Cava rebrands with sunkissed look

Cava has rebranded its look and logo to seize on rising interest in Mediterranean food. The reimagining will be introduced across the Cava Group brand’s restaurants, website and later this fall, its app. Earlier this month, Cava launched three new menu items: sweet + spicy chicken pita, balsamic date chicken bowl and balsamic date vinaigrette. The new look comes as Cava is expanding. The 11-year-old brand expects to open 75 new stores this year, with a total of 250 locations by the end of 2022. Cava is expanding to new markets such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma, and expanded its presence in New York, Texas and Washington, D.C. The brand signed leases on four outposts in Brooklyn and Manhattan, mainly in central business districts where office occupancy remains less than 50%, according to Crain’s New York Business. (Along with its namesake chain, Cava Group also owns Texas-based Mediterranean-inspired eatery Zoës Kitchen.) The updates at Cava coincide with growth in Mediterranean food. When compared to other popular restaurant categories, such as pizza, salad and barbecue, Mediterranean cuisine has the highest consumer demand and the least available options in fast casual dining, according to Cava. In the quick service "other global cuisine" category, where Mediterranean fast casual dining falls, traffic rose 8% between May and August of this year, compared to a 1% decline across all quick service restaurants, according to NPD Group. See all of Ad Age's 2023 Agency A-List winners here Cava’s in-house creative team partnered with artist Igor Bastidas to create the illustrations for its rebrand, which will be incorporated in digital and out-of-home placements. Cava also designed a new logo with U.K.-based type foundry Colophon Foundry. The thin black and orange signature logo is now replaced by a soft yellow and stretched letters with rounded edges. Ads will run on social platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, and out-of-home placements in Washington and New York—Citi Bike share stations, bus shelters, and wildpostings. “We really looked to the Mediterranean sun as our muse,” said Merce Muse, Cava's creative director. “And so for us, if the Mediterranean is the harmony between all the opposing senses and elements, we felt like juxtaposition should be at the heart of our creative philosophy.” Cava also plans to launch its new site this month, adopting its revamped look. A reskin of the Cava app is set for later this fall, according to Anna Faktorovich, senior VP of brand and marketing. The rebrand rollout will continue in 2023 as Cava unveils new store prototypes and new packaging for its line of grocery products. “This new digital experience is really aiming to deliver a much more modernized eating experience,” said Faktorovich. Cava's plans include more robust merchandising strategies and leaning into order conversion capabilities, she added. Advertising Week 2022 Updates and analysis from the annual event Read more here

Cava rebrands with sunkissed look

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