A Brand New Year – Take a Fresh Look at Your Brand

By Shara Bohach

The new year offers the perfect resolution opportunity to re-evaluate your brand. To take a look back on the past year and realign your efforts for the year ahead.

Personally, we visit hundreds of food and beverage establishments each and every year. Some are just opening and making their culinary mark, while others are well established and well known. They range from the local right down the road to treasured new finds discovered in our travels. As brand marketers, we cannot help noticing, evaluating, analyzing, and discussing brands everywhere we go. It’s just a hazard of the profession.

The most rewarding is when we encounter a brand that we feel has hit the mark and has been executed in all the right ways. No detail too small, everything considered and aligned to the brand. Some are extremely creative, while others are simple and elegant. But overall, there is no question that they know who they are. As customers we are immersed in their distinct message, design look, and interior space. In print and online the brand is defined. Language, tone and design cohesively communicate the same essence.

A successful brand is not the repetitive use of logo, graphics and message on everything. It is an evolving integration of elements that stay true to a defined feel and tonality. They uphold a consistent look and tone in every communication that makes them both recognizable and memorable.

Take a moment and resolve to evaluate your own brand.

The Brand
Many think their logo is their brand, and it undoubtably does a lot of the heavy lifting, however your brand consists of so much more. Every marketing impression creates it. Your brand is essentially what people think and feel about your company. Can you list a few meaningful words that represent your business. Are you about integrity, service, quality, reliability, simplicity? Think about what your business strives to do better than anyone else. Consider a farmers market known for always having the freshest, local produce; a modern, upscale restaurant with inspired preparations and impeccable service; a gourmet product with a reputation of only natural, organic ingredients. This is what you become known for. It's your brand promise to your customers.

Elevator Pitch
Now formulate those few words into a few sentences with a distinct tone and you'll have your “elevator pitch”. This is your answer to “What do you do?” It is not a tagline, positioning statement, or mission statement… although it does play into all of them. The pitch serves as the beginning to your unique story.

The Message
It is critical to stay in front of your customers. Put together a marketing calendar for the year. Plan out a healthy dose of creative, compelling promotions or events, and intriguing communications just to stay in touch and on their minds. The key is to stay visible. Be first after the holidays when nothing else is going on and cabin fever starts setting in. Understand the audience you want to reach and the language they speak when crafting your marketing communications. Don't talk young to an older audience and vice versa. Be succinct. You do not want to frustrate your audience with cryptic marketing messages.

Refresh When Needed
The best thing you can do for your brand is to define it and stay true to it. However, sometimes a brand starts to stale. It might look outdated, or the business focus may change. If you feel that's true, it may be time for a refresh. You might modernize the design elements and color palette or change up some language to better reflect the brand’s evolving personality.

Whether you have limited budget and time, or you have plenty of both, basic principles remain the same to making a lasting impression and cultivating a brand. Stay focused and true. Evolve and know your audience. Avoid adding conceptual noise – distracting elements everywhere to grab attention. These compete for attention, diluting your core message. Always have fun with the journey and stay creative.

Shara Bohach is Owner and Creative Director at Unity Design, Inc. a design firm that specializes in building brands for the culinary industry. In business since 2000, Unity Design has carried out every imaginable type of project from logos to packaging to websites to trade show graphics and all things in-between. Shara has been an active Les Dames d’Escoffier member for over 10 years. Unity Design, Inc. at 440-516-9688 | www.unitydesign.biz

Les Dames D’Escoffier Cleveland Chapter at the Hildebrandt Building

By Erin Toohey Naso
Photos by Erin Toohey Naso and Elaine T. Cicora
Edited by Shara Bohach

What’s the best way to beat the January blahs? Head to a Les Dames d’Escoffier meeting for delicious food, spirited beverages and lively and interesting culinary conversation!

On a cold Tuesday evening, two dozen Dames brought their potluck courses and curiosity to the Hildebrandt Building – a former historic meat processing plant in the Clark Fulton neighborhood. Organized by Paula Hershman from Storehouse Tea (and tenant of the Hildebrandt), Dames got an up close and personal tour of the iconic building that is now home to artists and food entrepreneurs.

The Dames nestled into the community kitchen for presentations from three of our own business owners, Laura Adiletta, Shara Bohach, Paula Hershman and non-Dame (but Hildebrandt tenant) Molly Murray.

Laura Adiletta kicked off the spirited business presentations with her just-launched Farm Fare – a mobile marketplace for local foods and business management software for food hubs and small to mid-sized farms.

The online and app service aims to move agricultural product from farms to restaurants and retail stores through a logistic system that is cost effective and efficient.

Realizing that farmers spent nearly 40% of their time in deliveries, Laura and her team are looking to reinvent the supply chain by centralizing the product and streamlining the delivery process to allow farmers more time to do what they do best – farm!

Farm Fare takes sales through its online store and manages delivery, dispatching and loading for wholesale buyers and food hubs such as the Oberlin Food Hub.

Laura candidly shared the start-up’s trials and tribulations with a consistent eye and positive spirit on the future of her business.

Shara Bohach of Unity Design shared her thoughts on best practices for business branding. Derived from more than 17 years experience in designing logos and identity systems for clients in the culinary, health and beauty, medical and technology industries, Shara emphasized consistency is key in presenting and maintaining a brand.

Well beyond the typography and colors of a logo, an on-point brand is also reflected in how a company and its employees conduct itself.

Shara believes integral to building a brand is understanding the audience. She encouraged budding entrepreneurs and seasoned owners to understand what motivates the target market and tailor the message, while staying true to the brand promise.

