Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar has unveiled a new look on the Gold Coast this week, marking the first brand refresh in the franchise’s 17-year history.
The latest matte black and brass design furthers Crust’s efforts to capture a new market segment, with the brand redefining its offering to appeal to dine-in consumers in addition to boosting take-away sales.
Sam El Debel, owner of Crust franchises in Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Coolangatta is behind the latest Nerang opening and said he believed the new look would inject more personality into the brand.
“We want our customers to feel like they are stepping into their own modern local pizzeria and the new look brand will help us do that. Part of it is also encouraging our store managers to run the new look stores with pride, like they are serving food to their own extended family in their own upmarket restaurants,” El Debel said.
“What I say to all my staff is take the time to have conversations with customers, try to ask questions and understand what they really want, the golden rule for me is building customer loyalty and if you make the effort for them personally, they’ll come back.”
The brand refresh comes at an interesting time for Crust, who operate under the Retail Food Group banner, with Inside Franchise Business reporting on Thursday the Fair Work Ombudsman was taking a Crust franchisee to court over underpayment breaches.
Retail Food Group purchased the franchise brand from founder Costa Anastasiadis in 2013 for $41m, with Crust serving as the shining light in an otherwise tough year for group, which reported a $306.7m loss in September.
Moving forward, the renewed focus on local community and latest brand refresh marks a significant step in humanising the business, which Renee North, general manager of Crust believes is pivotal to future-proofing the franchise brand.
“This brand refresh is projecting an image that is fully differentiated within the traditional QSR space and that’s really exciting for our customers,” North said.
“We’ve been working with franchise owners like Sam to create a brand which reflects our premium restaurant inspired menu. It’s also about future-proofing the brand image so it’s appealing, contemporary and relevant not just for today’s customers but into the future.”