At first glance, the Daily Shop by Whole Foods Market on the Upper East Side of New York City in Lenox Hill would appear to be your typical grocery store. Until you walk inside. Then, the new concept from Imoon and Schweitzer grabs you and shakes your senses. An immersive environment where lighting and design combine to create a unique customer experience, the Daily Shop promises to be a one-of-a-kind retail format.
The groundbreaking project in the food retail sector is the collaboration between Imoon—a leader in the design and production of entirely Made in Italy lighting solutions—and Schweitzer, a specialist in retail design and store construction. The Daily Shop is setting out to become a new benchmark for U.S. convenience stores in dense, metropolitan areas.
Part of the look is driven by Imoon’s customized lighting design, which feature high-definition LEDs and special optics that bring out the natural colors and quality of fresh products—a hallmark of Whole Foods Market’s offerings. The cutting-edge format plays an active role in the store’s visual communication, drawing consumers’ attention to specific products and highlighting different areas of the store.
From the fresh produce sections to aisles and checkout counters, Imoon’s advanced solutions stand out for their precision in beam angle, power and color temperature, ensuring a lighting design with excellent performance both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. An emblematic example is the fresh produce section of the Daily Shop, strategically located at the entrance of the store, where full color LEDs have been installed to ensure accurate color rendering, delivering a “wow” factor that creates a memorable first impression.
Schweitzer, with the support of its sister agency Interstore, spearheaded the development and execution of the new store’s design concept, aiming to boost sales performance through a strategic use of materials and space configuration, all while preserving the existing architectural identity. Specifically, it retained original structural elements, such as the brick walls and wooden details, which give the space an authentic and welcoming character, while enhancing its aesthetic appeal.
We sat down with Pierluigi Gusmani, Imoon’s International Sales Director, to get a peek into what makes the concept the newest entry into the world of engagement retail.
Give us a snapshot of your brand?
Founded in 2010, Imoon has established itself as a key global player in commercial lighting for food and fashion retail. Rooted in quality, innovation and Italian design, the brand reflects the creativity and excellence that define Italy’s global reputation. With deep expertise across diverse international markets, Imoon serves as a trusted consultant and innovation partner, designing bespoke lighting concepts that optimise both aesthetic impact and functional efficiency.
Headquartered in Milan, Imoon continues its rapid international growth, with direct operations and an extensive network spanning the EMEA region, Africa and the Americas. With a team of experts, installations in 65-plus countries and more than 600 retail spaces completed annually, Imoon is the lighting partner of choice for leading retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Foodland Hawaii and Sobeys, remaining at the forefront of retail transformation, setting new standards in design, technology and customer experience.
What type of consumers are you targeting?
Imoon targets food and non-food retailers committed to strengthening their brand identity and profitability. In an increasingly competitive landscape, lighting is no longer just about visibility—it is a strategic investment that enhances consumer engagement, operational efficiency and brand recognition.
Since retailers must differentiate themselves with exclusive, immersive environments that reflect their unique positioning, Imoon delivers tailor-made lighting solutions that elevate every department’s performance. By choosing Imoon, retailers transform their stores into highly profitable and memorable shopping destinations, maximizing the return on investment in every square meter.
How does the design cater to how consumers are shopping today?
Imoon’s lighting design meets the demands of today’s consumers by enhancing product display appeal and store profitability. Imoon’s advanced lighting solutions directly influence purchasing behavior: with a versatile portfolio of luminaires, Imoon provides customised light beams, power levels, color temperatures and traditional or specialized LED technologies that amplify the freshness of food, the richness of textures and the authenticity of colors, adapting to each department’s needs:
- Meat Plus, Red and Fish HD highlight natural hues for an appetizing look in the butcher’s and fishmonger’s areas, respectively
- LED Extra Warm HD and Plus create a warm, inviting ambiance for bakery and patisserie
- LED full color and HD ensure vibrant, true-to-life color rendering across categories
Every solution is fully adaptable, from spotlights to linear systems, with accessories, filters and anti-glare technologies that enhance visual comfort. Even subtle details, such as matching fixtures to ceiling colors, contribute to a cohesive, immersive brand identity. By crafting bespoke lighting concepts, Imoon strengthens customer loyalty, making every shopping journey more engaging, memorable and, ultimately, more profitable.
Walk us through how and why the store is designed the way it is?
In the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop in Manhattan, with varying ceiling heights and evolving layouts, strategic accent lighting is crucial to maintain visual harmony and enhance product appeal. Imoon’s Venere PRO and Krios Compact offer high performance and adaptability, ensuring consistent and targeted illumination across all areas. Venere PRO, with its sleek design and 360° adjustability, provides customizable light beams and glare control, improving both aesthetics and comfort.
Meanwhile, the Krios Compact, installed in multiple configurations, delivers targeted accent lighting with high-efficiency reflectors, ensuring vibrant and accurate color rendering. These solutions are seamlessly integrated into a modular track system, enabling them to adapt to structural challenges. The tracks are installed independently of the fixtures, creating a flexible grid that allows lighting fixtures to be positioned exactly where needed.
