ICA Maxi University in Örebro – A store of the future with innovation and sustainable gardening

ICA Maxi University in Örebro is the store where change is the only constant. ICA store owner Patrik Persson and his team of 160 employees have created a truly unique hypermarket. This store is always ready to try out new ideas and lead the way – take the lounge feel in the checkout area, or the urban garden in the car park.

To increase the shelf life of fruit and vegetables, a humidification system has been installed above all the fruit displays. The extra moisture in the air means the products maintain their quality and freshness for longer.

“We’re ICA Maxi University, and that entails something of an obligation. Sustainability, ethics, and morality are hugely important to our customers. Every week, we have customers asking for products that we have to google just to find out what they are,” says store owner Patrik Persson.

The triangular shape of the checkout zone has been a unique challenge. Instead of a traditional, wide line of checkouts, there is a deep, narrow checkout zone with the options ‘Personalized’ and ‘Express’. With 20 self-checkouts, three conveyor belt checkouts, and a lounge-like atmosphere, the checkout area is truly outstanding.

In a hermetically sealed container in the car park, the store operates an urban garden with a minimal carbon footprint. The technique is called hydroponic farming, which uses diode lighting and nutrient-enriched water to grow delicious vegetables. From the garden, staff can harvest around 100 heads of lettuce, 80 bags of kale and black cabbage, and around 100 bags of herbs every week, which are then sold in the shop.