What's (really) in a name?

[James Burke]

Thirty miles west of me, a new entity went into the building of a defunct grocery store chain. Instead of curiosity, the owners have been met with an onslaught of criticism by what "Food Lab" really means.

As you can imagine, it conjures up the typical ideas of Franken-food, since we live such a hyper-sensitive GMO-laden world.

ANYWAY, the business venture is actually a co-op of sorts, whereby multiple vendors share the large market space. Many of these are organic food (meat/veggies/deli) producers, yet THEIR thought process behind the word "Lab" was intended only to be a playful approach to the process of testing and trying new products and marketing techniques.

So, whose side are you on? I for one, believe they're all an unfortunate choice of words...especially given the squeaky clean image they wish to portray. "Pop-Up" (to me, anyway), insinuates a transient here-today-gone-tomorrow (or maybe not) attitude.

And furthermore, a bastardized adverb isn't the most appropriate way to win the (somewhat) grammar-savvy clientele of my generation. I can just see the horribly butchered ad copy now: "Shop local at Locally Market".

JB

(Side note: the pro/con Facebook chatter on the local news radio page is literally every marketer's dream, happening in real-time as the store approaches its pending opening .)

 

[Boudica]

I was fine with the idea... Until you pointed out the "locally market" part. So many reservations, on so many levels. not sure I would support it, couldn't say unless I was there.

 

[Johnny Best]

Shoppers are a lot smarter about food than they use to be. Organically grown to FreeRange slogans have been explained, so most people are not duped by words. Nowadays, pricing seems to drive the market.

 

[gnubler]

Is that the actual banner? Horrible!

I love the concept of what they're doing, but agree that it's a poor naming choice. Food Hub or even "The Cooperative" if they want to sound fancy would be better for marketing.
There's a restaurant in my area and on their signage it says "Gastro Pub" or some crap. I know they're trying to be hipster with it, but it sounds nasty to me.

 

[Evan Gillette]

The horrendous banner is not helping their image one bit. "Let's just select each starting letter and mash the + button a few times... oh and squish this here and stretchhh that there..."

It is obvious to me that they will not be attracting much if any of the clientele they likely would be targeting, at least not in my area.

 

[vondegroot]

At least they changed the default software font, and did some sweet Small Caps typography

 

[GAC05]

Could have been much worse

 

[ghostwriter1]

I'd suggest something like..."Your Local Market" it is more inviting,,,"Locally Market", That's awful,,, sounds like it's run by someone who can't be bothered to learn or cross check the grammar. AND, As for "Food Lab" ,,,"Guinea Pigs Welcome".

 

[gnubler]

Pop-Up, as in Up-Chuck

Fried bat wings and stir fried beetles, all glazed with a "special" sauce for good health.

 

[Billct2]

I see similar around here, trying to be hip and clever, but just end up sounding stupid

 

[Stacey K]

First impression is someone doesn't know English - Locally Market? It that grammatically correct?

Pop up Food Lab - I'm picturing a bunch of little areas where you can make your own salad, sandwiches, etc. perhaps you pay by weight? Maybe with all different sauces and spices. Or where you make your own meals with local vendors items?

The font is terrible. It makes the entire thing seem cheap.

 

[James Burke]

First impression is someone doesn't know English - Locally Market? It that grammatically correct?

Of course not. "Locally" is an adverb (describes a verb) which should precede or follow a verb (describes an action). "Market" is a noun (person, place or thing). Unfortunately, many advertisers beckon their customers to "Shop Local"....bugs me to no end.

Pop up Food Lab - I'm picturing a bunch of little areas where you can make your own salad, sandwiches, etc. perhaps you pay by weight? Maybe with all different sauces and spices. Or where you make your own meals with local vendors items?

The idea behind "pop-up" is their way of conveying spontaneity as various vendors come and go.

The font is terrible. It makes the entire thing seem cheap.

This really could have been a poster-child for a non-franchised, locally sourced, sustainable food initiative.

It's too bad they didn't invest just a few more dollars to let the world know how special they really are.

JB

 

[unclebun]

Locally in food is supposed to be a good thing among the hip Gen Z-ers. As in grown locally or shop locally. Pop-Up is also a hip thing, as in Pop-up restaurant where a famous chef will book a venue and for one weekend only run a restaurant for "those in the know" to pay outrageous prices to be treated to a special dinner unavailable anywhere else. A food lab is usually something like a test kitchen, where things are tested out, recipes invented, etc. It can also be a place where highly processed foods are invented. What they are really providing is a micro-commissary kitchen. I have seen these called food labs, among other names that don't necessarily convey the real meaning of what they are.

So it looks like the name was chosen by jamming together parts of a number of pop names without regard to whether it actually conveys the right meaning to the reader, by someone who spends so much time on their phone they don't recognize improper grammar.