results | outcomes
Quinton’s approach to catering came at a time that the world was meant to stay at home. He met the needs of people and families getting not just tired of cooking but making the same things in rotation. Growing in popularity because not only did he design flavorful homemade foods, but they were also delivered to your door, all over Houston. Dinner(s) that were guaranteed to be delicious, dropped off hot and ready to eat, but also fiercely local to his community. He struck at the right time, but this caused a bottleneck of a bootstrap business. His ability to keep up while trying to meet wherever anyone was messaging him from (social, phone, text and email) meant missed connections, internal issues with upkeep, and the inability to really scale.
Looking for visual inspiration meant that, holy shit, there was a lot to avoid in the food industry to make it unique. With a specialty in fusion foods, it became clear that tools were most important. Through ideations and sketching grew the Cast iron and knife to form ‘Q’ focusing on Quinton being at the heart of the business. We designed a brand that felt approachable with a serious tone of business that leaves the ‘mom and pop’ feel behind. Orange being the psychological color representing “hunger for life” felt appropriate while making a play on fire/heat as natural tools in the kitchen. The audible alliteration in the name, Catered by Q, meant that the ‘Q’ itself was a must to incorporate.
With referrals being what has made Quinton popular, his kind nature and love of fusion foods was something we didn’t want to stray from. The streamlining of order system, while non-traditional, meant that Quinton was able to be friendly with his referral customer base while stepping into the Owner role of his catering business.
Able to set expectations and focus more on the food and less on the process. --- with direction on color grading, ideation on photography style, long term goals, brand design, creating familiarity across social platforms, Quinton has continued to grow in popularity and receive multiple high reviews since our work together.
I cared a lot about this person, who already had a commitment to craft, but also struck at the right time to make a way for himself. I felt honored that he believed in the investment in me based on a referral and not only delivered a brand but went into the technical set-up in a bootstrap way.
We found a software, Forms, that would allow him to take orders through a link he could post everywhere, that then landed in one place for him, save his payment methods to share with customers; and just made it easier. Not able to afford a CRM, or Internal Ordering system meant that we had to get crafty, and my technical background served him greatly here. I just wanted him to win.
the real shit
+ Brand Identity; Typography, Hand-drawn logo, a
brand pattern, icon development
+ Strategic Growth plan
+ Physical + Digital Collateral
+ Technical ordering system with cost consciousness, Build out and Training Support
While quickly jumping to brand recognition may have seemed like the logical first step, we understood that a better client experience and work-flow for Quinton in managing his business daily; were the pain points that a logo couldn’t solve.
We dug into the ordering process and research of better platforms and customer journey to isolate overuse of multiple streams of information. Eliminating the frustrations of trying to keep up how to contact Catered by Q we found a central system that streamlined the ordering process, allowing Q to focus more on the food, and less on the upkeep.
He has continued to grow exponentially while having a recognizable brand across the Houston area, garnering not just popularity but growth in size of parties and events.
Outcomes | Deliverables
As a word-of-mouth business, Catered by Q was quickly outgrowing the "mom and pop" referral game, with order taking on different platforms to lacking a growth strategy. For his popular catering business, and a desire to grow recognition in the industry, we strategized a plan that was built on sustainability over time.
Challenge
Streamlining a Caterer into a Force of Fusion Foods Catered by Q
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