Brands
The role of a brand owner is to fill the brand with meaning and positive associations that either connect to the market more significantly or less significantly than the competitions. Some very few brands have done this so effectively and one of such is a
Leila min Lebnen: A winning formula
GENUINELY LEBANESE
‘Leila Min Lebnen’ is a Lebanese restaurant chain and MENA region franchise founded in 2006 by Joe Abrass, Joe Njeim and Dory Daccache.
Led by a strategy that delves into what today’s young consumers desire from a culinary experience in a typical Lebanese restaurant, they conceived a brand - in tune but off beat - that feels more like eating Lebanese food cooked home in a modern setting.
Originally, Leila Min Lebnen was furnished and decorated to resemble an authentic Lebanese house with a warm and welcoming ambiance you never would want to leave.
A distinctive brand identity was created that showcases the restaurant’s real personality and heritage while upholding international standards of cuisine.
The unique selling point though is the fact that all ingredients are brought fresh from the Lebanese mountains on a regular basis directly into Leila’s outlets making Leila Min Lebnen an oasis of freshness inside the city.
For most brands, much of their strength and equity comes from their genuine approach to their home market and from delving into the local culture.
The customer appeal Leila enjoys is very clear for it possesses a madein-lebanon ethos - meaning the brand prioritizes domestic sourcing, supporting the local and national economy.
Being able to retain the local attributes that consumers value – whether that’s the strong association with the country or their active involvement in the local market, surely contributes to reinforce their position in the minds of consumers and create a far stronger emotional connection with them.
INNOVATION THROUGH DESIGN
Since Leila’s first restaurant opened, Leila’s visual identity has been evolving to reflect and stay true to the evolution and expansion of the business. In 2016, the look of Leila restaurant and its branding got tweaked to capture the real essence of the brand and fit the modern image of an alternative Lebanese restaurant.
Taking a locally-enthusiastic storytelling approach with a hint of pop art flavor, leila’s tone of voice guides and entertains clients through its communication. Indeed, the new identity devised by Leila is based around locally inspired artsy-styled communication and expressions of creativity, echoing the brand essence through rhythms, puns and vernacular wordplay.
The new image came to life through a unique fresh and modern approach embodied in the whole brand identity, from the interior decoration to one of the punchlines used in advertising that says it all: “Your day is rosy with Leila.”
The emotions we feel, moods we embrace, atmosphere we savour, and environments in which we evolve play a large role in making a brand become a great brand. And ‘Leila min Lebnen’ has clearly understood that and capitalized on each element.
MEETING GLOBAL TASTE
‘Leila Min Lebnen’ has 18 locations across Lebanon and the MENA region
recruiting more than a 1000 employees.
We tend to think that brands that start expanding and are distributed across multiple countries tend to have weaker overall relationships with consumers than brands that stick close to home and operate minimal outlets.
“Growing into an extensive chain of restaurants did not change the essence of who we are, a family of restaurants with enduring quality. These are exciting times for us! We are making substantial investments in our future, from operating systems to recipes, from restaurant designs to ambitious plans for expansion… Our growth on the local, as well as on the regional scale, has been well planned and well driven, and we set our sails to continue along this path”, explained Leila’s management.
Meanwhile, Leila intends to keep offering another slice of the good life in Lebanon. G.A.