Wetzel's Pretzels
Concept Creation | Culinary, Brand, Experience
Putting a fresh twist on a beloved pretzel institution.
Wetzel’s Pretzels has been a west coast mall icon for over 25 years, beloved for their cheesy pretzels, Sinful Cinnamon Bitz, fresh lemonade, and more. But growth for the company means looking beyond the walls of the traditional suburban mall. So, in 2020, Wetzel’s partnered with TCE to create a spinoff concept designed to succeed in streetside real estate – in power center shopping areas, around college campuses, and beyond. The goal was to create a concept that’s destination-worthy in its own right, beyond just a convenient stop while shopping.
Background.
The challenge.
Although Wetzel’s core offering successfully fulfills a snack and impulse purchase occasion, the limited product line of regular Pretzels and Bitz delivers on too few occasions to be reliably destination-driving in premium real estate. Not only that, but compared to other pretzel concepts, the Wetzel’s offering lacked ownability in the marketplace. So, how do we expand the reasons to visit Wetzel’s without losing sight of the brand’s legacy of simplicity?
The insight.
We discovered that consumers have two general associations with pretzels: the heritage-baked, Bavarian beer garden image, and the timeless American association with ball games, boardwalks, movie theaters and beyond. Unsurprisingly, consumers placed Wetzel’s squarely in the latter. By leaning into their fun, young, west coast identity, we could create a concept that helps everyone feel like a kid again, while delivering on a wider range of core occasions and needs. So, we tapped into consumers’ nostalgic association with pretzels to expand the offering beyond the basics – introducing new forms and flavors like Pretzel Twists, loaded Pretzel Dogs, and even a pretzel soft serve cone (the Tornadough).
Our activities.
The streamlined, profitable Wetzel’s operation of today provided a strong foundation for TCE to build an evolved menu and guest experience. At the same time, we needed to create new items that were feasible within Wetzel’s simple platform and staff skill level. Working with the Wetzel’s team, TCE developed an expanded menu of pretzel-based items and introduced new soft serve offerings, lemonades, granitas, and layered beverages galore. To bring this new offering to life in-store, we designed new points of interaction and food-theater. Then, of course, we worked with the team to brand and name the exciting new concept, bringing to life the core of Wetzel’s visual and verbal identity in a more contemporary context.
Our results.
Introducing: Twisted by Wetzel’s. A desirable, feasible, and viable concept spinoff serving pretzel-based joy for the everyday. In April 2023, the first official Twisted location was launched in the LA area, followed by locations in Arizona and California.
