Great Northern Instore

What Great Northern Instore does

Great Northern Instore is the custom retail display division of Great Northern Corporation, a privately held Racine, Wisconsin-based industrial company founded in 1962. It designs, engineers, manufactures, and distributes in-store merchandising displays for consumer packaged goods brands and major U.S. retailers, producing temporary, semi-permanent, permanent, and interactive units in corrugated, metal, wood, plastic, and wire. The company operates a fully integrated in-house production model covering design, structural engineering, printing, manufacturing, assembly/co-packing, fulfillment, and in-store execution, supported by 80+ designers and a team of more than 100 graphic designers, structural designers, and engineers, and certified under ISO 27001, ISTA, G7, and SFI standards.

The business runs on a project-based, quote-driven model with a consultative direct-sales motion targeting enterprise CPG customers and national retailers including Pepsi, Target, Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Sam's Club, Best Buy, and Petco. Revenue is generated through one-time display programs, recurring seasonal activations, and a growing services layer that includes the proprietary Instore Vision app for real-time retail execution tracking, smart displays with beacons/NFC/sensors, co-packing, and distribution services. The company has accumulated over 100 industry awards, including 9 OMA Awards in 2025 headlined by Display of the Year, and supports marketing with a bi-monthly "Win at Retail" webinar series and a five-year research partnership with the Path to Purchase Institute. The proprietary technology stack is limited to the Instore Vision tracking app; no AI/ML capabilities, patents, or public funding events are disclosed.

Name

Great Northern Instore

Legal name

Great Northern Corporation

Website

https://greatnortherninstore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Great Northern Instore is a U.S. designer, manufacturer, and service provider of custom in-store retail displays — temporary, permanent, and interactive — serving CPG brands and major national retailers through in-house design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Retail Display Manufacturing

akta.pro primary industry

Customer-Facing Displays & Digital Signage for Checkout (HDACAKAF)

Keywords

• Custom retail displays
• Point-of-purchase displays
• In-store merchandising solutions
• Retail display manufacturing
• Shopper marketing displays

Headquarters

HQ city

Racine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Retail Display Design and Manufacturing: Design, engineering, manufacturing, printing and assembly of custom retail displays for brands and retailers. Services include temporary, semi-permanent, permanent, and interactive displays in various materials (corrugated, metal, wood, plastic, wire).
2. Co-Packing and Assembly Services: Assembly of products into display units and fulfillment services.
3. Distribution and Fulfillment Services: Inventory management, distribution, and in-store execution services including the Instore Vision tracking app.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Great Northern Instore designs, engineers, manufactures, prints, assembles, and distributes custom in-store retail displays for consumer packaged goods brands and retailers. Its offering covers temporary, semi-permanent, permanent, and interactive displays built from corrugated cardboard, metal, wood, plastic, and wire, with full turnkey service from concept through in-store execution and post-launch performance tracking via the proprietary Instore Vision app.

