How I made my vintage cafe stand out with branding
Name:
Violet Heslop
Company:
The House of Avalon
Company profile:
‘A quintessentially English coffee shop with a dash of vintage couture’. The House of Avalon is an exclusive and highly individual retail business incorporating a stylish café, selling exceptional coffee and exquisite cupcakes, alongside a vintage couture clothes room with its own resident vintage hairstylist. The shop sells classic vintage clothing and accessories from the 1910 to 1960’s era. The interior is highly styled and incredibly distinctive: Pink foliage and decorative mirrors adorn the walls, while silver vintage-style furniture, cotton tablecloths, pink roses, silver cake stands and odds & sods of tea & coffee cups complete the vintage look!
Position:
Project Manager/ Vintage Expert
Founded:
Launched 1st May 2010

How I made my vintage cafe stand out with branding

Overview

Times are still tough for the retail industry, and many retailers have closed their doors for good as recession has taken hold. However, there are some retailers that remain confident that they have what it takes to overcome all challenges, and new retail business The House of Avalon, believes that a good brand and differentiation is key.

The challenge

How can yet another coffee shop in a busy tourist city stand out? Times are tough for retailers, and whilst there is something of a café culture, there is already no shortage of coffee shops and cafes wherever you go. And yet The House of Avalon coffee shop opened its doors on 1st May 2010 and is set to take York by storm! So what makes this one different?

The solution

The brand at The House of Avalon has been very carefully developed, and it's very distinctive. Our target audience is largely female and so it's very pink, flowery, and feminine. We've considered the brand values carefully and developed a brand that is eye-catching and recognisable, and that can be adopted across all marketing materials.

We've also tried to make sure that our key business offering is unique. The House of Avalon is essentially a café, vintage boutique, and hair salon all rolled into one! We only sell cupcakes, so we're not competing with food establishments as such. We are about the all-round customer experience - We want customers to come back because they love the coffee and café area, but we also want some of them to team that with having a vintage makeover!   Ultimately we want to be different, which is hard to achieve in this day and age, but we think we're doing a good job so far!

Key lesson

When putting together your business plan, think outside the box. Chances are you will have competitors, but don't mimic their actions - think about how you can be different, and better? Its rare to have truly unique selling points, but make sure you have a number of traits that combine to set your business apart.

Top tip

Your brand is your competitive advantage. Consider your target audience and brand values carefully when developing your logo and brand elements - It's the face and personality of your business and it's crucial to get that part spot-on from the start!

 

Find out more about The House of Avalon

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