Have a look inside one of Athen's best supermarkets, Thanaopoulos, located at: N. Kifissia Ελαιών 38 14564 Athens, GR-A1.

Entrance to Thanopoulos N. Kifissia store

View from the large, roof top patio offering views of nearby mountains.

From the roof top patio. There is a cafe just inside.

View from the second level, looking down on the cash registers.

Organic fruit & vegetables

Fancy Greek olive oils, something Greece is certainly very well known for in the USA.

Minced/ground beef. Lamb and pork, however, seem to be the meats of choice in Greece.

The meat aisle

Organic poultry with the EU Organic Farming certification. Other than that label, nothing real signifiant in terms of claims & product attributes.

Notice some familiar American brands on the snack ailse.

Tons of fancy Greek honey.

Love this pretty honey packaging.

Natural laundry products

The Greeks take their sea salt very seriously. I buy some of these same brands at my local Greek specialty food shop in Washington, DC.

My first time seeing donkey milk.

Organic Greek chocolate

Dining space & cafe

A special perk for parents - a play space with an attendant to watch your children while you grocery shop. This mom loves seeing special accomodations for moms, parents and children.

One more shot from the roof top patio. It was so pretty, I came up here for coffee and a meeting.

If I lived in Athens, I would definitely shop here. It's a modern beautiful, store with lovely amenities and a huge variety of international products on offer. It's no wonder that Athenians are willing to drive out of their way (in some cases,) just to shop at one of the three Thanopoulos locations. 

Stayed tuned here on our blog, #GetInHerCart, for more grocery store visits from our travels around the world as we speak at various conferences and conduct shopper research in different markets. 

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

What Shoppers' Grocery Carts Can Tell Us About Them

Shop and Learn | You Don't Really Know a Shopper Until You've Shopped With Them

Next time you're in the grocery store, take a peak into your fellow shoppers' grocery carts. It's fun to see what ends up in shoppers' carts, especially if it is your brand, or in my case, a client's product. By the way, whenever I do spot a client's product in someone's shopping cart, I almost always strike up a quick conversation with them. I usually carry coupons from my clients and offer them a few as a way to thank them for their loyalty. It's a nice touch point that often goes a very long way.

My perspective is you don't really know a shopper until you've shopped with them. That’s one of the premises that makes Green Purse PR unique and why shopper research is fundamental to all the public relations and social communications work we do. Being successful in your consumer marketing starts with understanding the consumer – identifying how they learn about products, how your products are likely to fit into their lifestyle and how to better serve their needs in order to create and maintain a connection (or relationship, if you’re lucky) with those shoppers. 

“You don’t really know a shopper until you’ve shopped with them.”

— - Lisa Mabe, CEO, Green Purse PR

What can you tell about the shopper from this look inside her shopping cart?

Maybe she is gathering ingredients to make a special meal. Perhaps it's for a weekend celebration, a dinner party, or maybe it's a work-week meal for her family. Whatever the case, it looks like she has kids, or a lot of cats, because that's a lot of whole, organic milk in there. 

I frequently conduct shopper research, shop-alongs, with women all around the world. Each time I shop with someone, I take into consideration every single product that gets in her cart. Taking into account what products #GetInHerCart, is one of the ways our shop-along research helps us uncover insights that later help us intelligently build successful consumer PR programs.

Some of the insights we learn from shop-alongs include:

• What products catch her eyes, and what does not.
• What other products (besides yours) she is buying and how those may even be used together.
• Why she buys particular products over others.
• What third party certifications, verifications or ratings she may be looking for.
• How she connects, or does not connect, with brands and retailers.
• How your product fits into her lifestyle.
• How best to build and foster a relationship with consumers like her.

The list goes on and on.

Do you think it sounds smart to plan and implement a consumer marketing program or campaign without first bothering to do a little research on the very people who are hopefully going to buy your product?  No; that's not smart at all, but that's exactly what a lot of companies do.

