Shredwich
Be Hot. Be Fresh. Be Creative.
Background and Challenge
The Shredwich team’s new restaurant concept was a delicious mouthful… a contemporary, socially responsible, sustainable, fast-casual restaurant… serving hot, hand-shredded, all natural meats and poultry oven-roasted in-house… “created to order” with fresh organic toppings… served in baked ciabatta sandwiches, rice bowls or salad bowls and gluten free flatbreads.
Hmmm, okay. Three words to describe Shredwich: 1. hot (no microwaves). 2. fresh (no freezers) and 3. creative (create your own, you‘re in control).
Strategic Brand Analysis
While the Shredwich management focused on the menus, operations, locations and architectural concepts, CrossRoads focused our energy on a strategic brand assessment. To gain industry trend perspectives, CrossRoads reviewed competitive brands including: Chipotle, ModMarket, Smashburger, Starbucks, Honeygrow and Chopt.
Three brand elements became clearly apparent:
1. The customer is #1. Shredwich must explain its concept and menu quickly, clearly and simply.
2. Many competitors have transitioned, or are in the process of transitioning, their brands into strong, stand-alone icons. A few examples: the Starbucks circle/mermaid, Chili’s pepper and the McDonald’s “M”.
3. A strong, descriptive tagline, or essence statement, will help separate and define Shredwich.
Creative Development
With approval of the strategic brand recommendations, CrossRoads worked with the Shredwich team, including the architects, to create a brand solution built on three core elements:
- A strong overall logo
- A strong icon which can eventually stand alone
- A simple, descriptive essence statement
Our Bold, Spicy, Informative Essence Statement
Part of CrossRoads’ mission was to develop easy-to-follow electronic menu boards to guide the customer through the “create your own” process.
30″ x 40″ Easy-to-Follow Menu Boards – Quick, Clear and Simple
Create Your Own
A major aspect of the Shredwich concept was personalization. However, we were aware that a segment of new customers (primarily male) might be stressed-out with the “create your own” process. To assist, CrossRoads recommended fun, wallet-size “newbie” suggestion cards be provided in the waiting line. The cards would aid customers in finding just their right combo. The look and feel of the cards were developed as part of the overall menu board system.
Fun 2″ x 3.5″ Newbie Menu Suggestion Cards
Shredwich Team Uniforms
…CrossRoads was really able to help us make sure we had a strong identity that would stand-up against any national chain. They took something I thought was already good and made it great.
Steve Hettinger, Team Leader, Shredwich
Brand Signage for the Flagship Store
