The Retail Edit: Introducing the Ratz food market

Brussels’ newest food market looks like it might soon become my own personal favourite…

After the resounding successes of:
– The Wolf Sharing Food Market
– Its sister the FOX Food Market
– The Gare Maritime (FoodMarket)
Brussels welcomed its FOURTH food market, the Ratz food market, earlier this year.

I finally visited recently and what I found instantly blew me away.

But first, what’s the big deal with food markets in Brussels anyways?

I think we can all agree that we are a big foodie city. This has always been the case. However, the influx of Eurocrats has clearly further boosted the phenomenon, exposing residents to an ever-growing range of foreign and fusion delicacies. Our town is thus, as many major capitals, home to incredible restaurants.

And just as with many of these capitals, it has very gladly welcomed the arrival of food markets.

Food markets are evidently nothing new. This format has indeed existed for centuries and has remained prominent in regions such as Asia and Latin America. Even Spain has famously always maintained this traditional model.

With people traveling around the globe more easily these days, we have been witnessing a growing interest for a broader range of food options, and this has led to a return of this format in most major foodie capitals in the past few decades.

Brussels thus didn’t invent anything. BUT… in my humble eyes there are three things which collectively make the Brussels food market scene a bit different.

1. Density:

I personally am blown by the number of similar markets our relatively small city now comprises. And all working so very successfully thus far.

2. Locations

What strikes me next is their relatively similar format: each implementing itself in an adaptive reuse site, while applying quite strong branding. The resulting cohabitation between the buildings’ original features and the new branded ones makes for something undeniably striking.

3. Operations

Finally, and probably most interesting, is how these markets use the exact same formula in terms of operations. A formula crafted around customer preferences. And THIS is of course what makes them so appealing to me as a retail designer.

Each market is effectively a covered dining hall with a centrally operated bar serving both famous drinks but also their own brews! Making the experience that much more local and again allowing for the branding to step in.

Around this bar: a series of food kiosks mixing well-established food chains with one-offs. The goal being to offer a complementary mix guaranteeing everyone finds exactly what they crave. This mix of established and new also guarantees the market’s financial stability since it builds on existing reputations, while allowing new entrepreneurs to develop their own offerings.

The attention to offering options meeting all possible customer preferences also translates into the ordering system. Customers either have the choice to go from kiosk to kiosk and order there, OR to first sit at a table and scan a QR code giving access to the menus from all the kiosks and the bar at once. Personally, I prefer this second alternative. But many of my friends prefer the first. And nowhere before have I been able to experience a market that simultaneously allows both operational preferences. Not the infamous Borough or Covent markets in London, not the Parisian department store food courts, not even in the aforementioned Asian or Spanish food halls.

And so for me, THIS is what has made these markets so uniquely popular. They are the perfect setting for a seamless fun-focused group outing!

So now back to the Ratz!
Why does it stand out?

Because its design brings us ever closer to the foods we are indulging in. The market is separated into various cultural universes matching the foods on offer: Middle East, Asia, etc.

I personally appreciate the “nooks” they have created which offer some intimacy and also, in my case, shield me a bit from overstimulation. Something the other markets are rather missing in my opinion. 

On top of that, this specific market offers an art and events space on an upper floor, making it the perfect option for company or trade gatherings.

Finally, I can’t NOT mention the toilets, which also instantly bring you to another universe.

Sadly, the Ratz has suffered from some bad press. Some shaming them for what they call disrespectful cultural interpretations. Though I, of course, respect everyone’s opinion, personally my own experience here was only of a joyful community. People happily coming together around food.

I thus hope this article may help balance out the current dialogue around this new destination. I sincerely wish them a lot of success. Especially as, rather selfishly, I’d like to have a chance to try all the food options they offer.

Hoping to see you there sometime soon so that we may together keep building the wonderful food market culture which seems to be so ingrained in our city’s DNA.

Thank you for reading. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this edition of the Brussels Retail Edit. Keep an eye out next month for more Brussels retail reflections. And until then don’t hesitate to connect on LinkedIn to share feedback or visit my website to find out about my various services.