Be the savvy company that DOES invest in understanding its target shoppers, and gets things right the first time. When you do, the insights you learn and connections you start, will deliver value both in the short and for a long time to come.

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

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Want Green Purse PR to shop with your consumers and garner insights to help you better connect with health-conscious women?

Getting to Know Whole Foods Market Shoppers

New Guide Uncovers How Female Whole Foods Market Shoppers Think, Behave, Buy & Share

Some big changes have been happening recently for Whole Foods Market. Being acquired by Amazon means changes at the store level and potential for change amongst consumer behavior. Green Purse PR's new report takes a look at how brands sold at WFM can best connect and engage with shoppers now to drive awareness, sales and buzz.

This report is one of Green Purse PR's first digital information products, sold under our new #GetInHerCart Innovation Studio. Our report was created for brands whose products are already sold at WFM, or for companies intending to get their products onto WFM shelves. Scroll down to learn more about our new report, Guide to Winning with Whole Foods Market Shoppers.

You don't really know a shopper until you've shopped with them.

So we do just that, shop-along with the type of shoppers are clients are keen to attract. All of our public relations consulting is driven by our unique understanding of shoppers resulting from our shop-along research. Shopper insights derived from our in store research and online communities equip us with current understanding of what influences consumers' purchases, how they shop certain categories and how specific products fit into their lifestyles. These insights are important because they direct what our consumer marketing communications programs ultimately look like. 

Good time to learn more about WFM shoppers.

With the recent acquisition of Whole Foods Market by Amazon, our clients are seeking to better understand how WFM shoppers learn about products, identify purchase influencers and how best to reach influential female WFM shoppers.

Green Purse PR just conducted our own research with WFM female shoppers to identify how they currently think, behave and buy, and share. Our new report, Guide to Winning with Whole Foods Market Shoppers, is designed to give brands insight into the retailer’s shoppers in general, as well as actionable steps they can use to take their consumer understanding to the next level. The shopper intelligence we share in this guide is based upon our shop-along research, one-on-one interviews, social listening, online surveys and questions in our private community where we are constantly learning from health-conscious mothers.

Here are 10 things you can expect to find in our new report:

1) List of media outlets and blogs she reads, follows or subscribes to.

WFM shopper reading Bon Appétit Magazine

2) How she connects online with WFM directly, as well as the brands sold on their shelves.

WFM shopper reading the retailer's blog, The Whole Story

3) Who she follows on social media + a list of influencers.

WFM shopper reading MindBodyGreen.com

4) How Instagram influences brand awareness and purchases.

WFM shopper scrolling through Instagram

5) What catches her eye inside the store.

Shopping for natural and organic products

6) The journey new mothers go on to cleanse their diet and lifestyle in an effort to get healthier for themselves and the baby.

Mother and baby shopping for healthy groceries

7) What she loves about Whole Foods Market. Coffee seems to be pretty high on the list!

WFM shopper happy with her heatlhy choices

8) How WFM + Amazon fulfill her need for healthier options that fit her on-demand lifestyle.

Some of her favorite things from WFM

9) How she looks to WFM to curate the best products for her, so she does not have to do as much homework herself.

Trusting WFM to curate healthier options in every category

10) Direct shopper quotes from women who report WFM as their primary grocery outlet.

Feeling better about the meat she eats

Good to be back in Sydney, Australia

Green Purse PR's Lisa Mabe Back in Sydney

It was so nice to be back in Sydney during June to speak at conferences and meet with some of Green Purse PR's clients. Being previously based in Sydney, many of our clients are in Australia and it's a place I absolutely love. 

Below are some photos showing a visual recap of my recent business trip. Highlights of the trip included speaking about marketing to millennial consumers at the Naturally Good Business Summit, and Naturally Good Expo / Fantastic Food + Drink Show. More on those trade shows + links to my presentations here.

