The days of the impersonal faceless supermarket are increasingly a thing of the past as even the biggest retailers seek to forge a link with local shoppers in an attempt to convince that a store is relevant to a location, rather than just being a part of a roll-out.

There are some that take this trend and apply it in store more diligently than others however. At the convenience end of the scale sits Budgens and its new store in Islington is an object lesson in how to make a store appropriate to an area.

The manager of this store opened the nearby Planet Organic store and even the most cursory glance at this Budgens reveals that there is a preponderance of organic products of the kind that might normally be found in stores dedicated to the category.

It is also symptomatic of the understanding that as an area of north London, Islington is pretty much organic central and the product offer has been customised accordingly. Practically, this means that the special offers are dark rye bread and crispbread, rather than white sliced and assorted cut-price beer or confectionary.

Worth noting too are the many wicker baskets to emphasise the ‘fresh’ nature of the fruit and vegetables. These work alongside the pristine chiller cabinets that permit views into their interiors thanks to LED lights that keep everything looking bright and the dark wood customer service area, aka the checkout.

If a criticism were to be levelled, it would be that putting a sign stating ‘Bananas’ above a couple of shelves of the things might be considered redundant point of sales material. Such carping aside however, this small store shows what is possible to cater for specific demographics and tastes.