Wasabi Group – Establishing the Parent Brand

26 Projects was approached by the owners of Wasabi Group summer of 2020 looking to bring cohesion to their Winnipeg-based restaurant group and to help further articulate the story of each of their existing restaurant concepts under this parent company. Although their restaurants – Wasabi Broadway, Wasabi Sabi, Chosabi, and Cho Ichi Ramen – are all well-known and loved by Winnipegers and travelers to the city, Wasabi Group was not formally understood by the public as the overarching family brand. Our task was to build comprehensive brand awareness for all restaurants and the restaurant group through a bold and completely refreshed online presence that appeals to a wide-ranging demographic.

Photos by Pauline Boldt.

The Wasabi Group logo expresses a balance of modernity and tradition, as this is a consistent theme among the restaurant family in their approach to food and environment. Font selections for the word mark are both elegant and grounded, while the hand-painted red strokes express a sense of movement, and further abstract the brand’s initials, W and G. Art direction for photography captured both the elevated experience and unique offerings at the Wasabi locations, while showcasing the urban casualness of the Chosabi and Cho Ichi Ramen locations.

The studio prioritized building a robust and visually engaging online web presence for Wasabi, Chosabi, and Cho Ichi Ramen with the integration of online ordering and e-commerce functionality. We researched and sourced a third-party app for the restaurant group to use and found Ambassador — a platform from Toronto that does not charge unsustainable fees commission.

We began to populate all restaurant social media channels using the new photography and art direction we established. Because of the visual nature of their businesses, we focused our efforts on Instagram and Facebook as the primary platforms to reach and grow their audiences.