Wagamama
How do you create a growth strategy that delivers double digit growth year after year after year?
Services: Consumer Insight | Quantitative Research | Qualitative Research | Growth Strategy | Global Expansion Strategy | Brand Strategy | Brand Positioning | Proposition Development | Brand Identity | Restaurant Design
Helping Wagamama, the UK’s iconic restaurant brand, rediscover its positivity
Challenge
Private equity backed Wagamama asked us to help them go back to first principles, re-energise a business that had enjoyed two decades of growth in the UK, and kickstart the business for growth in the US.
Wagamama had an enviable track record, but the business was concerned that it was losing ground to a wide variety of new rivals and needed to up its game to stay ahead.
The board felt they lacked clarity around broader category context and a purpose for the brand that could drive the ideal experience for aggressive expansion both nationally and internationally.
Clarity
We went back to the beginning for Wagamama, and worked with them to build a foundational, structured understanding of the UK and USA dining-out markets: where the money is, who to target, what they need, who Wagamama really competes with, and how to win.
A clear, commercially driven target audience were the cornerstone of an immersive insight and creative process that helped us understand the macro growth opportunities for Wagamama, and exactly how to unlock them through the brand experience.
The resulting growth strategy created the foundations for the brand to prosper in a highly volatile category.
From bowl to soul: crafting a world class brand experience
Solution
We collaborated closely with customers and Wagamama teams to craft an experience that would deliver this growth.
Everything was centred on a sharp and inspiring brand purpose, that takes Wagamama back to its founding values.
Alongside this, we built a clear strategy for scale growth in the USA.
Impact
A revitalised Wagamama brand, with experience pilots and refurbishments driving double digit growth.
Four years of unbroken commercial success – trading ahead of the market for 251 consecutive weeks and counting… (as of Q2 2019).
Winners at 2018 UK Casual Dining Awards of ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’, ‘Menu Innovation’ and ‘Large Multi-Site Restaurant Brand of the Year’, the latter for the third year running.