FreshCo continues to double down on value, but this time with a kitschy retro approach.

The low-cost supermarket alternative’s 60-second and 30-second hero spots, by agency partners Juliet and Balmoral, feature a polyester-clad disco duo crooning a “That’s Fresh” earworm and engaging with shoppers while showcasing a variety of aisles and offerings.

“Fresh off a new look and feel, we wanted to reintroduce ourselves in a way that was unexpected, fun, and totally ownable,” says Geoff Day, VP of marketing for community, discount and pharmacy at parent company Empire. “Their look, sound and feel nod to iconic musical duos of the past, tapping into a cross-generational love of all things nostalgic while still feeling fresh and grounded in today.”

According to Day, the creative approach breaks through in a sea of cost-saving messaging sameness.

“We wanted to really show how we bring value to our customers in different ways.”

Last year, FreshCo and its agency partners coined the foodie adjective “Valuelicious” as a way to stand out.

“We’re seeing a lot of positive momentum in our business performance and brand sentiment as a result of doubling down on our focus on value … and building differentiation for our brand,” Day says.

Customers will see the new work brought to life in-store and in many other FreshCo and Chalo! FreshCo touchpoints including flyers and extensive in-store signage.

Given the brand’s longstanding focus on serving multicultural audiences, five other distinct adaptions of the spots in Hinglish (a hybrid of Hindu and English), Tagalog, Arabic, Mandarin and Cantonese are available too.

The campaign is supported by national paid media running through early April on TV and connected TV, OLV and social cutdowns (YouTube, Meta), digital, search and OOH (at Union Station, in static and digital posters and in transit shelters).

In multicultural media, it’s running in programmatic, on OTT and connected TV and on social (YouTube, Meta, Pinterest).

Amid warnings of grocery price hikes as a result of Trump’s tariffs, Day says the amplification of its local strategy continues to be top of mind. FreshCo and Chalo! FreshCo customers will see clear identification of Canadian-made products in flyers and on shelves and will be able to find local options for “just about everything on their lists when shopping our stores.”

According to Day, FreshCo has seen substantial growth in the brand since launching in 2010. “We’re now at 149 stores across our network and have seen strong momentum in our business since launching.”

The overall creative strategy was led by Juliet while Balmoral led the project’s multicultural creative and adaptations. UM Canada led mainstream media while Balmoral led the multicultural media side. North Strategic handled PR.

According to Day, the “That’s Fresh,” work is “on the scale of some of (FreshCo’s) larger campaigns.”