Case Studies

Genji Sushi

THE CHALLENGE

Genji Sushi Express (Genji) is a leading supplier of all-natural, high quality sushi, as well as Japanese-infused Asian cuisine for catering and wholesale. Established in 1997, Genji has expanded well beyond its initial market in Philadelphia and is presently represented in Whole Foods Markets in 15 states and the District of Columbia. They recently celebrated their 81st collaboration with Whole Foods Market in the Bowery on the lower eastside of Manhattan.

Genji Sushi sought a comprehensive re-branding and identity makeover to better reflect the company’s current image and establish consistent branding rules. Having relocated to New York from Philadelphia, Genji hoped to capture the spirit and energy of the city, while maintaining their commitment to the health and well being of their customers. Additionally, Genji wished to apply its new identity on all its subdivisions, including food packaging labels and uniforms in their new retail store in order to implement and maintain a strong brand image.

How We Did It

After a number of meetings with well-known design firms throughout New York City, Genji’s executives realized that our personalized service and attention to detail was superior to how other firms delegate most of their tasks to faceless subordinates.

After finalizing the creative brief, it became apparent that Genji’s and its five business divisions each required their own logos for brand fidelity. This meant the creation of five distinct “child” logos that referenced back to the “parent” logo, a design challenge we overcame by attaching the corporate logo throughout, but with individualized colors and fonts for each division.

The retail store required an even more ambitious design strategy, a strategy that went beyond the mere creation of labels and copy. In fact, everything in the store’s interior had to be designed, from the menus to the tray liners and even the chopsticks’ packaging. We even incorporated a viral marketing campaign to tease local residents about the store’s impending grand opening with smart, concise copy on the broad store-front with references to fresh food and the Asian locales from which they hail.

RESULTS

The designs resulted in a strong brand identity and continue to be used on all Genji food products and food packaging. The executives were so pleased with our work that they asked us to re-brand parent company Peace Dining, a project which allowed us to continue our work with food distributors while proving the flexibility of our work with a client based overseas in Tokyo.

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