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Whittaker’s launches throwback pop-up shop to celebrate its K Bar chocolate

To promote its new K Bar fusion chocolate, Whittaker’s opened its very first pop-up shop in the style of a 1950s milk bar.

The pop-up shop opened on 268 Cuba St in Wellington as part of the promotion for its new limited edition chocolate range, a combination of Whittaker’s chocolate and one of New Zealand’s iconic lollies, the jaw-breaking K Bar.

The much-hyped chocolate bars come in three different flavours: milk chocolate with lime K Bar filling, milk chocolate with pineapple K Bar filling and 72 percent dark Ghana chocolate with raspberry K Bar filling.

Whittaker’s marketing manager Holly Whittaker says it’s the first time the brand has ever had a physical shop front.

“We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to connect this directly with Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers [Facebook page], complementing the engagement we already have with them daily over social media,” she says.

The shop opened to the public on Saturday to much fanfare, with customers lining down the street to catch a glimpse of the store.

Whittaker’s has been posting coverage of the store across its social media channels, such as Facebook and Snapchat, for those who aren’t able to make it to the shop in person.

Whittaker’s is also selling merchandise themed on its new chocolate, including t-shirts and tea towels available on its Facebook age and in the pop-up store.

Pop Up No managing director Lizzi Hines previously told  The Register pop-up shops are no fad.

She said they’re an effective marketing tool for retailers as they create a stronger sense of urgency for customers to go visit. Experiential marketing in general has become popular for retailers and has been praised for creating brand engagement with consumers that traditional platforms cannot achieve. 

  • Read more about the rise of experiential here.

“Pop-up stores are so much more than a trend now, they’re here to stay and that is because they connect with the customer differently to the traditional store,” Hines said.

“They are the ultimate in igniting the fear of missing out, exclusivity, and the here today, gone tomorrow concept.”

As a throwback to the K Bar’s 1950s origins, the pop-up store has been fitted out to look like an old-school milk bar.

The store is white with lashings of bright neon colours themed to the K-bar flavours, while the staff uniform also harks back to older times, featuring pink dresses, pink headbands and white, frilly aprons.

The shop is selling the chocolate bars, some limited edition merchandise like t-shirts and tea towels and K Bar themed cupcakes, milkshakes and truffles.

The store will stay open to the public for 10 days until Saturday 27 August.

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