What are some of the trends you saw that inspired the shop?
The primary trend that inspired the design of this store is the growing consumer focus on fresh, nutritious foods. As a global leader in organic food sales, Whole Foods Market embraces this shift, prioritizing the display of fresh produce to highlight their nutritional value and natural properties.
This is especially clear in the store’s innovative Daily Shop format, designed to set a new benchmark for convenience stores across the U.S. To enhance the freshness of these products, Imoon installed Full Color LEDs in the fresh produce section, strategically located at the store’s entrance.
What do you want consumers to walk away with?
Imoon wants consumers to leave with a memorable, immersive experience that makes them feel truly engaged. Every aspect of the store, from the layout to the lighting, is crafted to enhance the products and create a unique emotional connection. The lighting, in particular, accentuates the sensory qualities of the products, guiding the consumer through an environment that feels both inviting and personalized. This approach not only elevates the shopping experience but also encourages repeat visits and strengthens brand loyalty.
What type of opportunities do you see moving ahead?
Moving ahead, Imoon sees great opportunities driven by ongoing research and development focused on creating more efficient, customizable lighting solutions tailored to a new Retail format in the U.S. market. A key area of focus will be dynamic lighting, which adapts to factors like time of day, season and customer preferences.
This will allow stores to offer a tailored experience that evolves throughout the day, from high-traffic areas to more relaxed, intimate settings. The goal is to combine cutting-edge technology with discreet, design-oriented lighting that enhances the environment while creating the perfect atmosphere for every moment.
Talk about sustainability. What are you doing?
Imoon considers sustainability as a key strategic advantage, integrating it into every aspect of its operations, including the optimized use of recyclable materials, local production to reduce emissions, eco-friendly packaging with reduced weight and size, and maximizing product lifetime to minimize waste and spare parts.
Furthermore, we significantly reduce energy consumption and payback periods, leveraging cutting-edge LED technology. The company’s energy-efficient solutions, including pre-anodized aluminum spotlights with up to 98% reflection, improve lighting performance by up to 20%, driving substantial energy savings.
Imoon reduces the environmental impact of the stores by using software, sensors, LEDs, advanced optics and parabolas to precisely control light distribution, with a lower energy level for irradiance in store premises. This approach lowers the energy consumption to just 7 kW/m².
Additionally, we provide energy assessments, calculating total consumption, payback periods and factoring in installation and disposal costs. For example, in a 7,000m² store project, the investment was completely recovered in less than two years.
Are you optimistic about what you are seeing out there?
Yes, we are highly optimistic about the current landscape. Retail is undergoing a radical transformation, with a strong shift toward experiential investments that focus on creating immersive, engaging environments for consumers.
This shift represents a significant growth opportunity for Imoon, which leverages its expertise to drive both innovation and sustainability in this dynamic market. Our lighting design has already proven its effectiveness, driving revenue increases of up to 14% in fresh product sections compared to traditional lighting, as a clear evidence of its impact on retail performance.
What trends are you seeing in other grocers or retailers?
The market is increasingly characterized by growing competitiveness and complexity, driven by the diversification of distribution formats and store design, all aimed at providing a unique consumer experience. Retailers are focusing on differentiation by offering a broad range of products and services. Imoon plays a pivotal role in this transformation, acting as a driver of change with innovative, customized lighting solutions.
What’s the secret to creating a “must visit” facility in today’s competitive landscape?
The secret to creating a “must-visit” facility lies in creating objects with light and casting light on the value of good food. Light, beyond its functional and perceptual roles, has evolved into a powerful medium that weaves together a coordinated image, the arrangement of indoor spaces and the attractiveness of products on display.
With carefully chosen color temperatures and advanced LEDs, light transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, creating a dynamic environment that not only enhances visual appeal but also elevates the emotional experience of the consumer. A striking example of this impact can be seen in every department, where strategically placed full color LEDs ensure exceptional color accuracy, generating an immediate “wow” effect, drawing customers in and creating a sense of freshness and quality.
Tell us what makes your brand so unique?
Imoon stands out for several key factors that define its uniqueness:
Customer-driven philosophy: Imoon views customer intimacy as an art, ensuring that every need is met with personalized solutions, driven by a deep understanding of client requirements.
In-house product development: From design and prototyping to final testing, this ensures full control over our products, while rigorous testing guarantees safety and compliance with both national and international regulations.
Integrated Systems Provider: Imoon offers more than just lighting solutions by providing fully integrated systems. For example, Imoon’s advanced electrified track systems seamlessly combine various technical and decorative elements, including lighting fixtures, emergency lights and acoustic speakers. This approach is especially valuable for Retailers, as it allows them to optimize their lighting design in a scalable way during the store rollout phase, ensuring maximum flexibility in managing store layouts across all areas.
Italian Technology and Design: Imoon is committed to delivering high-quality Made in Italy solutions.
Interview by Michael J. Pallerino, editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation magazine. Over the past 30-plus years, he has won numerous awards, including the “Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award,” recognized as the Pulitzer Prize for business-to-business magazines. He can be reached at mikep@ccr-mag.com.
View the original article and our Inspiration here
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