A de Azafran To Go Concept Design
Azafran is a 30 year old healthy-casual restaurant chain from Costa Rica founded in 1991. In 2016, the brand had 3 different restaurants located in different parts of San José. Azafran had its long-time loyal costumers, making it a well-know classic among older people. The restaurant’s focus were the lunch menu aimed for executives that worked in nearby offices and their famous coffee time menu.
One of the biggest challenges the restaurant faced was its slow turnaround rates during the rushed lunchtime hours. Its clients during lunch, which were mostly executives, were looking for quicker meals but the design of the kitchens and the dishes offered in the menu made the table turnaround rate slow.
As a solution to this slow turn around challenge, a new to go concept was designed. Instead of the traditional larger dinner styled restaurants, these would be smaller fast casual restaurants- similar to fast food stores with the difference being the menu options and their ingredients would maintain Azafran’s healthy and high quality.
As a secondary branch of the Azafran brand, the concept was named A de Azafran ( A by Azafran ), and maintained the original icon as well as the bright red color the brand had used for the past 30 years.
Following the new name’s wordplay - which in Spanish is used in an A is for Apples kind of way - the slogan “ A de alimentos auténticos” was created ( A is for authentic ingredients ). The simple child’s play language was used in order to emphasize the concept of simple, real ingredients.
A to go menu was designed with a varied selection of bowls, salads, soups, sandwiches and wraps, all made with ingredients that were prepared in Azafran’s main kitchen and delivered on a daily basis to the different restaurants. The options offered in the menu needed only simple assembly or a quick heating in the new professional fast cooking ovens.
All plates were designed to be photographed from an over the top angle (in the case of soups, bowls and salads) or a side angle (sandwiches and wraps) with a white background behind in order to create a fresh but colorful aesthetic that was ingredient-focused. Executive menu combos were designed to be offered with healthy snacks and beverages. The menu layout design was planned to be displayed in the restaurant’s screens, as well as a tablet and phone mobile version so busy customers could place their orders in advance and just pick it up at lunchtime.
The new restaurant’s concept was designed to be placed in busy office centers and commercial areas. Several locations in areas where lunchtime was very busy were determined as potential future restaurant locations. The nature of the quicker table turnaround allowed for fewer tables in smaller, more affordable spaces.
One strategy that was designed alongside the new restaurant concept was a branded discount enamel coffee mug. Customers that bought the A de Azafran eco-friendly coffee mug would be given a regular discount in their coffee every time they purchase it. Because of the nature of the restaurant’s location, the idea was to have employees from nearby offices carry the brand into their office spaces and generate more awareness this way.
