When it was first teased online by its chief marketing officer Mark McCulloch that Prezzo would be getting a new name as part of a major rebrand there was a part of me that thought ‘why’? With the exception of a few high-profile examples, including the changing of Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike and Brad’s Drink to Pepsi, name changes at best create a fleeting frisson of interest and at worst can ruin a perfectly decent brand (I’m looking at you Elon Musk), so I waited with interest to see just how radical Prezzo was going to go.
As it turns out I needn’t have been concerned. The resulting change, the addition of the word ‘Italian’ to the name, is a tried-and-tested format in the sector, having been done 15 years previously with Italian restaurant group ASK. As with ASK, adding an Italian suffix makes perfect sense (neither Prezzo or ASK screams Italian restaurant) and gives Prezzo a fresh platform. It is how it now builds on it that will ultimately decide its fate.
Of course, the rebrand is more than just a name change. Under newly appointed CEO James Brown, Prezzo Italian is being refreshed with new look restaurants and changes to the menu. A restaurant in South Kensington was the first to be given the new blue and white livery and this has since been followed by a second site in Chelmsford. Sites in Cambridge, Kings Lynn and Aberdeen are understood to be next, with a further 15 are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Changes to the menu, meanwhile, have included slashing the number of dishes on the menu – there are now around 18 fewer dishes – and introducing new dishes. The idea is that if you step inside the new Prezzo Italian, you will notice the difference.
So why the change? In a hugely competitive Italian dining market dominated by Azzurri – owner of the Ask Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama brands – Franco Manca and Pizza Express as well as a tranche of hip pizza players (Pizza Pilgrims, Rudy’s) Prezzo has been left in the wilderness over the past decade. Speaking to Restaurant at the time of the rebrand, Brown said that awareness of the brand among consumers had lapsed, which is not a situation any company would want to find itself in. Once operating around 300 restaurants at its peak, Prezzo’s estate has fallen to fewer than 100 following a series of restructures and disposals and its offer and branding has failed to keep pace with its rivals, many of which have retail ranges and more sophisticated reward schemes.
The company has addressed the latter with the launch in May of its Club Prezzo app that gives users access to member-only pricing on select menu items and offers rewards. It hopes that the rebrand and the site refresh will address the awareness issue.
The bigger question is will it work? The obvious challenge Prezzo faces is that estate refurbishments can’t be done overnight, and so for many of its customers the biggest changes will go unnoticed for months to come. Downsizing the menu is sensible, but it remains vast, with burgers and grill items as well as numerous pizza and pasta dishes and a large selection of starters featuring. While the rebrand will no doubt raise awareness of the Prezzo name – at least in the short term – I’m not sure it fully addresses who exactly it’s for, although I think that can be said about many of the brands operating in the space.
One thing is for sure, the brand couldn’t have gone on for much longer the way it was, so any kind of revamp – especially one of this ambition – should be seen as a positive. Moreover, Prezzo has reported a strong start to the year, with its Q1 results showing growth across sales, profit and customer engagement – it reported a 9% like-for-like sales uplift during the period – so it has given itself a good starting base.
Whether it has done enough to succeed in the mostly highly contested sector of all casual dining, I’m yet to be convinced. The proof will be in the pudding – in this case a tiramisu.
This piece first appeared in Restaurant’s sister title MCA. To read more in-depth industry insight visit www.mca-insight.com/
Dining and Cooking