Inside BRG Group's New Coffee Shop, Content Studio and Community Space

Co-created with Stellar Global, part of Marvesting Group, the BRG Group has opened its first store in London, designed around the idea that customer relationships are built through expertise, education and shared experiences, not just transactions.

Visitors can purchase any coffee for £1.17, the amount Sage Appliances (one of the company´s brands) estimates it costs to make the same drink at home using one of its machines. This pricing model turns every cup into a product demonstration, while also providing an accessible entry point into the brand experience.

Home Ground functions not only as a customer destination, but also as a content studio capable of supporting online demonstrations, livestreams, social selling and content creation.

As Emma Ede, CEO of Stellar Global, part of Marvesting Group, explains: "Many brands see different patterns of engagement across the week. Periods with lower in-store footfall create opportunities to produce content, host livestreams or connect with customers online, while busier trading days are better suited to in-person experiences and community events. The most effective spaces are designed to flex between both roles."

The concept reflects a broader shift taking place across retail. While digital channels have made product discovery easier than ever, brands are recognising that human expertise continues to play a critical role in helping customers make confident purchasing decisions, particularly for premium and high-consideration products.

The Store as a Studio: Merging Commerce with Community

The Store is Becoming a Studio

Home Ground challenges one of retail's longest-standing assumptions: that ecommerce, customer service, content creation, community building and physical retail should operate separately.

Instead, the space brings these functions together under one roof. Visitors can attend coffee and mixology masterclasses, engage with product experts and experience Sage products in everyday use, while content created within the space extends engagement far beyond the physical location.

"People don't build a relationship with a coffee machine; they build a relationship with coffee. Home Ground was created to bring customers closer to that experience, whether that's learning a new skill, attending a masterclass, trying a product or simply enjoying a great cup of coffee. The £1.17 price point demonstrates what great coffee at home can cost while giving people a reason to spend time with us, learn from our experts and become part of the community we're building around the brand, " says David Gubbin, EMEA President, BRG Group.

The Rise of the Multi-Skilled Brand Ambassador

Brands increasingly require teams that can support customers across physical and digital touchpoints, combining product expertise, education, event hosting and content creation capabilities.

Luke Lane, Training Lead & Live Host (Stellar for BRG Group), is the perfect embodiment of this. He navigates seamlessly between Home Ground, trade shows and behind-camera work, representing the increasingly multi-skilled nature of today's retail workforce. The result is the emergence of a next-generation sales force capable of supporting customers wherever and however they choose to engage.

The Value of Human Expertise in an Automated Age

Why Human Expertise Still Matters

For all the attention surrounding AI and automation, the strongest commercial results continue to come from combining digital tools with human expertise.

Across the projects that Marvesting delivers for clients, integrating live experts into the online customer journey has generated conversion rates up to five times higher, while video consultations have delivered average order values up to three times greater than standard ecommerce journeys.

Expert-led guidance has also helped reduce product returns by up to 40% by enabling customers to make more informed purchasing decisions.

"Today's consumers are overloaded, not under-informed. The real challenge is decision fatigue. Across the projects we deliver for brands across Europe, we consistently see that expert interaction, in-store or online, is all it takes to cut through the noise and turn endless research into a confident decision, " says Jean-Dominique Castellani, CEO, Marvesting.