Comfort food made mindfully.

In 2017, the owner of The Mixx, Kansas City’s original healthy quick-casual restaurant, officially announced plans to open a new concept, Caffetteria. The Fenix team (then Fire Engine Design) was tasked with developing a distinct brand identity for the new sister restaurant in anticipation of the opening.

Caffetteria offers a distinct dining experience, blending the convenience of fast-casual with responsibly sourced Italian recipes. It even has a marketplace where consumers can go straight to the source and purchase farm fresh ingredients. How could we leverage the existing success of Caffetteria’s sibling spot, The Mixx, without riding on coattails? How could we differentiate the brand within its own unique category?

Caffetteria’s target varies slightly from that of The Mixx. More Italian cuisine, less salad. After extensive exploration, we let our research lead us straight to the sweet spot - health conscious consumers with disposable income who are trend-forward and appreciate the value of convenience.

Our ideal consumer is young adults, boomers or families looking for health inspired restaurants that accomodate the speed of life. They’re not necessarily salad people. They’re pasta people with a side of greens. They appreciate the thought and care that goes into a healthy meal, but also value the convenience factor of fast-casual dining.

Eating is an experience. The Caffetteria brand should be too. While prepping for the grand opening, we considered every touchpoint along the consumer journey - brand identity, website development,  collateral, construction signage, to-go bags, menus. You name it, we got into the mind of the consumer and created it.

From indoor and outdoor signage to the stitching on employee uniforms, we created a cohesive brand experience that says healthy, responsibly sourced and here whenever you crave it most.

Caffetteria’s successful launch truly defined Fenix as experts in the food experience. Since our journey with Caffetteria, our studio has taken on many restaurants including Summit Group, Sarpino’s pizza, Q39, Harpo’s and more. We consider this a major success for our team and the team at Caffetteria.