Spice It Up - Nando's Restaurant

Nando's is now a Worldwide phenomenon which all started with two friends Robert and Fernando who decided to bring the little-known secret of Portuguese Peri Peri chicken to South Africa, and eventually the rest of the World. It's special ingredient being the well-known and well-love Peri Peri sauce, the chicken it provides is coated in this sauce and allowed to marinade until it reaches a certain level of spice.

It's British restaurants employ a particular way of addressing their customers through their menu and marketing. It adopts a colloquial way of speaking, one that uses light humour, puns and a fun voice that in particular may appeal to a younger audience. Sections of the menu have titles such as 'mains and appeteasers’ a pun on the original word that with no reference to the south American heritage is there simply to make the language more fun and flirty. Elaborately made-up verbs again touch on comedy welcome the customer to this new eating experience; ‘Brought to your table as speedy as chickenly possible’. This plays on the more serious undertones of cooking chicken too quickly, yet also reassuring the customer that although their food will be there quickly, it will still be cooked.

Eating at Nando's is an experience in itself as it doesn't deploy the usual methods of being served at a table. The menu even gives new customers a guide on how to choose your meal, and diners are greeted at the door by a member of staff asking if they've been there before. Nando's original take on eating out such as going to the til to order your own food, makes the simplicity of the dining experience more exciting. Although this requires less effort from members of staff, and more effort on the customer's part, it is different from the norm and promises something truly original. Simplicity is echoed throughout the whole establishment as by selecting an uncomplicated idea of chicken as the sole ingredient and being able to turn it into a variety of dishes such as a wrap, burger or salad not only makes the process easy, but also guarantees customer satisfaction as they know what to expect. 

 

A 'peri-ometer'  features on the menu giving the customer a choice in spice which is again another colloquialism that gives the reader funny facts about each heat of meat. By nick-naming a lover of spice a ‘reckless bravado’ or ‘chilli fiend’ it associates itself with the customer in a way that emphasises the friendly and light-hearted approach that Nando’s takes to entertaining. Anecdotes such as  ‘eating with fingers is encouraged – it saves on washing up!’ reinforces the attitude that makes the customer feel as if they’re dining at someone’s home; treating the staff as if they are friends rather than employed to do a job. Sauces are also provided for the customer to add further spice to their meal.

There are constant references to the Portuguese heritage of the Peri-Peri spice and the exotic roots that the franchise is obviously proud of. Digs at the British such as, ‘think British Summer without the rain’ emphasises the difference between 'here' and 'there' whilst keeping the undertones of humour. By stating at the top of the menu that Nando's is the ‘Home of the legendary Portuguese flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken’ it establishes its right to exploit its foreign roots by constantly referring to them throughout its menu.
 

Nando's offer some culture other than their Portuguese heritage to their customers through their menu artwork competition. They’ve traditionally used their covers to ‘showcase their love of great art’ featuring styles notoriously linked with famous artists such as Lichtenstein and Picasso. This again adds to the originality of the franchise and their constant effort to entertain the customer through various techniques. John James writes in his text "Streetwise Management" of the importance of an interesting menu; "First impressions last, and one of the first, most important impressions is a new customer gets is from that menu in his or her hands. Often a quick glance at at the cover is all someone needs to form a positive or negative impression" (p124). They’ve also started a competition for people to enter their artwork in a bid to become the next menu cover artist, yet another way of connecting with their customers but this time not through the use of colloquialisms or food.