Noting Starbucks and Whole Foods as examples of an integrated brand, she challenged Dames to determine what a brand should feel like – the promise, the name, the spirit – all being driving forces to the bottom line of a top of mind and trusted brand.

Along with her wisdom, Shara and Paula Hershman shared the identity system and gorgeous packaging of Storehouse Tea – which were designed by Unity Design.

Demonstrating a brand in action, Paula explained her company is as much about sourcing and hand-blending Certified Organic and Fair Trade teas and ingredients as it is about empowering women refugees to chart a path to creating a better life in America. The company employs refugee women from Rwanda and Iran to hand blend and produce the tea offerings and is committed to growing the company by staying committed to this same cause.

Storehouse Tea can be found in area restaurants, online, coffee shops, organic and health food stores, private label and in crates from specialty gift providers.

Molly Murray concluded the business presentations with her tour of the Wake Robin processing facility in the basement of the Hildebrandt. Wake Robin produces live, naturally cultured vegetables made in small batches using lacto-fermentation – or no heat preservation technique. Started with her father, the company is built on a triple bottom line concept: community, planet and profit.

That means livable wages for employees, zero waste through composting and recycling and efficient manufacturing techniques to provide consumers with a high-quality product at an affordable price all while keeping the business profitable.

Wake Robin produces nine products with five being flagship and four rotating offerings. Contracting with local farmers, Wake Robin hand processes organic cabbage, carrots, turnips, daikon and beets from Northeast Ohio farms and non-organic cucumbers and apples.

These fermented and probiotic products include Sauerkraut, Kickin Kimchi, Carrot Escabeche, Ruby Ruben, Garlicky Dill Cucumber Chips along with other seasonal flavors. Fermented products are growing in popularity as they provide access to fresh vegetables through the year delivering probiotic properties to allow the body to absorb nutrients better.

Wake Robin products are available for purchase at the West Side Market, Krieger’s, Mustard Seed, Heinen’s and various small shops in Northeast Ohio.

A big thanks to the Dames who organized and shared their delicious potluck items with the dynamic group.

Delicious loose leaf Certified Organic and Fair Trade flavors offered
by Storehouse Tea. Branding and packaging design by Unity Design.

Feasting in the community kitchen on potluck dishes.

Laura Adiletta from Farm Fare talks about the vision for the company.

Molly Murray from Wake Robin explains the impetus, business

model and other background on the father-daughter company.

Wake Robin deliciousness undergoing lacto-fermentation.

Dame du Jour: Shara Bohach

By Maria Isabella, Interview by Marty Nagele

When one is able to mesh personal passion with professional talents, that’s nirvana. And that’s exactly what Shara Bohach has found in her position as a graphic designer for the food industry.
“I’ve been interested in the creative side of food since college,” Shara confesses, “and somehow everything I did always came back to it.” A graphic design major at Kent State University, all of her design projects inevitably revolved around food.  So it was quite natural that she would eventually go on to form her own firm, Unity Design, which specializes in design for the culinary industry. In fact, Unity Design’s very first client was a restaurant. That was 12 years ago – and they're now busier than ever.

“Food has always been comfortable and intriguing for me,” she adds. “I'm so fortunate to merge that love with my profession.”

“I’m constantly eating out and trying new restaurants, both from a foodie perspective and from a business perspective – keeping an eye on trends in the industry” she explains.

When asked where she has experienced her best meal, Shara quickly responds it was at La Truffe, a small restaurant in Paris that specialized in mushrooms. Another favorite was Pimlico Tandoori, an Indian restaurant in London that served as her introduction to Indian cuisine, which she cites as a palate-changing experience. In the States, one of her favorites is (Dame Ruth Levine's) Bistro 185 “with their unbelievably delicious vegan nights.”

Her perfect meal? Vegan “chicken” Marsala with roasted asparagus, paired with a red Zin from Lodi, California.

As for the most unusual thing she’s ever eaten, Shara admits it was actually a drink…an earthy Greek wine made with pine resin, called Retsina. She served this as part of a theme menu at a recent book club meeting after reading “The Gargoyle” by Andrew Davidson.

When it comes to entertaining, she loves to be out on her deck serving simple, fresh guacamole or bruschetta and wine. The view of the woods from there is magnificent.

Shara first became aware of Les Dames from Laura Taxel and Crickett Karson at the Feast for Amelia fundraiser at Lucky’s Café in 2007. She joined right after that.

Learn more about Shara as she shares some fun and interesting insights about herself.

What is your favorite cookbook? “Vegan with a Vengeance” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

What’s your favorite comfort food? Garlic mashed potatoes!

What’s your favorite snack? Hummus and veggie sticks, or cheese.

Do you have a signature dish? Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna. And guacamole, both traditional and creative variations.

What’s your go-to, quick-and-easy dinner? Veggie and tofu stir fry.

What’s your favorite dessert to prepare? I don't make many desserts, but I do make a lot of muffins and really enjoy making them.

What’s the biggest cooking mistake you’ve ever made? I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more nutrition into recipes, and therefore make a lot of substitutions. I once tried substituting millet flour for most of the wheat flour in a recipe for pumpkin bread. The results were disastrous, terrible tasting, and dense as a brick. Fortunately, my dog liked it, so she ate pumpkin bread treats for quite a while!

What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? Garlic. There was this garlic soup that I had once at Max's Deli (a restaurant that used to be in Rocky River). I went back so many times in search of it, and they never had it. Some day I will have to try making it.


Name 3 things that are always in your refrigerator.  Fresh veggies, tofu, and ground flax seed.

Name 3 kitchen gadgets you can’t live without. My rice cooker, small prep bowls, and Microplane's Herb Mill (which I learned about from Dame Bev Shaffer’s blog!).