Black-and-white photo collage of food and people: a burger, salt and pepper shakers, takeout containers, chopsticks, a noodle bowl, a chef, fried chicken, and smiling diners

For Food People, By Food People

ChowNow saw a huge surge during the pandemic. As restaurants rushed to stay afloat, digital ordering became essential, and the company grew quickly alongside that shift.

But as the world opened back up, the category changed. What had once felt like a clear space became crowded. More platforms. More similar offerings. More noise.

And ChowNow, despite being fundamentally different, started to look like everyone else.

focus:

Positioning
Category differentiation
Brand refresh

collaborators:

Gretel - branding and strategy

impact:

featured in:

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Laptop on a city sidewalk showing the ChowNow site, 'Keep independent restaurants cooking,' over a photo of cooks in a kitchen
Phone on a pink surface showing the ChowNow app message about no hidden fees and supporting local food people
City transit bus wrapped with a ChowNow ad reading 'More fair fare'
ChowNow brand mood board with food photography, icons, and receipt-style type
brand positioning

our differentiator: being good

Our challenge was to highlight the thing that makes the company truly unique among the competition: ethics. While other services were charging high premiums and fees on every order, resulting in a net loss to restaurants, ChowNow stood out by charging a monthly subscription that doesn’t harm the restaurant’s bottom line.

So, who are food people? They’re passionate about local traditions, opinionated about the best burger in town, curious about ingredients and how a dish comes together. They’re cooks and eaters who inhabit small town diners and explore East LA hot spots; order pizza in Minneapolis and bring their kids to farmers markets to learn about good food. To them, and to ChowNow who was built by food people, good food matters because a good meal goes beyond the flavors on the plate.

Animated sequence of ChowNow app screens on three phones

awards:

awards:

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Design

Our inspo: takeout menus and receipts

During our research phase we got to speak with many of ChowNow’s customers to understand the competitive landscape and what drew them to the service. One of the things that stood out to us is that most of these customers were mom-and-pop shops that needed help ‘going online’.

That inspired us to look at the colors and shapes that surround their restaurants and kitchens. We were drawn to their meal tickets and receipts in particular, and how design is informed through black and white type and ASCII symbols.

ChowNow takeout receipt and menu on kraft paper with a green ChowNow sticker
ChowNow campaign stickers reading 'More fair fare' and 'Order up'
White ChowNow t-shirt reading 'How you order matters'
Three ChowNow app screens in cream, pink, and green
Black ChowNow receipt-style menu strips with a QR code and 'How you order matters'
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MESSAGING & tone

The True Partner

In a world that too often obscures the real message, ChowNow’s tone of voice aims to be a refreshing breath of fresh, clear air. Straightforward but friendly, plain-spoken but empathetic, ChowNow is able to deliver what matters in ways that help everyone understand and act – diners and restaurants alike.

Our objective is to deliver important, value-driven messaging to the audiences that need to hear it – in ways they’ll want to hear it. That means being more optimistic and engaging with diners; clear and assured with restaurants.

ChowNow 'As natural as' ad featuring a glass of milk
ChowNow black-and-white bar graphic comparing service fees
ChowNow mobile message cards reading 'We're here for food people' and 'Keep independent kitchens cooking'
ChowNow marketing cards reading 'Grow your guest list' and 'More fair fare' in green and yellow
ChowNow kraft takeout box stamped with 'Thank you'
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