wagamama Redefines What Food Means in Modern Life
‘Food is Life’ states a brand new campaign from wagamama, the iconic British restaurant chain that takes inspiration from the flavours of Asia. It also marks a transformative moment for the brand – founded in 1992 – with bold, expansive messaging communicating, in the brand’s own words, a passionate belief that food is more than fuel – it’s connection, comfort, creativity, and culture.
“While wagamama has been performing ahead of the category, we know the brand needs to evolve to stay relevant with our consumers and top of mind when they’re thinking of dining. We needed to showcase how wagamama can be there for a variety of real life moments, whether that’s catching up with friends or celebrating post match,” says wagamama’s chief marketing and commercial officer, Emma Colquhoun.
At the heart of the ‘Food is Life’ campaign is a celebration of food’s emotional power and cultural importance, reflecting wagamama’s intention to lead with originality and integrity across new menus and the brand’s presence. An extension of this is the ‘wagamama when’ platform, launched in tandem, signaling wagamama’s renewed commitment to great food anytime and on any occasion, devised by BREAKS creative agency and Goodstuff media company.
Based on an insight that food is so much more than fuel in today’s culture, it marks “real-life moments where our food becomes the great connector,” Emma adds. “The wagamama experience allows our guests to come as they are, eat how they want, and leave feeling nourished. This ‘wagamama when’ campaign starts to open this world out for us as a brand.”
wagamama is also ‘doubling down on difference’with the new repositioning by “reminding the world that food isn’t just fuel,” explains Emma, adding, “it’s something you feel. Something that can change your day, and even your life and it can be enjoyed anytime, any occasion. Our new campaign ‘wagamama when’ shows how they are there all those moments, little and big, and give our guests a place to connect over our food.”
Even food is not immune to trend cycles and wagamama had to consider evolving consumer tastes and attitudes when creating the new campaign. For the new menu, health and customisation were the two macro trends looming large. “While wagamama has an amazing offering, we’re really known for our hearty comforting classics like katsu or ramen. These dishes are our staples but we’re working on expanding our lighter options, for mid week lunches or if you’re just wanting something that feels a bit lighter. Balancing our menu especially ahead of summer months was really important to us,” Emma explains.
New summer menu options include pho noodle soups served with konjac noodles – a popular high-fibre, low-calorie alternative. In response to increasing demand for choice and dishes that can be personalised, wagamama also introduced a build-your-own donburi concept with an option of a cauliflower ‘rice’ as a fresh base. The addition of fresh summer salads and non-alcoholic drinks further reflects consumer appetites for health-conscious options while a new dessert, miso caramel banana bread, capitalises on the continued popularity of flavours fusing salty and sweet.
“The summer menu really highlights healthy light options but also customisation and personalisation of dishes. We’re extremely proud that we’re flexible with dishes and customisation in general but we wanted to put the choice in our customers hands,” says Emma.
As a very loved brand, wagamama means different things to different people, so walking the line between innovation and keeping the loyalists happy was key for wagamama. “The core concept of this repositioning and campaign was to open the aperture out to all different kinds of guests across a host of different occasions. We wanted to make sure that we bring the classics to our loyal base of guests but also bring newness into the food that may catch some of their eyes or attract new guests onto our benches who may never have tried us before.”
The campaign’s visual identity is effortless yet elevated, capturing – in stylised candids – “the simple truth that wagamama has been a part of so many peoples lives, across so many different moments,” says Emma. The aim? To make it all feel relatable.
“Maybe it's where you met your partner's parents for the first time. Maybe it’s your first date spot. Maybe it's your go-to for a hangover pick me up, or maybe it’s where your kids ask to go every Saturday after football. The point is that everyone seems to have a wagamama story.
“The visual world reflects this and we have let our characters and food do the talking without the needs for camera trickery or effects. This is then signed off with a simple handwritten ‘food is life’ which is a nod towards our ‘naughty child’ spirit as a brand, and the iconic placemat handwriting that we are so well known for,” she adds.
Crucially, this is just the start of wagamama’s next chapter and the brand will use the momentum to further expand on the messaging, platform, and campaign. Emma assures that her team “will be digging deeper into the ‘wagamama when’ storytelling over the next year and bringing this to life in lots of different ways so we can connect with as many guests, new and old, as possible. This will also be reflected in the food, with many more amazing new things coming to our menus.”
