PRINCIPLE FOUR:
We all want to feel welcome
People don't just visit places. It's tech, cars or a neighborhood cafe, meaningful brands create spaces
where people feel welcome, valued and connected.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
All 9 Free
Sometimes belonging is just knowing you don't have to
explain yourself.
At Tufts University, their visionary Executive Director of Tufts Dining would create a dining platform free of the top nine allergens by creating a state-of-the-art production and service platform to address the increasing needs of those with food allergies. I was asked to help
build the brand identity for a new dining concept made specifically for students with
food allergies and dietary restrictions. On the surface, it looked like a
branding assignment. It wasn't. The real challenge was hospitality.
Students with serious food allergies don't experience a
dining hall the way everyone else does. Every meal can come loaded with
questions, uncertainty, the uncomfortable feeling of having to explain your
needs before you can just sit down and eat like everyone else. We wanted to
change that.
The concept was built around safety, but safety alone wasn't
enough. It needed to feel like a real dining destination, one with delicious
food, global flavors, real choice, not some clinical fallback tucked in a
corner for people who couldn't do the regular thing.
What came out of it was ALL9FREE, built around foods free
from the top nine allergens, prepared in a separate kitchen with separate
equipment, served in a way meant to minimize cross-contact. Most importantly,
students didn't have to make special arrangements. They could just walk in
whenever the dining hall was open. That last part might've been the most
important decision of the whole project. No special arrangements.
Because sometimes the best hospitality isn't making someone
feel especially welcome. It's making them feel unremarkable.
They shouldn't have to explain why they need a safe meal.
They shouldn't have to negotiate their place at the table. They should be able
to walk in, look at what's on offer, and decide what sounds good.
That's when it clicked for me, what belonging actually
means. You know you've built it when people stop having to ask whether they
belong.
What this taught me...
The people most affected by a decision aren't always the people sitting around the table making it.
Don't make people ask for what they should already have.
Belonging often comes from removing friction.
