Restaurant Brand Goes Retail

SITUATION
The restaurant business is tough. Even quality, popular, long-established eateries have to fight every day to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. Smart restaurateurs guard against the inconsistency and sometimes fickle nature of the business by diversifying their sources of revenue. A client of ours had a beloved family recipe marinara and was considering using that product to enter into the retail word to supplement its regular restaurant business and to leverage the awareness and popularity of its brand locally.

PROBLEM
They understood the restaurant business well but needed guidance on how to launch a successful retail brand. Pasta sauce, in particular, can be a difficult market to enter. With a lot of competition and national players with very low prices driven by volume, standing out on the shelf and justifying a higher price point would be critical.

SOLUTION
We recommended a co-packer who could produce the product to their quality standards. We evolved their branding to better resonate with the retail consumer (and subsequently updated their restaurant identity to align) and designed a label for their glass jar that stood out from the competition on the shelf, while highlighting their unique story, heritage, and family tradition. We coordinated label printing with a local printer and attended the press check to ensure artwork was reproduced as intended. We worked with a local photographer to obtain high-res product photography, managing every aspect of the shoot. We updated the client’s website with the new product, launching a new ecommerce store, and equipped the company with selling tools such as sell sheets, new business cards, table tents, check inserts, and gift cards.

BENEFITS
The new retail brand has been well received locally, gaining attention and accolades from local media and customers. The launch boosted awareness of the brand, sales at the restaurant, and by way of a few large retailers who quickly picked up the brand, retail sales, as well. The success of this endeavor has led the company to consider launching additional popular, high-demand products from the restaurant, and because we considered how the design would apply to future SKUs, we’re prepared to do so efficiently and with brand consistency.

For more information, contact Josh Schipkowski at 314-325-2502 or [email protected] .