Project Overview
Location: Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent
Project Type: Flagship café interior design and fit-out
Scale: Ground floor retail unit in premium shopping destination
Challenge/Brief
Cocoba required a flagship café design that would reflect their passion for chocolate whilst navigating the strict design constraints imposed by Bluewater’s comprehensive design guidelines. The project faced significant challenges including the prohibition of projecting signage, a lower-level location that limited visibility, and intense competition from established chocolatiers and coffee shop chains within the shopping centre. The brief called for a design that would create strong brand presence whilst maintaining the appeal of an independent operator in a sea of corporate retail entities.
Solution
MGI developed an innovative approach that worked within Bluewater’s restrictions whilst maximising the café’s visual impact. The design strategy focused on creating a distinctive identity through clever use of materials and spatial planning. A high-level feature display was conceived to penetrate the front façade, providing the necessary brand announcement without contravening the shopping centre’s signage restrictions.
Implementation
The internal design combined contemporary aesthetics with carefully selected materials including rustic woods and industrial units, complemented by strong branding elements and comfortable soft furnishings. This material palette created a warm and inviting atmosphere that distinguished Cocoba from surrounding corporate competitors. The design approach ensured the concept could be easily replicated across future sites whilst maintaining consistency with the brand’s artisanal chocolate heritage.
Results
The completed café successfully projected a strong, distinctive identity that enabled Cocoba to compete effectively with established brands in the challenging retail environment. The design solution overcame the significant signage and visibility constraints whilst creating a scalable concept suitable for national rollout. The warm, independent café atmosphere was achieved despite the corporate shopping centre setting, providing Cocoba with a flagship venue that authentically represented their chocolate-focused brand values.