Blur’s Comvita Lab

AUCKLAND, Monday: New indie design agency Blur the Lines has launched its first project for New Zealand’s famous Comvita honey brand.

Blur founder/creative director Danielle Barclay (ex 99, DesignWorks, DDB, and Omnicom Melbourne) said: “The Comvita Wellness Lab is a multi-channel immersive experience that aims to connect customers to Comvita’s rich brand story and educate them on the world of bees and honey through engaging all the senses.

“The immersive experience hosted by beekeeper and bee breeder Noelani Waters, takes customers on a journey through flavour, showcasing the influence the natural environment has on honey and how the senses interact to form a rich multisensory perception of flavour.”

“Centred around taste, the experiential store located in Auckland’s viaduct, incorporates a boutique 180-degree theatre which hosts premium tasting sessions designed in collaboration with Oxford University gastrophysicist Professor Charles Spence, known for his work with UK chef Heston Blumenthal.”

A feature of the project is a 2:46m video interview with a passionate and lucid Comvita ceo David Banfield (scroll down for the link).

Danielle Barclay said the project aimed to challenge the traditional bricks and mortar retail model and create something that was truly world class and memorable.

“The immersive experience is hosted by beekeeper and bee breeder Noelani Waters.”

“Delivering a project of this scale with this level of craft during a pandemic is something I am immensely proud of which was made possible due to the support and commitment to the idea from our client and the passion and expertise of the wider team,” she said.

“The physical lab was crafted using local materials and collaborating with local artisans to reflect Comvita’s New Zealand heritage, focus on wellbeing and expertise in unlocking natures secrets through science.

“The project is truly multichannel with the physical lab being enhanced through an augmented reality experience designed to educate customers on all things bees and transform the space into a forest using real world mapping technology.

“Customers can also visit the lab online via a 3D replica of the environment that has been built in a native New Zealand forest for customers to explore and browse.”

Comvita ceo David Banfield said his vision was to tell the Comvita brand story is a new way and recreate the future of retail through experiential brand immersion.

“Danielle and I had a meeting of minds and wanted to reframe what a retail experience looks and feel like, taking the unique Comvita story to the world,” he said.

The Comvita Wellness Lab concept is a prototype experience which will be rolled out to Asia and the USA over the next year.

• View the video below

CREDITS

Creative Agency: Blur the Lines
Creative Director: Danielle Barclay
Creative Technologist: Craig McKay
Interior Architect: Naomi Rushmer
Technical Lead: Preston Thomas
Project Management: Jessie Stent
Film director: Jon Baxter (Perceptual Engineering)
DOP: Gareth Moon and Kieran E Scott
Scriptwriter: Lani-rain Feltham
Sound designer: Peter Hobbs (Harmonic Studios)
Audio Visual: Luma Audio Visual and Panasonic
Augmented Reality: Conical Studios
Build: Complete Construction
Neuroscience consultant: Professor Charles Spence
Photography: Kieran E Scott
Client: Comvita
CEO: David Banfield
Global Head of Marketing: David Bathgate
Chief Science Officer: Jackie Evans

About the Comvita Wellness Lab
The new Comvita Wellness Lab is located at 139 Quay St, Viaduct Basin, Auckland.

• www.wellnesslab.comvita.co.nz

About Blur the Lines
Blur is a new independent design collective, specialising in creating brand experiences that seamlessly blend spatial, digital and virtual worlds. Founder/CD Danielle Barclay set up the collective after the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020; her aim is to offer an alternative to the traditional agency model and connect customers to brands in new and exciting ways.

• www.weblurthelines.com