Case Study
Background
The new owners of New Garden Bagel Co. first approached us to improve and enhance their brand, identity, and online presence. New Garden Bagel Co. is a longtime Greensboro community food icon, bringing daily, fresh boiled and baked NY-style bagels to the South.
We know that people love their morning traditions! And bagels are no exception. New Garden Bagel Co. regulars are already waiting outside before the doors open to pick up the over-the-top, delicious bagels for their office or medical team, so everybody’s day begins with the pure yumminess of their traditional breakfast staple.
Challenges
It’s important for the new owners to remain connected to the business’s loyal customers and draw in new bagel fans as well, both locals and those passing through. That means they needed to be found online — and at the top of search engine results.
The owners felt it equally important to pay homage to the company’s long-earned, local heritage while reassuring patrons that nothing would change about what makes their favorite bagel stop — and bagels — so special: the recipes and processes are all still exactly the same today as they’ve been for decades before!
Ultimately, a business is the sum of the people who work there, the image they project, and the customers they attract. And what better place to come together than over a bagel and coffee? After all, all you need is love… and a bagel!
Strategy
Logo and signage were initially top of mind; other larger projects would come later. With every step, every decision, every word we chose, we wanted to convey and achieve the following seven objectives:
- Reassure longtime customers that the quality and spirit of the bagel shop will remain consistent.
- Address potential concerns about changes (or no changes) in recipes, preparation methods, and overall experience.
- Communicate the new ownership’s commitment to the shop’s established reputation.
- Tell the shop owners’ own personal story and showcase them as dedicated members of the same community.
- Build trust and transparency with patrons, both new and established, while preserving the shop’s beloved historical character.
- Balance tradition with a fresh, updated look and feel that pays homage to both the existing brand and customer base with a refreshed visual identity.
- Differentiate New Garden Bagel Co. in a competitive market where people are loyal to their local food brands, morning food staples, and daily/weekly traditions.
Execution
So, we took a close look at the existing logo (three all-black bagels sitting atop tall stems with a few blades of grass at the bottom), which does create a tie-in to their location and namesake, New Garden Road. We felt the design needed an update and a fresh pop of color. So, we created a refreshed version of the bagel logo, incorporating four bagels growing in a garden (instead of three) to represent the new husband-and-wife team and their two children.
The bagels became black and white with bagel details, such as a swirl and seasonings, along with two small leaves on each bagel stem pointing upward to depict a garden of happy bagels. The icing on this bagel cake was the pop of teal blue, which the client landed on as their color of preference — and works beautifully to pull the whole brand together. This initial logo project was paired with a new and refreshed business card design, incorporating their new logo and telling their story just a bit more.
Their website became the next and larger project at hand. Initially a more templated website with general messaging, we felt it was time to step up the brand in a more comprehensive way. So, we crafted a plan to tell both the company’s and owners’ stories with a personal, light, friendly, and decidedly Southern tone, while differentiating them in the local marketplace and setting them up for better online discovery opportunities. We embarked on strategic efforts to nail down the right high- to medium-volume search keywords and phrases; a modern design with a comfortable, scrapbook-like feel; and brand messaging that drove home the idea of a Northern Staple Served Up with Southern Love.
Results
The client received a custom-designed, branded website that stands head and shoulders above their local competition, hands down, with both spot-on content and messaging, plus beautifully photographed bagels and bagel sandwiches that met the needs of every site visitor with craving-satisfying bagel and catering options — complete with a bagel promise!
Six months post launch, New Garden Bagel Co. is experiencing exponential growth — a whopping $20K over the same quarter the previous year. “We get a ton of business from the catering page on our website!” said co-owner Erica Hill. “And we credit a large percentage of the increased business directly to the website.”
Overall, New Garden Bagel Co.’s increased sales and continued success can be attributed to a combination of elevated branding, strategic search engine optimization (SEO), enhanced online visibility, a much-improved website and logo design, and crafted brand storytelling — all while remaining true to their roots and just as loyal to their customers as their customers are to their brand. It’s the perfect recipe, wouldn’t you say?
To New Garden Bagel Co., we say, “Bagel on!”
So, what do you think? Shall we bagel?