After a short-term trial, a pioneering pill-store pop-up called Fast Food Aid is seeking a longer-term home in Harajuku, Japan.
Billed as the “world’s first supplement shop for fast foods”, it offered free tablets to replace nutrients missing from convenience foods like hamburgers, pizza and ramen.
All customers needed to do was trade in the receipt from their latest fast-food purchase. The pills come along with professional advice about the health issues associated with such foods.
With the aim of educating people and discouraging them from choosing non-nutritional meals, the shop was designed by creative director Ikkyu and Junya Sato of design studio Kaibutsu on behalf of Dohtonbori, a restaurant that sells organic, healthy fast food, reports Dezeen.
“This shop doesn’t look like other pharmacies, but the truth is it’s an educational supplement shop,” says Ikkyu. “We opened this shop in Harajuku, where there are a lot of young people who have bad eating habits.
“Once they get in, they are surprised with the the supplements they have to intake and understand how bad their eating habit is.”
The shop’s window featured pill pots lined in rows beneath an illuminated sign reading “For FREE”. Inside, long shelves with more containers are mounted against wire fencing along the side walls.
The designers aimed to make the space feel as clinical, combining a street fell with a “mad laboratory” atmosphere.