Malou changes its visual identity: we explain why and how!

September 2022: Malou turns a page and changes its visual identity! A bouncy logo, punchy colors, fun, high-impact typography, comforting characters... Why the change? How did you go about it?

Why redesign Malou's visual identity?

2017, after a year spent in New York, Louiza realizes that: on the one hand, customers are now searching for their restaurants on the internet, on the other, restaurateurs haven't mastered the tools to be chosen by their customers on the internet. She took online training, and shared her learnings and advice on a blog to help restaurants.

Shortly afterwards, Malou was born to put all this advice into practice. all this advice!

The first customers quickly put their trust in Malou and saw their figures take off. A small, highly-motivated, pragmatic and dedicated team was put together to serve restaurant owners in an "agency" format.

In concrete terms: the Malou team helps restaurants improve their local SEO, manages their e-reputation (customer reviews), builds strategies on social media, creates content, distributes it, builds communities on social media, animates them... all with the aim of making establishments visible and attractive online and acquiring plenty of customers. Then in 2019, Waad arrived, and the team automated and set up processes to increase productivity. And it works! In 2020, the automation goes even further, and the team begins to develop the MalouApp: a solution into which it transfers all the agency's expertise! 

Focused on the company's growth and day-to-day restaurant missions, the team never really took the time to define the brand's visual identity. The values and missions, on the other hand, have been clear from day one:

• Our mission: to use digital technology to help restaurants grow
• Values: Welcome home🏡 Make your customers happy (X2)💅 Test, learn, shine and repeat🧪 Empower yourself and your squad🎒

So the brand remained the same. A logo, colors and typography quickly chosen by Louiza on Power Point, in her bedroom, well before the adventure began.

But by 2022, Malou will have 40 teammates, 1,000 restaurant customers in 14 countries. It was time for a change, to mark this growth and reflect an image that truly reflects our ambitions. And one that lives up to the high standards set by Big Mamma, Groupe Bertrand, Accor and many others.

The steps we took to achieve our new visual identity

Professional support: Alasta

The project went beyond changing the logo; we wanted to have a brand, colors, typology and illustrations that communicated our dynamism, our mission, our vision and our values! To achieve this, we chose the Alasta agency for all editorial, design and graphic aspects. And Titled for a website that reflects our new visual identity. 

Asking the right questions

Alasta's work began with days of immersion at Malou, hours of meetings and exchanges with each Malou teammate, with former team members, partners, customers, and all the people who work with us. Alasta was thus able to understand our environment, our missions, our customer service and our ambitions, as well as the team's personality and energy. Many values that they then put down on paper, modified and remodelled, to achieve a result that suits us today.

Our values remain identical to those defined at the outset. However, one value has been updated: until now "Make your client happy, make your client happy" (2 times) to emphasize the importance of customer satisfaction in all our actions. This value has been slightly modified to become "Happy together". Indeed, the happiness of the team is as important as that of our customers, and one should not be achieved at the expense of another. 

How do you capture all this in pictures? 

Choose the best colors, typologies and illustrations 

 How did Alasta's accompaniment transcribe who we are? 

-A logo with a generous font, and the "o" of Malou jumping up and down, because Malou is helping restaurants' digital communications take off!

-A range of dynamic colors to convey Malou's passion, communicative energy and impact.

-Fun, impactful typography, all round to symbolize human support , but also a typography usually used by developers to highlight Malou's tech expertise.

Little pencil-drawn characters to illustrate Malou's human touch, because that's what sets us apart from the rest. An editorial line and language elements that wink at our catering market and our approach between tech and human service: "Digital marketing is no piece of cake!" "Chez Malou, on ne vous raconte pas de salades" "Avec Malou, c'est tous les jours la saison de l'audace"...

Malou gets a new look but the mission remains the same

Because Malou's strength lies in this special combination of human and technology. Our mission remains the same: to put digital technology at the service of restaurant owners' growth. To achieve this:

-Our digital marketing solution solution, the only one of its kind on the market, enables you to independently control your online visibility and develop your business. An ideal application designed by and for restaurateurs looking for efficiency, but also for groups facing the challenge of communication and standardization.

-Our Copilot support provides access to the app, while delegating certain tasks to a team of experts dedicated to the customer.

So you see: today Malou offers a full range of expert services, with support tailored to individual needs!