The idea was to create awareness of the declining honey bee population while providing a glimpse into a grocery store of the future for next generations. Turn the experience into a teachable moment, a movement that gets people rallying together on why this is a future that isn’t acceptable to them: a way for kids and adults to advocate change in their family and their community.

Part of the pop-up experience was seeing first-hand the effect declining bee populations may have on future inventory supply at grocery stores. Guests entered the store in a future without bees, before passing through to a store in a future with bees.

Spaces within the pop-up location were used to present bee facts in interesting ways. Existing fitting rooms were transformed into tiny education pods that featured wall-to-wall graphics and interactive content. One room told the story of how bees pollinate crops, while another used UV light to show visitors how bees spot flowers.

RESULTS: Adding the “Grocery Store of the Future” to this year’s media plan helped General Mills bring more young Canadians into this campaign, which was more broadly targeted the year prior. Thousands of visitors visited the pop-up, happily walking out with complimentary cereal boxes and seed packets.