NUCA
Capabilities
Brand strategy
Brand identity
Retail branding
Brand communication
Rebranding Moldova’s first convenience store chain.
Fidesco emerged as Moldova’s first convenience store chain. Beyond everyday groceries, Fidesco offered fast food and coffee under one roof – a novelty and strong differentiator in the traditional market. However, business results were disappointing.
The brand struggled to stand out and build an emotional connection with Moldovans. First, stores had the look and feel of supermarkets, only with a reduced selection. Second, the brand name Fidesco felt distant, too abstract, and foreign-sounding.
We were asked for a complete rebranding.
IN MOLDOVA, FOOD COMES FIRST
Moldova is a small country between Ukraine and Romania, torn between European orientation and Russian influence.
Moldovans perceive themselves as Europeans and aspire to join the modern Western world, yet they are deeply proud of their culture and strongly attached to their local identity.
The joy of food is at the heart of Moldovan culture. Grocery stores are of a very high standard, with well-stocked supermarkets offering a wide range of quality products.
A DAILY MOMENT OF JOY
We set out to create a brand for a new kind of store – a place where hot food and refreshments play an equal role to shopping. The ambition: become the place to shop and eat for young Moldovans. The new brand would stand for convenience, sociability, optimism, and progress.
Our idea was simple: A daily moment of joy to bring a smile to your face.
NUCA MEANS NUT
We came up the with the brand name Nuca, which means “nut” in Romanian. The new name is short and dynamic, reflecting the speed and ease of convenience shopping. The Nuca smile symbolizes satisfaction from a good meal. Vibrant colors, playful street-art stickers and a friendly toneexpress the brand’s modern, youthful, cosmopolitan spirit.
A NEW MOLDOVA
The first Nuca store opened in 2025 and created a positive cultural shock, with business results quickly exceedingexpectations.
The media spoke of the birth of a new quality of life, and customers flocked to a place they never realised they were missing – a space that seamlessly connected dining, shopping, and social encounters. Today, Nuca is preparing to expand nationwide. More than thirty new locations are set to reshape the future of convenience retail in Moldova.
This is more than a rebranding – it’s a manifesto for a “New Moldova”: confident, open to the world, and proudly rooted in its local heritage.