Bombay Sapphire turned The Design Museum into a supermarket, so it could reopen despite pandemic restrictions. We collaborated with emerging artists to turn essential items into artworks to stock the shelves of our gallery-supermarket – from bread to toilet paper to Bombay Sapphire gin to tinned beans. All proceeds from sales went towards supporting emerging artists. SUPERMARKET at The Design Museum was a vibrant, exciting space, designed by Camille Walala, and filled with artworks, allowing people to get their fix of creativity, and support artists, whilst doing their weekly shop.

Creativity has been at the heart of Bombay Sapphire for over 30 years, championing creatives and supporting emerging artists all over the world. Its own distillery in Laverstoke is an architectural masterpiece created by one of the most imaginative architects, Thomas Heatherwick. The entire brand strategy is built around inspiring and enabling creativity in everyone. In the year that turned out to be devastating for the creative community, Bombay Sapphire wanted to show their support and demonstrate their belief that creativity is an essential part of being human, making us feel fulfilled and happy

Creativity had been jeopardised in the wake of Covid. Galleries closed as they were not deemed ‘essential’, negatively impacting creative communities. But essential shops were allowed to open. So Bombay Sapphire turned The Design Museum into a supermarket, to reopen it despite pandemic restrictions. We collaborated with 10 emerging artists to turn essential items into artworks – from rice to loo roll, Bombay Sapphire gin, to fruit and veg. All at supermarket prices, making art accessible to all. Giving people their fix of creativity, and supporting artists, during the weekly shop. And all proceeds from sales go towards supporting artists, through the Design Museum’s new Emerging Artists’ Access Fund, supported by Bombay Sapphire – a ‘pay it forward’ scheme that gives up and coming artists and designers free access to Design Museum exhibitions, talks and events, including networking and mentoring events

Bombay Sapphire has a long association with creativity, championing creatives and supporting emerging artists all over the world. The entire brand strategy is built around supporting creativity in everyone. The pandemic was devastating for the arts, with galleries and museums being forced to close, and being the last places allowed to reopen. Artists were in crisis, unable to exhibit and losing their sources of income. We wanted to help. At a time when the concept of what is considered ‘essential’ was pulled into sharp relief by the crisis, we wanted to make a bold statement to the world: creativity is essential. By turning a gallery into an essential shop, we made our message loud and clear, giving artists a place to exhibit again, giving consumers their much-needed fix of creativity, and supporting The Design Museum, which had suffered a 92% drop in its usual income streams.

Through a simple loophole, we found a way to reopen one of the most loved galleries in the world, The Design Museum, which had suffered a 92% drop in its usual income streams. Famed artist and designer Camille Walala brought her inimitable visual style to the store’s spatial design – bringing art and shopping together in a riot of bold patterns and bright colours. The essential items were designed by a collective of 10 brilliant emerging artists from all over the world: Joey Yu, Charlotte Edey, Kentaro Okawara, Katherine Plumb, Amy Worrall, Holly Warburton, Jess Warby, Michaela Yearwood-Dan and Isadora Lima. Each artist brought their signature style to the project to turn the likes of toilet paper and bread into artworks. 1200 of each limited-edition essential item stocked the shelves of our gallery-supermarket, and online shop, for 5 days, promoting the vital message that ‘Creativity is Essential’.

Note: No proceeds went to Bombay Sapphire and all went to the creative community.

All cost undertaken by Bombay Sapphire. Artists paid a fee for their work.

Visits & Money Raised

Total visitors in 5 days: 25,867 shoppers (2879 on site and 22988 online)

Total revenue raised for emerging artists fund: £105,000 (sold out all essential items online in under 8 hours)

Number of emerging artists supported - 10,000

Social Metrics

84.01mn total impressions

29.09mn total reach

94% positive sentiment on IG

PR Coverage

Total reach: 31,811,160

Number 1 Share of Voice in UK and Western Europe

Total domestic pieces: 59