Harris Teeter has launched a social media discovery program with a deliberate twist: There is no in-store signage, no endcap and no shelf tag anywhere in the building. The entire merchandising layer of Aisle Adventures lives on Meta and TikTok, turning the grocer’s physical shelves into the fulfillment point for a treasure hunt that begins on customers’ phones.
The program, which falls under Harris Teeter’s “Food with Love” brand campaign, spotlights standout products and services that shoppers may not know the Matthews, North Carolina-based grocer carries. But unlike traditional promotional programs, discovery happens exclusively through social content.
“You won’t really find it in the store, which is the magic behind the program,” said Jamie Osborne, senior director of advertising and creative for Harris Teeter. “We wanted it to be organic and real. We did not want it to be overly marketing and sales-like. We wanted this to come from the genuine hearts and shared love of food that we have with our community and neighbors and influencers.”
Shoppers encounter featured items through Harris Teeter’s Meta and TikTok channels, then head to stores to find the products themselves. On Instagram, the company has pinned an Aisle Adventures highlight so customers can reference everything that has been featured. Products also can be shopped directly through social media.
Born from social listening
The idea originated in how Harris Teeter’s team evaluates social media trends, monitoring what people are eating, where they are traveling and what interests them. Last year, the team noticed Italy dominating travel content across social feeds.
“We thought, wow, what a missed opportunity to share that we have a Private Selection pasta that’s imported from Italy,” Osborne said. “People might not know that we have so many incredible products and offerings and services at Harris Teeter. We pride ourselves on the variety that we offer, but we don’t always have the opportunity to tell the story and the specifics and consumer benefit on every single item.”
That gap between trend data and product storytelling became the platform’s foundation. As the program matures, Osborne said the team is layering in commercial planning, working with category and shopper marketing teams to determine which items to feature and when, factoring in seasonality and what customers are searching for at a given moment.
An influencer funnel, from macro to micro
Harris Teeter launched the initiative with the Holderness Family, the North Carolina-based content creators whose family-first style Osborne described as a natural fit. The launch video has surpassed 340,000 views to date.
Osborne said the content strategy centers on what her team calls “edu-tainment,” blending information and entertainment to hold attention.
“People are looking for information. They’re learning things on social media. They go to social media when they want to find out information, and they like to be entertained,” she said.
The next phase shifts to micro influencers targeted within Harris Teeter’s footprint. The smaller creators trade celebrity reach for intimacy, Osborne said, delivering higher engagement rates from audiences who trust them on a more personal level. Those influencers reference content they have seen, then bring their own favorite flavors and finds on their own aisle adventures.
Customers have begun joining in as well, sharing their own discoveries as user-generated content.
“We wanted to inspire people, and it has been overwhelmingly positive for us,” Osborne said.
Early results and what comes next
While the program is too new for category-level metrics, Osborne said engagement has exceeded both Harris Teeter’s internal benchmarks and industry benchmarks. The content focus is on private brand items, primarily in fresh departments, including differentiated offerings such as artisan bread.
The team weighed more conventional activation tactics, including “as seen on” style tags and displays similar to TikTok Shop callouts, but decided against formalizing the experience.
“We didn’t want to make it hard for them, but we didn’t want to make it so on display and formalized to where it was no longer fun,” Osborne said. “We want them to do their own adventure. We don’t want to do it all for them.”
Osborne said the program will operate as an always-on series designed to keep customers anticipating what gets featured next. She also extended an invitation to the vendor community: Suppliers with new or innovative products that could fit the platform are encouraged to reach out to Harris Teeter’s shopper marketing team.
“We would love to open up the opportunity to include some of our partners,” she said. “This is going to be fun. This is going to be something ownable to our brand.”