Product overview

Great Northern Instore is a custom retail display company with over 60 years of experience, offering a comprehensive portfolio of merchandising display solutions. The core offering includes custom retail displays available in temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent configurations, manufactured in-house using various materials including corrugated cardboard (100% recyclable), metal, wood, plastic, and wire. The company provides display solutions across multiple retail channels (grocery, club, mass merchant, convenience, drug, specialty, discount) and industries (beverage, sporting goods, pet, health and beauty, consumer electronics, food, holiday, home improvement, office supplies, toys, building supply). Supporting services include award-winning design, engineering, manufacturing/printing, assembly/co-packing, fulfillment, inventory management, distribution, and in-store execution. The company has also developed Instore Vision, a proprietary app for real-time tracking of display performance and retail execution data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Retail Displays Custom-designed retail merchandising displays manufactured in-house for brands and retailers, available in temporary, semi-permanent, permanent, and interactive configurations and in multiple material types (corrugated cardboard, metal, wood, plastic, wire). Sold to CPG brand owners and retail chains to drive product visibility, shopper engagement, and sales lift at point of sale.
• Instore Vision App Proprietary mobile application that allows customers to track the performance of their product displays in real time, aggregate retail execution data into dashboards, monitor store-level compliance, and measure the sales impact of in-store merchandising programs.
• Design Services Award-winning in-house design team providing creative concepts, structural design, and graphic development for custom retail displays. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as a standalone service or as part of a turnkey display program.
• Engineering Services In-house engineering team developing functional merchandising displays with focus on durability, ease of assembly, and cost-effective solutions. Provided to CPG brands and retailers as part of a turnkey display program.
• Manufacturing and Printing Services Complete in-house manufacturing and printing capabilities across corrugated cardboard, metal, wood, plastic, and wire, with G7 Qualified Master Facility color management and ISTA-certified testing lab. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as part of a turnkey display program.
• Assembly and Co-Packing Services Assembly and co-packing services where products are packaged into display units at fulfillment centers. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as a standalone service or bundled with display production.
• Fulfillment Services Distribution and fulfillment capabilities managing delivery of pre-packed displays and knocked-down components to retail locations nationwide. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as part of a turnkey display program.
• In-Store Execution Services In-store execution services ensuring proper display setup and compliance at retail locations, coordinated with retail partners. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as part of a turnkey display program.
• Project Management Services Expert project management services coordinating all stages from concept through design, manufacturing, and in-store setup, providing customers with a single point of accountability across the entire custom display program.
• Shopper Insights Services Research and insights services using retail audits, Visual Attention Software (VAS), and data collection to inform display design and placement decisions. Sold to CPG brands and retailers as a standalone engagement or bundled with display programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• +25% sales lift monthly for LaMarca Prosecco display at Kroger
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EuroShopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuroShop is the world's largest retail trade fair held every three years in Düsseldorf, Germany. Great Northern Instore sends a team to document emerging innovations, retail design trends, and technology solutions. The company shares insights through webinar series.
• Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Northern has partnered with the Path to Purchase Institute for the fifth consecutive year to explore the latest trends in physical retail shopping. The collaboration explores shopping habits and factors driving in-store visits through annual surveys.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Frank Mayer and Associates: Frank Mayer and Associates is a closely held designer and manufacturer of custom in-store retail displays, branded environments, and kiosks. Directly competes with Great Northern Instore across temporary, permanent, and interactive retail display work for major CPG brands and retailers.
• Menasha Packaging: Menasha Packaging is a large-scale custom retail merchandising and point-of-purchase display producer serving CPG brands and retailers. Overlaps with Great Northern Instore in corrugated and material-agnostic display manufacturing, fulfillment, and co-packing services.
• Pratt Industries (Pratt Retail Displays): Pratt Industries operates a retail-display business that designs and manufactures corrugated point-of-purchase displays for CPG brands and retailers. Highly comparable material set (focused on corrugated) and customer roster to Great Northern Instore.
• Color-Box: Color-Box is a designer and manufacturer of high-graphic corrugated retail displays and packaging. Competes directly with Great Northern Instore's corrugated display offering for similar mid-market and enterprise CPG customers.
• Chicago Display Company: Chicago Display Company is a custom point-of-purchase display manufacturer offering design, prototyping, and production services to CPG brands. Closely overlapping value proposition and target customer base with Great Northern Instore.
• InStore Design Display (IDD): InStore Design Display is a custom retail display and store-fixture manufacturer serving beauty, beverage, and CPG verticals. Comparable custom-display, design-and-build model targeted at similar end customers as Great Northern Instore.
• Display Industries: Display Industries produces custom point-of-purchase and retail merchandising displays for CPG brands. Similar product scope, materials capability, and sales-led GTM motion as Great Northern Instore.

Broad incumbents

• Sonoco Products (Display & Packaging): Sonoco is a diversified global packaging conglomerate whose Display & Packaging division produces retail point-of-purchase displays. Competes with Great Northern Instore for CPG display programs but at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Smurfit Westrock: Smurfit Westrock is the world's largest paper-and-packaging conglomerate with significant display and point-of-purchase production capabilities. Its scale and integrated supply chain make it a broad incumbent against which Great Northern Instore competes for enterprise display contracts.
• Multicolor Corporation / MCC Display: Multicolor Corporation is a large label and packaging solutions provider that has expanded into decorative and retail display services. As a broader incumbent with deeper printing capabilities, it competes for portions of Great Northern Instore's display work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-northern-instore
• Xx.com/gnc_instore
• Facebookfacebook.com/greatnortherninstore

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Northern Instore