The Plastic-Free Store Behind Story 

Here at Melixir, we pledge to connect freely and transport deeper into nature.
As there are no signs of the pandemic ending any time soon, our team has been brainstorming creative, new ways to bring Melixir "to life."

This short film explains the inspiration behind our Plastic-Free Store, featuring the brains of this pop-up, Yerin (head of Spatial Design & Contents) and Koeun (head of Brand Design). They had clear visions of:
1. Should be a full sensory experience
2. Make it interactive 

Please enjoy this Behind the Scenes video as we reflect on our Plastic-Free Store.

Transcript:

Yerin: Parnas Mall (Seoul, Korea) is known to be a very busy space with people constantly moving around. We started this project with the hope that those busy people can come into our space to take a break, and experience mindfulness.

Yerin: Hi, my name is Yerin, and I’m in charge of Spatial Design & Contents at Melixir. I led the planning, design, and execution of “The Plastic-Free Store."

Koeun: Hi, I’m Koeun, head of Brand Design at Melixir. As a brand manager, I made sure that the completed space eventually looked and felt like “Melixir.”

Koeun: This pop-up store wasn’t our first one actually. Our first pop-up was in Yeongdeungpo (Korea). It was successful, but there were still lessons we gained from our first experience, and we made sure to make those improvements in our next pop-up.

"A full sensory experience through touch and smell as well."

Koeun: We wanted to create a pop-up that wasn’t simply just looking at our products, but rather a space that was able to provide a full sensory experience through touch and smell as well.

Yerin: While still implementing the overall flow from the first “Plastic-Free Store,” we took a lot of consideration this time on the raw materials we used and how to easily get across the virtues of Melixir to the consumers. Green tea or tree bark, coal pieces, cypress leaves - we used natural elements as objets to make up the space.

Yerin: For the individual gifting boxes, rather than making something new because we had a lot of inventory, we were instead trying to use the resources we already had as much to our advantage in order to express spatial sustainability and Melixir’s worth.

"Ours was a little more interactive." 

Koeun: Compared to other branded pop-ups, I think ours was a little more interactive. As for the empty bottle collection zone, this was a campaign we are already running online, where delivery drivers pick up the empty bottles for us. We thought if we could make a lasting impression on people by bringing the bottles visually come to life, we could get a lot of engagement. It’s visually interesting, so our consumers really liked it, and that’s why this was one of the most satisfactory part for us too.

Yerin: Melixir is a brand with very strong core values. We have been demonstrating that immensely through our digital channels, but since we’re not able to showcase offline as often, we wanted to take this opportunity to speak to our high-quality ingredients and stories that go along with them. Our design was based on the ability to visually show all of the key ingredients for every product in an easy way.

Koeun: Due to COVID-19 regulations at the time, we weren’t allowed to have testers out for our products. I was very sad about this, so I thought about how we could better convey the products to the consumers. By putting the formulations in a beaker, we paid attention to not just displaying the finished product, but showcasing other various elements, such as ingredients and texture.

"A Melixir-style space is a space that is genuine." 

Koeun: From start to finish of the pop-up store preparation, the fact that my team accomplished this together was the most memorable and enjoyable part. From contracting to planning, from designing to transporting actual products, and replenishing the products while welcoming customers, it was really meaningful to be able to experience all of this process together.

Koeun: There were so many customers that I got to meet, but the one that left the most lasting impression on me was a middle-aged woman who brought in 8 empty bottles to our pop-up. I thought, “Wow, we have customers who are this passionate for our brand,” which truly motivates me to work harder to this day.

Yerin: For me, a Melixir-style space is a space that is genuine. Everyone’s definition and standard of “healthy” is probably different, but if people are all able to feel the healthiness and sincerity of the space that we created, then I believe that is what a “Melixir” space is. 

Moments from our pop-up (5/20/21~5/31/21):