Turtle Bay

The Challenge

Turtle Bay had recently refurbished its Chelmsford site as part of a wider evolution of the brand, shifting from a younger led, cocktail-heavy perception to a more mature, quality-led dining experience. The team needed to understand how this new proposition was landing with two critical audiences:

• Lapsed customers who had disengaged due to past inconsistencies
• Non-users who had little awareness or understanding of the brand

Key questions included:

• Has the refurbishment successfully changed perceptions of the brand?
• What are the barriers preventing customers from returning or visiting for the first time?
• How does the food, drink and overall experience compare to competitors?
• What role can Turtle Bay play in today’s more considered, value-driven dining landscape?

Our Approach

KAM designed a qualitative research programme centred around in-venue focus groups with both lapsed customers and non-users in the Chelmsford area.

This included running four focus groups consisting of lapsed Turtle Bay customers from the local area as well as non-users aligned to target demographics. The groups allowed respondents to experience the environment first-hand and sample the food offer in order to test perceptions of the menu and quality.

The research explored 

• brand perceptions
• competitive behaviours
• menu navigation
• food and drink quality
• value for money
• future intent

By bringing participants into the venue, we were able to capture real-time emotional responses to the space, the atmosphere, and the food and drink offer, going beyond stated perceptions to understand true customer reactions.

Outcome

The research gave Turtle Bay a clear and confident understanding of how its evolved proposition is being received and what it needs to do next to fully unlock growth.It validated that the brand transformation is working and the shift towards a more mature, quality-led dining experience is resonating strongly with both lapsed and new audiences, giving the team confidence that they are moving in the right direction.

Crucially, the work also highlighted what is required to convert this positive perception into sustained commercial success.

The insight has helped Turtle Bay to:

• Refine its positioning 
• Identify and prioritise key growth levers, including improving awareness, strengthening communications, and simplifying the customer journey
• Re-engage lapsed customers by addressing previous pain points around food quality, service consistency and overall experience
• Attract new audiences by clarifying the brand’s offer and increasing its relevance within a competitive casual dining landscape

By grounding its next steps in real customer understanding, Turtle Bay is now better equipped to turn a successful transformation into long-term, sustainable growth.