ABOUT

We were a brand synonymous with low prices that found itself in a category where everyone had started saying the same thing. Competition had caught up, price parity was everywhere, and we were being constantly grouped with our closest rivals - eroding distinction.

Enough was enough. We needed a new way to own the very things that had set us apart - our trolley and basket price - and to focus on value.

The designer handbag has always been a symbol of wealth and status, so we partnered with designer, Nik Bentel, to reimagine our trolley as just that. A handbag utilitarian in design with craft at its core that the fashion world went crazy for, becoming the biggest story at LFW.

Hundreds of thousands of people entered the ballot, tens of millions engaged on social media, and we had blanket coverage in fashion and design titles across Europe - including Vogue, Vanity Fair and WWD, a first for any supermarket.

The Trolley Bag took our core equity of value and put it in the world of culture, turning function into aspiration. It wasn’t just seen, but being actively sought out, celebrated and worn to LFW.

BRIEF
For years, Lidl built its reputation on one simple truth: it was the most affordable shop. Whether it was the cheapest basket, trolley, or essential goods, Lidl always came out on top.

Then the market caught on. Our competitors' marketing became about price matching us. A shift that created two clear problems: Firstly, if everyone is ‘cheapest’, no one is. Secondly, Lidl was increasingly being mentioned in the same breath as Aldi - price matched against Lidl and Aldi - blurring distinction between us and our closest challenger.

Put simply, we were at risk of losing a conversation Lidl had created and could no longer compete purely on price. Our brief was to show people we weren’t just the cheapest, but the best value, and give them other reasons to choose Lidl as their go to.

CREATIVE
We recognised that while price drives purchase, perception drives preference.

Instead of fighting competitors on price alone, we decided to create hype, scarcity and aspiration around one of Lidl’s most recognisable symbols: the trolley.

Inspired by the rise of utilitarian fashion, we partnered with Nik Bentel Studio to create The Trolley Bag - a stainless-steel handbag complete with trolley handle and built-in trolley coin.

The idea playfully blurred the worlds of discount retail and high fashion, positioning Lidl in a cultural space nobody expected.

Launched during London Fashion Week, the campaign quickly became one of the event’s standout stories. Consumers queued around Soho for the “Fresh Drop” pop-up experience, while demand crashed websites as hundreds of thousands entered the ballot to get one.

The Trolley Bag transformed Lidl from a supermarket people once hid in shopping bags into a brand people proudly wore to Fashion Week.

RESULTS AND EFFECTIVENESS

The campaign exploded across fashion, design and mainstream culture:

750+ pieces of top-tier coverage across Europe
150,000+ ballot entries
40 million social views
Tens of thousands of positive organic social posts
2,000+ attendees at the London Fashion Week pop-up
20% increase in share of voice versus competitors during campaign period
90% positive social sentiment
The campaign also secured coverage in titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair and WWD — a first for any supermarket.