Break Up With Your Meal Deal at ARRAN’S Bagels
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Grace works at ARRAN’S Bagels , a New York-inspired bagel and coffee shop in Nottingham. They pride themselves on being the anti-sandwich establishment. The board outside their shop encourages local students and office workers to break up with their boring meal deal and try something special. And it’s the details like this that have made them one of the strongest brands in Nottingham right now.
Hey Grace! Thanks for taking the time today. Do you want to start by explaining where the idea for ARRAN’S Bagels came from?
Well, Arran has always had a big love of food and bagels. And after a trip to New York he realised that there wasn’t a place in Nottingham that did classic New York-style bagels. That’s where it all started. The location and the branding have all been designed to replicate that vintage New York feel. We keep the menu small and focus on getting the classics done properly. From salt beef to a good ol’ LOX.
I noticed on Instagram that you run an event called Coffee and Cars. What's the story there?
Well, Arran is really into cars. So we’ve started this monthly event where we invite a load of supercars to come and park outside. Everyone’s up early on a Sunday morning to see what's happening. A lot of people come from out of town to try a bagel and see the cars. Obviously it helps us, but it also brought extra tourism to Nottingham and helped the community.
We absolutely love your branding and how it looks on our packaging. Why is branded packaging important to you as a business?
I think it's so important nowadays. Social media is such a big part of our lives and if someone has an aesthetic coffee cup or a cool bag they’re so much more likely to take a picture and share it with their friends. I love the bags because they're the first thing people see. When you're opening a bagel and taking a photo of it, ARRAN’S Bagels are right there in front of their face.
What can other takeaway spots learn from ARRAN’S?
1. Take a stance that makes you stand out.
Not only do ARRAN’S not do sandwiches, but they’re also on a mission to destroy their reputation. A bold opinion like this won't appeal to everyone, but that’s okay. Because the people who do, will love you and have a reason to come back and talk about you for years to come.
2. Branded packaging puts your business in front of new people.
When a coffee arrives in a branded cup, or a bagel comes wrapped in printed greaseproof, it signals that someone cared about the details. Which makes the purchase feel like an experience. And experiences are what people photograph. In a world of social media this is a piece of UGC (user-generated content) that gets your brand discovered by new audiences, without you having to make the content yourself.
Big thanks to Grace for chatting to us. If you’re ever in Nottingham, head down to Bridlesmith Gate, and follow @arransbagels on Instagram for bagels, collabs and the occasional supercar.
