Project Overview

This summer, one of Spain’s most beloved brands set sail from the hot, sandy beaches of the Mediterranean to land in the hands and hearts of American consumers. Alvalle, a packaged 100% natural gazpacho soup created from an Andalusian family recipe, had a mission: introduce the number one Spanish brand – along with the entire gazpacho category – to the U.S. market. It’s first stop, Chicago. Within the hustle, bustle and beauty of The America’s Cup Race, the skyscraper-filled skyline of Chicago carefully faded into the background after consumers immersed themselves into Alvalle’s creative, lively and gourmet experience.

Organisation

PepsiCo

Team

PepsiCo Design & Innovation
Additional Agency: Cadence, Inc.

Project Brief

For those who would love Alvalle, gazpacho is something you find on a menu at a sophisticated restaurant, or perhaps something you create after a farmer’s market visit. But buying it packaged in a store – unheard of! That’s why Alvalle needed to stand out to make these impressionable tastemakers learn and listen.

The America’s Cup Race at Navy Pier provided the perfect mix of audience, environment and exposure for Alvalle’s debut. Alvalle quickly transported tens of thousands of race spectators to the sights, sounds and flavors of a Mediterranean seaside restaurant experience by creating a unique Mediterranean 50’x 17’ gazpacheria. Featuring a casual, tranquil display, a DJ playing music and ambassadors distributing the number one cold soup from a hot country, Alvalle was able to create “La Gazpacheria” to impart the brand essence into the physical environment and deliver an educational component to the product and brand.

It took the team three days to build a spectacle that would rival the colorful sailboats, other world-class sponsors and leave a lasting impression to everyone who came into contact with the brand. Alvalle was able to create a landmark, artistic environment that ensured visitors were intrigued to explore Alvalle’s chilled gazpacho straight from Spain and not turn their heads at cold tomato soup in a cup. Within three days, over 200,000 people entered the Alvalle space, laying important groundwork for the brand’s long-term stay in the U.S.

Project Innovation/Need

Since most U.S. consumers are not familiar with gazpacho, let alone a packaged cold soup, the team knew that it would take something extraordinary to convince consumers to stop by, taste Alvalle and spend some time learning about it. Therefore, constructing an impactful environment to introduce the brand at The America’s Cup Race became a two-fold fact-finding mission focused on:

Educating and Exciting Consumers - To start, Alvalle needed to construct a space that was open and inviting to stand out at the event amidst the colorful sailboats and iconic city skyline. The goal was to create an atmosphere that would entice event-goers to explore Alvalle and immerse themselves in the essence of this unique international brand. It was important to convey the fun, vibrant and relaxed nature of Alvalle and its roots in Southern Spain.

Generating Conversation - The brand’s “La Gazpacheria” was designed to do much more than be a place where Alvalle would distribute 12 pallets of product, or 30,000 servings of soup over a three-day period. The expansive and artistic space was built as a destination to generate talk-value and gather valuable consumer insights for a broader, national rollout.

Design Challenge

Blueprint to Blend In: Chicago’s Navy Pier offers extraordinary vistas of lake, land and skyline, but at the same time, the space Alvalle was granted during the event had a small outdoor footprint with existing furniture and permanent installations the team had to work around. Custom-designed concrete benches, teak seating and granite walkways were installed days before the event as part of the multi-million dollar Navy Pier renovation.

Integration with America’s Cup Event: As an unknown brand, aligning Alvalle with other globally recognized brands enhanced the equity and recognition of Alvalle. Beyond the Gazpacheria space, branding was displayed throughout the event, including the Alvalle Race Village Entrance totem and signage, on water signage, TV broadcast visible signage for the event, and directional signage. The brand was also promoted online on the official America’s Cup Chicago website and included in the event mobile app.

Keeping It Cool: In order to serve ice cold gazpacho, a complete refrigeration system was built into the back of the bars and insulated ice troughs were built into the tops. The crushed ice bins provided a stunning, colorful display of the product while maintaining the required sample temperatures under the hot summer sun. A refrigerated truck located on-site, yet behind the scenes, helped maintain the temperature of the product and keep it fresh and flowing at all times.

User Experience

After considering several locations for the event, Alvalle selected The America’s Cup Race at Navy Pier in Chicago. Why? It presented a unique, international tie to the Alvalle brand, provided substantial media and brand exposure, and as the first freshwater running of the America’s Cup, was unique in its own right.

Alvalle carefully created and constructed “La Gazpacheria”, a pop-up outdoor restaurant-style experience, with a thoughtful design inspired by the world-renowned sailing event. The picturesque views of the water, the boats during the race, and the colorful, fresh design of the Alvalle restaurant lounge became the perfect destination for people to take pictures, stop to watch the race and sample gazpacho. Handing out tens of thousands of samples over the three-day period while maintaining product integrity was important to the success of the program.

Channeling the seasid towns of the Mediterranean, the team welcomed nearly 200,000 people to the La Gazpacheria experience resulting in almost 30,000 samples tasted and reaching 1.5 million people through social media.
The unique event space construction drew visitors in, but there’s nothing like human touch to make them even more welcome and foster greater brand connection.

A team of 15 Alvalle brand ambassadors were key to starting the conversation dressed in Alvalle uniforms designed to reflect the sailing culture – lightweight white jackets, khaki pants and boat shoes. As a fun give-away to enhance the reach, branded bandanas were distributed to La Gazpacheria visitors.