An Asian spin on comfort food, with regional delights that warm the soul

Disciplines

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Visual Brand Identity

Client

Brief

Create a new dining concept that combines Japanese cuisine with nasi padang, located in Central Singapore.

Objectives

Widen current customer base with unique product offering, with future plans for further expansion in opening secondary locations across Singapore.

Deliverables

Crafted brand strategy from ground up with owners using Blue Ocean Strategy framework, and translated these insights into a visual brand expression.

Brand Strategy

Kira-Kira is the latest dining concept by the Yoi Group, combining local South East Asian cuisine with Japanese fare. After partnering with veteran nasi padang hawker heroes, the owners wanted to combine their specialty of high-end Japanese dining with this local favourite.

Collaborating closely with the owners, I crafted the brand strategy for this project using the Blue Ocean framework to expand Yoi Group's market share and tap into an uncontested pool of diners. We worked to define all aspects of the brand; from the naming, to defining customer personas, to pricing strategy. From here, I translated this strategy into a fitting and relevant visual identity.

Hawker centres, though affordable and familiar, lack the premium ambiance of their full-service counterparts.

Identifying

Non-Customers

Current Market

Based on Yoi Group's existing portfolio of dining concepts, their share of the market is made up of loyal customers who have been patrons for years and are Japanese cuisine enthusiasts, and location-driven wandering / needs-based customers.

Tier 1: Soon To Be

Non-customers who are used to enjoying nasi padang in a hawker setting, and/or diners looking for Halal Japanese cuisine or new Halal options.

Tier 2: Refusing

Non-customers who do not want to pay for the premium price of full-service restaurants within Robertson Quay, and want to enjoy high-quality food at an affordable price point.

Tier 3: Unexplored

Non-customers who would not normally seek out local food like nasi padang, or non-customers who would not normally associate Asian cuisine with comfort food.

Kira-Kira puts a new Asian spin on comfort food, with rice-based dishes accompanied by regional delights that warm the soul.

Shaping the
Value Proposition

Product Offering & Pricing

Limited service, with an average of $12 - $15 per pax, with generous portion size. Limited food menu with 6 main specials per cuisine category to provide boutique, house-specialty feel. Beautifully decorated and comfortable interior for Bali cafe-esque atmosphere with ratan and tropical plants.

Naming Strategy

The name Kira-Kira phonetically bridges Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu and Japanese, is unique, easy to pronounce, spell and remember.

Consumer profiles were formed based on identified non-customers and the new value proposition.

The Local Yuppie: Young Singaporean professionals, aged 20 - 34, looking for a good meal in an Instagram-worthy atmosphere, have private transportation
The Tai-Tai: Women, aged 40+, with higher disposable income, who enjoy local fare but want a more polished setting for their afternoon tea
The Expat Family: Expat families living in the area (within walking distance), who want to enjoy local food in an accessible manner

Visual Brand Identity

Having formed clear consumer profiles, the visual brand identity was formulated to establish an emotional connection with the key audience. The inspiration for the visual idenity comes from colonial tropical resorts and vintage "warung" typography while maintaining a relatively neutral cultural tone. This is paired with a warm, rich and nostalgic colour palette.