When it comes to articulating a brand promise, MINA Group goes all in, partnering with San Francisco culinary branding and design agency, UNIT partners.
There’s a reason Michael Mina is one of today’s leading celebrity chefs, with destination restaurants in many of America’s top food cities, and it’s not just his culinary skills. A strategic marketing approach and a nuanced understanding of brand development give MINA a competitive edge against any restaurant group that treats branding as an afterthought.
Based in San Francisco, UNIT is a brand strategy and graphic design agency dedicated to hospitality, consumer packaged goods and retail brands. With a professional eye toward building brand loyalty and a personal passion for food-related projects, UNIT was a natural fit to team with MINA Group.
“We don’t just act as art directors for our culinary clients,” says Ann Bowlus, Principal and Creative Director at UNIT. “We become part of the restaurant’s team, helping to shape menus, attending chef’s tastings, mapping the customer experience and contracting professional culinary writers and authors.”
UNIT’s efforts on MINA Group’s behalf extend beyond traditional design assets into way-finding strategies, monuments of convenience, architectural cues and storytelling vehicles.
“Mina Group prides itself on raising the bar for the guest experience. It is important that we consider the entire brand experience so that it is unique, customized and memorable. UNIT partners helps us bring this vision to life.” Says Mollie Allick, Vice President of Marketing
UNIT has partnered on brand work for several Mina Group properties to date: The Ramen Bar in San Francisco, Pabu in San Francisco and Boston, StripSteak in Miami and Honolulu, Locale Market in St. Petersburg, Florida, and The Street in Honolulu.
“Working with MINA Group means finding the soul of each restaurant and anticipating what the guest wants from it,” says Ann. “It requires a heightened level of insight and creative thinking that guides our end product, be it tangible or experiential.”
In today’s market of rapid restaurant expansion and pop-up culinary culture, brand consideration can’t afford to be sidelined.
