Le Creuset let R/GA build it a content-and-commerce shopfront as pandemic cooking rose

The French cookware company had appointed R/GA to its creative account in January 2020 with a direct-to-consumer vision to build.

Combine content and commerce in one direct-to-consumer platform: a favourites section, customisable crockery and dinner recipes that put the new cookware to the test.

R/GA London launched the DTC e-commerce platform with shopping and content integrated — favourites, personalisable crockery and recipe lists designed around using the utensils you just bought.

It marked R/GA's first work for the brand since the January appointment; no traffic or sales results were disclosed in the coverage.

In July 2020 French cookware company Le Creuset launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform built by R/GA London — the agency's first work for the brand since being appointed to its creative account that January with a 'direct to consumer vision'.

The platform combined content and commerce in one shopfront: a favourites section for saving products, customisable crockery, and a list of dinner recipes written to put your new kitchen utensils to the test — the purchase and the inspiration to use it living in the same place.

Campaign reported the design responded to changing market conditions: e-commerce and home cooking had both been on the rise since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, putting a heritage retail brand's customers behind screens and in front of stoves at the same time.

Recipes as a platform feature turn the brand's expertise into the sales channel: the content demonstrates the product at the moment of highest purchase intent.

Customisable crockery gives a 95-year-old brand a reason for shoppers to buy direct rather than from a department store.

Timing did half the work: lockdown cooking created the audience, and the platform met them with usable content instead of a catalogue.

A heritage brand's DTC platform works when content does the selling: recipes demonstrate the cookware at the exact moment of purchase.

The platform launched in July 2020 as R/GA's first deliverable from the January appointment; the trade coverage disclosed no commercial performance figures.