While there, I toured some of the local grocery stores, and visited some of my old stomping ground. Have a look at some of the grocery stores we visited here:

• About Life in Crows Nest, Sydney

• Fourth Village Providore in Mosman, Sydney

• Woolworths in Crows Nest, Sydney

The Australian market continues to be a major focus for myself and Green Purse PR. Australia has a lot to offer the world in terms of natural and organic products. I'm keen to help those companies be successful in markets like the USA, Middle East and Asia. Learn more about our expertise and capabilities here and contact me if you're keen to learn more. 

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

Curious to know what women in the USA think about products from Australia?

Watch this video I produced, featuring our shop-along research, for the Naturally Good Expo.

Photo Tour | Woolworths in Crows Nest, Sydney

I recently returned from a business trip to Sydney, Australia, where I used to be based. I was in town to speak at the Naturally Good Expo and Naturally Good Business Summit. While there I had a look at some of Sydney's grocery retail scene, including some of the stores I used to shop at when I lived in Sydney.

One of the stores I visited was Woolworths in Crows Nest. This 'Woolies' store just reopened in April 2016 after two years of major renovation. I shopped at this Woolies during my time in Sydney; last time I was here it was still being demolished. Now, $52 million later in redevelopment, it's a completely different store. Previously it was a very tired, soulless, one-level store -- the kind that's so unpleasant, you can hardly wait to get out of it. Now it's shiny, new and includes multiple-levels. 

Below are some photos I took of Woolworths located at 10 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia.

Woolworths - Crows Nest, Sydney

Such a beautiful structure on the outside. Crows Nest is an adorable community, but it could use some updating. The new Woolworths helps modernise the community. 

Main level includes lots of grab & go options.

Spotted several products featuring the Australian Certified Organic bud, Australia's most recognised organic certification amongst Australian consumers.

This Thomas Dux corner on the first floor made me sad. I'm glad Woolworths still managed to let the brand live on in some form, but I'm disappointed that the stand alone stores no longer exist. Thomas Dux Grocer closed about two years ago. There used to be an outstanding Thomas Dux right around the corner from here; it's now a different store, called About Life. Read my blog post, photo tour of About Life here.

Stayed tuned here on our blog, #GetInHerCart, for more information on grocery retail and from our travels around the world as we speak at various conferences and conduct shopper research in different markets. 

What do American women think about products from Australia & New Zealand?

Watch health-conscious American women tell us their impression of products from Australia and New Zealand

For companies keen to export to the USA, it's critical to understand the retail landscape and how consumers shop for products in their category. Before coming to Sydney to speak at the Naturally Good Expo, we crafted a short film featuring 'woman-on-the-street' style interviews.

We specifically targeted health-conscious women, asking them about products like fresh beef and lamb, as well as baby products, body care and healthy snacks. Watch the video below.

We regularly conduct shop-along research with female shoppers around the world. Our clients (and their retail customers) value the insights and practical recommendations we garner as a result of shopping with women who already shop at retail stores where our clients' products are sold.

We know Australia and New Zealand have a lot to offer consumers at home and abroad. Both countries have exceptional reputations for producing high quality, clean and green products that appeal to those looking for healthier options. The better you understand your shoppers, the more successful you can be to serve up the right kinds of marketing content at the right times and in the right places.  

Contact us to learn more about our shop-along research and how we use shopper insights to build and execute successful consumer-facing PR and social communications programs. 

Get in Her Trolley | Presentation + Video from Naturally Good Business Summit

For those who attended Naturally Good Expo's Business Summit in Sydney, view Lisa's presentation, 'Get In Her Trolley,' and accompanying video below.

Fill in your contact information in the form below and press 'submit' to receive a link to our presentation.

We're happy to chat to you about the value of getting to know your female shoppers, in the Australian market, as well as in export markets like the North America, Middle East and Asia. Contact us to learn more about our shop-along research service.