About three months ago, I received an invite for the opening of Angry Toast, an all-day establishment on Waterfield Road in Bandra, Mumbai, with an extensive sandwich and coffee menu. It came in a bright red glass-top box with a hammer, along with a mini brioche loaf, coffee, and cups. Cute.
Only, all this paraphernalia came with an angry, moody cartoon’s face on them. Is their sando and coffee so good it’ll turn a (h)angry person into a happy one?
Ten minutes down the road, at Even Steven, a new diner serving fried chicken donuts and pain Suisse smash burgers, among other fun stuff, has a stick figure—Steven—sporting the high-school definition of “cool” with spiked hair and sunglasses on as their mascot.
Rost Mumbai’s USP is their sweet and savoury French toasts (made with tofu instead of eggs) and coffee. Their mascot is, obviously, a slice of brioche bread. At the year-old Call Me Chunky a rabbit magician named Chunky (duh) fronts the brand and is responsible for bringing their anything-but-vanilla flavours to life. Yup, he’s got a spoon instead of a magic wand.
Not too long ago, there was a point where every cafe and neighbourhood diner around Mumbai looked like a version of each other—the brand colours were either earthy tones, a bold hero colour with neutrals, or just a clean, Pinterest-y aesthetic. Over the last couple of months, seemingly overnight, that…shifted?
More and more cafes, sandwich shops, delivery kitchens, and even ice-cream brands are showing up with a ‘face’. There’s a character greeting you at every corner. And these mascots are a part of every possible tangible touchpoint—coffee cups, takeaway containers, menus, signage across venues, and of course, Instagram.
In a recent conversation, hospitality branding expert Nervan H said something that stayed with me: “You might forget a font, but you’re less likely to forget a face. With a mascot, the brand has a voice and a face.”
India, of course, is no stranger to showing love to F&B mascots. The Amul and Parle-G girls may be the most iconic homegrown representation, relevant to this day. The branding trend is an antithesis to the ‘clean and symmetric’ aesthetic, in line with the embellishment-loaded whimsy-maxxing taking over our everyday objects, one jewel sticker at a time. But do we need our sandwiches to come with a face to want them? Is a pain Suisse smash burger on the menu not case enough to bring us through the door?
Maybe not. “Ziko has become a visual shorthand for the Gen-Z, fun-loving spirit of Angry Toast, and gives us a character that can evolve across the space, packaging, communication, and social media,” says Kedarnat Shetty, founder, Angry Toast. “For us, it was never about creating a mascot just for the sake of it but about giving the brand a personality and colour that people could recognise, remember, and have a little fun with.” At Angry Toast, they even have an interactive cup that allows you to change Ziko’s mood by rotating it, starting from ‘No caffeine yet’ at the start of your drink to ‘Good to go’ at the end.
A commonality amongst these brands is that they’re casual-dining-focused and playing into the light-and-playful rubric. “Laid-back, a little cheeky, and perpetually unbothered” is how Timanshu Mokal, co-founder, Even Steven, describes his mascot. “Life might be falling apart around him, but he’s still having a good time,” he says.
Relatable? Yes.
At Sumo Box, a new pan-Asian delivery kitchen, a sumo wrestler is their main man, a reflection of their co-founder and head chef Harsh Garg’s food philosophy. Garg grew up in Singapore, exposed to all kinds of authentic Asian food, so his food is expressive and flavour-forward, but there is considerable thought behind the balance of heat, umami, acidity, and texture. “The mascot became a playful expression of this philosophy. Bold and powerful but ultimately rooted in balance,” he says.
There was a time when founder-led content allowed cafes and restaurants to stand out. Now that every founder and their family is on the brand’s social media feed, building a mascot successfully could make room for a fun content arc, if done well.
“We wanted the brand to have a personality people could connect with, and Steven felt like the perfect way to bring that to life,” says Mokal. “Whether he’s carrying an oversized baguette, holding a hot cup of coffee or getting up to something else, he gives us the freedom to express the brand with a sense of humour and create moments that people remember beyond the food,” he adds.
Perhaps, this is one more tiny dopamine hit, a way to add cheeky cheer to an otherwise regular coffee and toastie order. Iced latte to-go cups with a side of sass? Sure.
