Uncovering Opportunity
In 2015, the award-winning culinary powerhouse, Sticky Walnut in Chester, decided to open a second bistro. However, after failing to secure support from the banks, TV Rebel Chef, Gary Usher, launched a Kickstarter.
By 2016, he’d opened a third restaurant thanks to Kickstarter. We partnered with Elite Bistros in 2016 for their fourth restaurant, Wreckfish, crowdfunding campaign. To incentivise backers, we produced bespoke glass coasters to those who pledged £15 or more.
Following the phenomenal success of yet another crowdfunding campaign, we joined forces to design and deliver websites for each of the bistros and define and establish Elite Bistros’ online branding.
To unify the branding and provide a consistent user experience across all bistro websites, we developed and published clean, modern website designs that deliberately mimicked each of the Elite family’s bistros’ personalities. Each website also directly links to its sister sites, promoting the group as a whole.
We also developed a parent website for Elite Bistros, showcasing each of their openings’ unique stories. The parent site serves as the digital hub of all Elite news, allowing exciting developments in the brand story to be featured in one place.
Print Marketing
Crowdfunding is a huge part of Elite Bistros’ story. Not only was Wreckfish a crowdfunding success, but Elite Bistros went on to crowdfund two more restaurants: Pinion in Prescot and Kala in Manchester. Gary Usher proved himself a crowdfunding powerhouse, breaking kickstarting and World records by raising £100,000 in 11 hours to help open Kala and £150,000 in around 23 hours for Pinion.
Because these restaurants were funded by the community, we wanted to help Elite Bistros commemorate the people who made it all possible. We worked with the brand to design and produce unique pledge walls for each of the restaurants featuring the names of all those who pledged money on Kickstarter. Not only that, but we also developed a bespoke digital pledge wall for Pinion, so backers could find their name on the wall.
Because Pegasus was established as a brand, we worked incredibly closely with their marketing team to ensure all marketing and new branding aligned with their company’s values and mission. We also helped the company grow its online presence and share its message through social media optimisation, particularly on Facebook and LinkedIn.
The hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit in the UK due to COVID pandemic. With their doors closed unexpectedly for long stretches of time, we needed to keep the bistros going and doing what they love.
That’s when ‘Elite Bistros at Home’ was born, a nationwide delivery service which brings the Elite Bistro experience to people’s homes. The pre-prepared food comes with print and video instructions on how to finish the dish at home. Even after restaurants opened in the UK, Elite Bistros continued their at home service which includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve boxes.
