Project: Fruteiro Do Brazil

Category: Commercial / Retail

Stage: Completed

Fruteiro Do Brazil is an organic juice bar located in the Manchester Arndale Center. They produce a full assortment of health food and drink made from organic tropical fruit.This was an interesting project for STA to work on as there were many important factors that needed to be taken into consideration during the design stage.

Firstly, the juice bar was to be located inside the Arndale Center which attracts 42 million visits a year and has been a stalwart in the Manchester shopping scene since it was built in 1975. Sitting on the upper level of the mall, Fruteiro had to serve as a food and drink outlet where customers could view the retailers offering and make a choice,  all standing at the counter. This requirement meant that the design not only had to fit in well with its retail neighbours but provide customers with a pleasant experience and clear view of the choices available to them.

Secondly, the space had to be designed with ease of food and drink preparation in mind. A restricted floor space meant that zonal areas for product preparation, hygiene and point of sale had to be designed to make sure the staff could work in harmony with each other in the small area they had.

Studio Tashkeel developed a design scheme where customers were able to approach the juice bar and  were greeted with a white ‘Corian’ counter front and top  featuring ‘Panorama’ gelato equipment with 12 drop in tubs and cold storage.  This allowed customers and staff easy access to the products. Retail tills were dropped slightly to hide wired connections and a raised glass counter allowed cover for storage of fruits and a place to rest products when ready for the customer.

The back area was designed with a run of fruit blenders, water proof electrical sockets plus storage for raw ingredients in white acrylic under counter cupboards. Two sinks were accommodated here, to provide quick and easy access for hand washing and blender washing. A row of 4 TV screens were suspended from the ceiling above head height to project the menu of products. A cleverly placed studd wall allowed for  another TV screen and hid the full height refrigerator, blast freezer and ice-cream machine.

The colour scheme was bright and attractive and fitted with the guidelines of the franchise, using the Brazilian national colours of yellow and green.