Do This, Not That: How to Keep Your Brand Promise Through Products
Whether you're in the tacos, toys or tech business, what your brand sells is the clearest expression of what it stands for.
The best brands ensure offerings reinforce their positioning, resonate with their target audience, and build lasting equity.
Here, we break the down 5 DOs and DON’Ts to keep your brand promise through products with real-world examples from standout (and struggling) hospitality brands.
Define your target and purpose
DO: Confirm your target audience and your North Star with what makes your brand better and different than the competition. Then use it to guide decisions.
Example: CAVA
✔ A brand purpose to bring heart, health, and humanity to food with Mediterranean fare that continues to wow wellness-oriented, clean-eating, flavor-seeking guests
✔ A menu of vibrant bowls and wraps full of fresh, Med-inspired ingredients and scratch-made dips
DON’T: Mistake variety for vision. More options (or just more cheese) doesn’t mean more impact, especially if decisions are driven by ingredients instead of insights. Without a purpose or target, your menu may be a more cannibalizing than cohesive experience.
Example: Noodles & Company
✖ No defined purpose or target with similar offerings and mixed messages about global flavors (exploration) and classic comfort (belonging)
✖ A menu of mostly mac & cheese where even the “veggie-packed salad” has bacon and croutons
2. Let purpose guide products
DO: Let your purpose and personality shape the product experience. Highlight what makes you distinct from your origin story to your standout offerings.
Example: Portillo’s
✔ America’s favorite, unrivaled Chicago street food serving Windy City specialties since 1963
✔ Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, cheese fries, and homemade cake shakes
DON’T: Stray from your roots or cling to outdated categories. When your menu loses focus or relevance, your brand identity and sales both suffer.
Example: Old Chicago
✖ Despite the brand name and origin inspiration, no clear Chicago equities or culinary identity
✖ A menu aligned with beer (a category in decline for a decade), pizza, burgers, pasta, donuts, and more
3. Focus on fewer, better offerings
DO: Double down on what you do best with signatures that make your brand famous. A focused menu builds operational consistency, brand distinction, and guest trust.
Example: In-N-Out
✔ Three core items: burgers, fries, shakes
✔ A secret menu that offers customization and deepens loyalty without expanding categories
DON’T: Overload your assortment with “just one more thing.” Breadth without a unifying lens or ingredient cross-utilization leads to confusion and operational inefficiency.
Example: Burger King
✖ Lacks clear product discipline or flavor identity
✖ Once focused on flame-grilled burgers, now offers crispy tacos, chicken wraps, and sometimes hot dogs
4. Set clear innovation guidelines
DO: Create boundaries aligned with your menu style and culinary point of view. Guardrails don’t limit creativity. They focus and amplify it.
Example: Tupelo Honey
✔ A Southern kitchen rooted in Appalachian traditions made modern for elevated occasions
✔ A menu that reflects soulful, contemporary cooking with fresh-baked drop biscuits, honey-dusted fried chicken and beverage flights
DON’T: Introduce new items without clear connection to your brand and key occasions. Without a filter, innovation will be opportunistic and overwhelming.
Example: Snooze
✖ Known for playful brunch, recent additions like plant-based burgers, hummus plates, and global fusion with no throughline overwhelm
✖ The brand’s site says “Not sure what to order? Spin the compass.” as a fun gimmick, but also a sign of Cheesecake Factory-style menu sprawl
5. Leverage trends with a brand lens
DO: When it comes to trends, how you adapt them makes all the difference. Reinterpret them to ensure consistent, and cohesive fit with brand.
Example: Taco Bell
✔ Rather than adding ranch like everyone else, Taco Bell made it their own as a creamy, Mexican-inspired Avocado Ranch
✔ From Doritos Locos Tacos and Nacho Fries to different Crunchwrap collabs, everything passes the “Forever 21” filter
DON’T: Adopt trends without reinterpretation. When you mimic instead of translate, you blend in and lose brand traction and distinction.
Example: Panera
✖ Reactive products and promotions not anchored in core bakery-café equities
✖ Launched flatbreads, grain bowls and even fried chicken to compete and appear relevant