Dock and shop

The iFood terminal at Nordiska Kompaniet‘s food hall lets customers hook up their iPod and download audio recipes. The process is described in five simple steps (we couldn’t resist including the Swedish original): 1) Docka – Plug in, 2) Ladda ner – Download, 3) Handla – Purchase, 4) Lyssna – Listen, and 5) Laga – Cook. After choosing from a wide range of recipes and downloading audio instructions to their iPod or other mp3 player, shoppers can purchase all necessary items from a colour-coded deli area. iFood is an exclusive cooperation between Nordiska Kompaniet/NK, an upmarket Stockholm warehouse with an equally upscale food hall, and Ridderheims, a manufacturer and distributor of fine meats and delicatessen products. The concept is part of a larger effort by Ridderheims to engage consumers beyond the deli section. iFood will also include an online food community – ifood.se – which has yet to be launched and will encourage members to share and collect recipes and cooking tips. Letting customers download information to a device that many of them are already plugged into when they go grocery shopping, makes sense. It’s a clever way to extend a food brand from supermarkets and kitchens to a personal device, especially if customers download a bunch of recipes at once, and then browse through them on their iPods while commuting from work to grocery store, figuring out what to eat (and buy) that night. For another recent dock & download example, check out Schiphol Airport’s Fuel for Travel. More of these to follow everywhere consumers shop and go?