Organic food chain: Expand into a new market maintaining your brand identity

An organic cafe chain with fewer than 10 outlets in Benelux, was expanding into France with its first Paris branch. The chain had a loyal base in Brussels but wanted to test a scalable acquisition and retention model before rolling it out more broadly.

The challenge was multifaceted: whilst Benelux outlets were seen as "healthy fast lunch" destinations, the Paris market lacked a clear brand identity. The business relied heavily on foot traffic with no digital funnel, no loyalty programme, and no systematic ROI tracking. Sales were concentrated during office hours with weak evenings and weekends. "Paris was a test market. We didn't want to disturb what was already working in Brussels, but we needed to prove a scalable model here first," explained the founder.

This operational gap was preventing the chain from scaling confidently across new markets and maximising revenue potential from existing customers.

Axion Lab implemented a Paris-focused go-to-market pilot whilst introducing light-touch improvements in Brussels. The approach balanced immediate revenue opportunities with building a replicable model for future expansion.

The strategy centred on creating a unified brand identity: "Fast, fresh, natural meals for every part of the day." This positioning was tailored for the French market, highlighting artisanal and organic credibility whilst maintaining the chain's core values.

Implementation framework

• Brand & Positioning: Unified identity with tailored French narrative highlighting artisanal & organic credibility
• Customer Segmentation: Three core personas (corporate lunchers, students/young adults, health-conscious families) mapped with campaign channels
• Digital Acquisition: Local SEO launched across Brussels and Paris; targeted local adverts tested in Paris market
• Retention & Loyalty: Designed loyalty card with prepaid bonus system, customer email capture, and app roadmap with click-&-collect
• Revenue Optimisation: Introduced breakfast bundles, afternoon snacks, and seasonal "limited series" bowls

The Paris pilot successfully validated a scalable growth model with measurable results. Digital presence strengthened significantly, achieving top 3 SEO rankings for "healthy lunch" in both Brussels and Paris within 6 months. Loyalty card users showed 2.5x more visits, and evening sales share is projected to increase from 5% to 15%.

With these validated results, the next steps include extending the loyalty and upsell strategy to Brussels outlets, followed by a full app rollout and B2B catering funnel as the second stage of the expansion roadmap.