From our brand positioning work with Wagamama, we knew that diners perceived the restaurants as places to socialize, recharge, and feel reinvigorated. Wagamama wanted its menu to better communicate these brand values while still portraying the dishes as fresh, healthy, and nutritious.
We wanted to build a set of unifying menu design principles that Wagamama could use to guide subsequent menu launches. We did that through a three-step methodology:
on the psychology of menu design and menu engineering.
to uncover trends in design and areas of untapped opportunity within the restaurant industry for Wagamama.
with 12 diners at Wagamama to discuss its menu in-situ, followed by a co-creation exercise.
The specific strategic recommendations outlined in the playbook were used to lead the redesign of Wagamama’s menu, including adding a welcome statement and freeing up more white space. These recommendations laddered up to a set of core, evergreen menu design principles to support all future designs.