Bristol-based health retailer Better Food, has overhauled its website in a bid to bring it in line with the store’s new branding and offer customers a user-friendly information hub.

“For the last year, Better Food has been immersed in a full rebrand to reflect the growth and modernization of the company,” explains the retailer’s marketing manager Estefania Solar. “Our logo, our colours and the instore branding have been updated to reflect a more modern look and feel, keeping however the homemade, quirky spirit that the company proudly holds as a symbol of independence. The old website has been a supporting tool to our marketing mix, but we felt the need to give it a more prominent role, renovating the look and feel, but also making it a primary platform to develop our customer engagement. Sustainability is key for us, therefore having a strong digital medium to communicate directly with our customers and suppliers was paramount in this new stage.”

Solar says the website is a work in progress, but that the user experience has already been improved notably to accommodate the needs of the new generations of Better Food customers, who are more comfortable in digital environments and expect high quality content. There are now regular blogs, monthly recipes and news about the retailer’s community-building activities.

“The new website is an information hub where users can find out about our ethos and the issues that affect food growing, nutrition, seasonal harvesting, sustainability and in general, food that nourishes the body but also the soul and the local economy.”

She adds: “Colour-wise, our new brand uses earthy tones – bee yellow, spring green, aubergine purple, mushroom grey – that reflect the products we sell in store and the seasons; it makes the site brighter, friendlier and more in line with our business. The image bank has been refreshed, and we are now using hero images that elevate and illustrate our copy content. The grid pattern also facilitates mobile responsiveness, making our site easier to check while on the go.”

Solar says that the feedback has been very positive and there has already been an increase in newsletter sign-ups.

Although online selling is not a primary objective for Better Food currently, it does have a pre-order form on the site for its Christmas feast range that has worked well, and the website has been built with an e-commerce potential that may be developed at a later date.