Eight Locations, Eight Different Interpretations of the Same Brand
An independent coffee shop group with eight sites across the Midlands had allowed each site manager to manage their own uniform decisions since the second site opened. Six years later, the result was eight slightly different interpretations of the same brand — different shades of the brand coffee-brown, different logo sizes, different garment styles, different apron choices.
The founder reviewed photographs from all eight sites side by side. “It was embarrassing. They should all look like one company. They looked like franchises with no quality control.”
Building the Group-Wide Standard
We worked with the founder and group manager to develop a single garment specification for all eight sites. The front-of-house uniform: a fitted black t-shirt with the group logo embroidered in a warm caramel thread on the left chest, and the individual site name embroidered in smaller text underneath. Over this, all serving staff wore a branded canvas apron — screen-printed with the group logo for a deliberately artisanal aesthetic consistent with the brand’s positioning.
Back-of-house staff received the same t-shirt plus a food-safe apron appropriate for kitchen use. All garments rated for 60°C washing for food hygiene compliance.
The Launch and Response
The uniform was launched simultaneously across all eight sites on a Monday morning. The group’s Instagram page — which regularly featured site photography — showed the most engagement of any recent posts when featuring the newly uniformed team. Customer comments referenced the professional appearance directly.
More significantly for the founder: she could now walk into any of her sites and feel that it belonged to the same brand family as the others. “The uniforms are a small thing and a huge thing at the same time. Small cost. Huge impact on how the brand feels.”
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