Developing a Brand Extension as a Pivot Strategy for Pieter Pot
Expanding the value proposition beyond packaging-free groceries by integrating the food waste prevention proposition.
J.T. Roethof (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
Erik-Jan Hultink – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Design, Organisation and Strategy)
Catalina Estrada-Mejia – Mentor (TU Delft - Responsible Marketing and Consumer Behavior)
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Abstract
This report describes a strategic design project with Pieter Pot, a Dutch online packaging-free supermarket, to address challenges such as low order frequency and a narrow business case that hinder long-term profitability. The project aimed to identify and design a strategic pivot to improve the value proposition for sustainable growth. The guiding research question was: How can Pieter Pot use its strengths and acquired audience to pivot towards a new, more sustainable, and scalable proposition, while ensuring continued relevance and growth in an increasingly competitive market?
Using a Double Diamond design approach, the project analysed company data, consumer insights (148 respondents), competitors, and literature. Various pivot directions were evaluated, with food waste prevention emerging as the most promising. Customer research indicated significant interest in food waste prevention, alongside organic and refill options, and initial “Verpieter-me-niet” (food waste prevention) trials showed positive sales results.
The recommended overarching strategy is a “zoom-out pivot,” where Pieter Pot’s current packaging-free offering becomes a core feature within a broader, more comprehensive sustainability mission. The project focused on the food waste prevention proposition as a key brand extension within this broader strategy, aligning with Pieter Pot’s anti-waste mission and leveraging existing strengths. A brand extension fit analysis, using Deng & Messinger’s (2022) six dimensions, guided its integration.
The primary deliverable is a Strategic Brand Extension Guide. This guide provides Pieter Pot with directly applicable strategies to successfully develop, position, and communicate the new food waste prevention proposition as a component of its expanded sustainability focus. The guide specifically focuses on how the food waste prevention proposition can be clearly presented for customer understanding and how customers can be persuaded of its unique value, ensuring effective integration. This targeted approach, detailed within the guide, aims to broaden Pieter Pot’s appeal, increase order frequency and value, and build a resilient, profitable enterprise through the successful implementation of the food waste prevention brand extension, supported by a strengthened core offering and relevant line extensions.
In addition to the final design and proposed strategy, the report also includes chapters on implementation, relevant considerations, and recommendations. These sections outline how the new direction can be embedded within Pieter Pot’s operations, highlight practical and strategic factors that influence success, and propose future actions to further strengthen the proposition.
Together, these outcomes demonstrate how Pieter Pot can leverage its existing strengths and audience to evolve from a packaging-free supermarket into a broader sustainability platform, enabling continued relevance, growth, and long-term scalability.