How Gander is designing NYC’s first city-owned supermarkets

A gray, drab supermarket? Not in Mamanistan.

This spring, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration asked branding and design firms to submit ideas for a “vibrant, cohesive brand” for the city’s first municipal supermarkets, ranging from the in-store looks to private-label branding.

An information session in June attracted more than 600 registrants representing 480-plus different design organizations, according to It’s Nice That. In September, the NYCEDC announced the project lead: creative agency Gander, which is behind the branding for trendy CPG brands including Graza olive oil, Yellowbird hot sauce, and Banza pasta.

“It’s kind of the dream project for us,” Mike McVicar, co-founder and creative director of Gander, told us. “[It’s a] convergence of social good, New York City, and food all coming together.”

In addition to overseeing the research, strategy, naming, and branding of the municipal grocery stores, Gander is working with a consortium of design partners made up of brand consultancy Librarie, creative studio Noble Signs, and grocery-store design firm Seven Roots to help develop the overall visual identity.

The first grocery store is set to open in the Bronx as early as next year, and McVicar said Gander and the consortium are hard at work and in constant communication to get things ready in time. We spoke with him about the current state of the project and the creative vision driving the consortium now through 2029, when the final store is slated to open.

Marketing the market

Throughout the pitch process, the NYCEDC asked agencies to showcase their portfolios instead of product ideas, which provided Gander the chance to tout their city-centric experience with organizations like Celebrate Brooklyn, Pop Up Grocer, the Locavore Variety Store, and the co-founders’ membership at the Park Slope Food Coop, McVicar said.

“I don’t know if that had any sway in it, but that was a big part of our story,” he said.

The Gander team is drawing on that experience, as well as consortium-wide insights gleaned from conversations with New Yorkers about the current grocery landscape, to kickstart the design phase. McVicar said his team is currently “[translating] those insights into a look and feel” for the grocery stores, although a reveal date hasn’t yet been finalized.

“For [designs] to feel effortless, beautiful, and fun, and to connect with people in an authentic way, we have to really understand the subject matter, the context, and the people who that brand is serving the most,” he said. “We’ve had a really great experience interviewing people across the entire city.”

In the RFP, Mayor Mamdani called for a “welcoming, unmistakably New York” look that conveys “affordability and public excellence,” and McVicar said the city’s dynamism and diversity are the driving sources of inspiration. There will also be references to the city’s history, with Noble Signs pulling from its archive of storefront signage at the New York Sign Museum and its library of historical shopping bags, he said.

“We’re trying to create something that feels like it belongs in New York City and is inspired by the people in it,” he said.

It’s too early to say whether each store will have a borough-specific visual identity, but McVicar said the local community is a top consideration. The focus currently is on creating a brand identity that will work across all five stores in both interior design and signage, he said. Across the board, McVicar emphasized the desire to create a welcoming space free from any potential stigma.

“A general goal that we have is that it feels like it’s a place for everyone, and it’s a place where they can reliably get really high-quality products at a better price,” he said. “We want people to feel like this is not a city handout and it’s something that feels like, I’m not sacrificing anything to come to this store.”

While the project is part of the mayor’s “Recipe for Affordability” plan, Stephen Rossi, assistant VP at the NYCEDC, told us that visitors shouldn’t expect to see any signature Mamdani design elements in the grocery stores.

“We want this brand identity to withstand the test of time, so we don’t want this to be tied to one mayoral administration,” Rossi said. “Ideally, [the stores will] just become a New York institution.”

Depending on New Yorkers’ responses, this project also has the potential to elevate consortium members to local institutions of their own. McVicar said Gander is already dealing with an unprecedented amount of interest.

“We’ve never had press attention before we’ve completed the work,” he said. “It’s a very different experience for us.”