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Music, signage and atmosphere influence how long customers stay, how they feel, and how they perceive a brand.
In restaurant environments, these elements help shape atmosphere, influence how guests feel throughout their meal, and enhance the overall dining experience.
Wagamama has built a strong reputation as an experience-led casual dining brand, known for its fast-paced service, open kitchens and contemporary Asian-inspired atmosphere. Our observations and suggestions could support and further enhance that positioning across the estate.
Music was present throughout the restaurant but generally very low in volume, making it difficult to distinguish clearly against the overall noise of the venue.
Where audible, the soundtrack leaned towards bass-heavy electronic styles including jungle, dance and drum & bass. While this direction feels culturally aligned with Wagamama’s younger and urban audience, the execution felt inconsistent and difficult to fully engage with due to the low volume and lack of clarity across the space.
Customers we spoke to also mentioned inconsistency between locations, suggesting the music experience may vary significantly across the estate.
There was no use of digital signage or visual messaging within the restaurant environment.
This creates an opportunity to introduce subtle, well-integrated digital content that complements the existing brand aesthetic while supporting storytelling and guest engagement.
Screens could help showcase seasonal dishes, limited-time specials, ingredient sourcing, loyalty messaging or app promotions - particularly valuable for a brand focused on innovation and menu evolution.
Develop playlists that reflect Wagamama’s contemporary, energetic identity while improving consistency across locations and dayparts.
Refine volume levels and soundtrack pacing so music contributes more naturally to the dining experience without becoming lost within the restaurant environment.
Use carefully integrated signage to support seasonal campaigns, menu launches and brand messaging without cluttering the space.
Based on your brand, audience and environment, here’s an example of how your music could feel with Startle.
This playlist has been designed to reflect Wagamama’s modern, urban and globally influenced identity - blending laid-back electronic grooves, soulful textures and contemporary rhythm-led tracks to create an atmosphere that feels relaxed, stylish and culturally current.
The intention is to:
Choose from our library of over 100 professionally crafted playlists spanning genres, moods and sectors, or opt for curated soundtracks designed to enhance restaurant atmospheres.
We offer simple, scalable digital signage to support menu storytelling, seasonal campaigns and promotions - helping create a more engaging dining experience.
With Startle Studio, you’ll have full visibility and control of all your venues’ music and signage schedules from a central platform, ensuring consistency across your entire estate.
We’ve worked with multi-site hospitality brands to create more engaging and brand-led environments that feel consistent across every location.
We partnered with Zizzi to help evolve their in-restaurant atmosphere through a more intentional and centrally managed music strategy. By aligning playlists with the brand’s personality and customer expectations, they were able to create a soundtrack that felt modern, welcoming and consistent across the estate.
This approach included:
From my first interaction with Startle I have been very impressed with the understanding they have of what we're looking for. Creating a 'vibe' or environment within a space is something quite hard to explain but the support and reactivity they gave throughout the curation process was incredible.
Head of Business Development
Book your discovery call to explore how music and signage could enhance experience, consistency and engagement across your estate.
On this call we’ll:
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