Market context

Scope: Research & insight > category creation > positioning, strategy & TOV > brand system and guidelines > website. 
Sector: Restaurant Ops / Tech

The restaurant sector was hit hard by restrictions caused by the pandemic. Restaurants that could pivot quickly to a takeaway and/or a delivery model driven by tech survived. Today technology has become critical to future-proof the restaurant sector – helping restaurateurs to thrive, not just survive.

Tenzo is a powerful analytics and sales forecasting platform for restaurants, bars and cafes. It integrates within the POS, staff resourcing and inventory systems, allowing users to view all their data in one place. Data is updated in real-time, which means efficient business decisions can be made quickly.

Tenzo operates in a highly competitive market, its advantage is that it has been designed by restaurateurs for restaurateurs using a simple and intuitive interface which requires no training.

Challenge

Founded in 2016, by restaurant-obsessed foodies who are passionate about shifting restaurants from surviving to thriving, Tenzo can supercharge restaurant performance. It just needed help communicating that message to its audiences. In a strategic move, Structure changed the focus from 'what' Tenzo does to 'how' it improves restaurant performance – helping businesses to thrive.

The challenge was to:

• Define and create a new product category. 
• Define Tenzo’s differentiation. 

• Drive new audience appeal.
• Define a purpose, mission, and vision for the brand.
• Create market standout by designing a new brand and visual identity. 
• Design and develop a new website.

Restaurant PerformanceOps

Structure defined a new category for Tenzo, derived from the audience it serves (restaurateurs), the impact Tenzo makes (performance), and the channels & stakeholders it is connecting & informing (Ops).

Performance, Powered by Tenzo

The platform gathers data from different sources in real time, helping business owners to make better decisions faster to help improve performance. The proposition is leveraged from a simple truth – Tenzo powers restaurant performance. 

Where Restaurants Thrive

This simple tagline communicates the proposition and positioning in a clear external expression. 

The creative expression is about making the complex simple, taking the brand to the next level in its business lifecycle by providing a brand framework to aid decision-making. The new visual identity had to work across multiple platforms and applications.

The logo is a clean representation of the brand. Structure devised a fluid ‘T’ shape that easily translates as a symbol across different digital applications.

This new category was brought to life with a vibrant orange colour palette that stands out in a sea of generic blues across the industry.

The Sprites: we created a playful visual language with a set of brand ambassadors, the Tenzo Sprites.

The Sprites embody 'performance'. Designed from plump (Tenzo) letters–these little guys tell the business story in a fun way.

They comprise component parts (facial expressions, body parts and props), which allow the creation of many illustrations, fit for any communication. Importantly, they are functional because they communicate Tenzo’s business activities.

Website: while many of its competitors focus on the technical function of their platforms, with copy-heavy pages and an unsophisticated creative style. The digital transformation for Tenzo’s new website takes a more refined approach, with clean lines, uncluttered navigation, and clear CTAs. 

The new website is customer-focused and includes downloadable content for restaurateurs with actionable business insights. 

Structure used case studies as business proof points with real-life stories discussing how Tenzo problem-solved customer challenges.

Key design and development deliverables:

• Clear call to action on the website.
• Simple navigation with helpful directional iconography.
• Clear audience designation.
• Clear messaging hierarchy.
• Getting the right benefit-led messaging to the right audience.

 “We went to Design by Structure with very little internal knowledge of how to successfully create a new category and rebrand.

It was immediately clear that they brought a high level of expertise and guided us through the project from the very early stages to delivering the final product. The team truly understood what Tenzo stands for and was able to bring that to life in the new brand. We couldn’t be happier with the final result. ”

Lizzie Norton, Senior Marketing Manager, Tenzo.

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