Brand, Digital, Packaging, Product Design, Communications, Film, Marketing, Business Strategy, Design Innovation
Strategy, brand, launch and crowdfund for a rebellious vegan startup that’s bringing ethical eating to the fast food market.
Vegan food has been a trending topic for years now, but most brands in this space preach to the converted. To make veganism mainstream, the world needs more products that appeal to the needs of the fast food market (taste, convenience and price). NXT LVL PZA is on a mission to do just that, bringing people food that’s so good they won’t even realise – or care – it’s vegan.
Involved from the very beginning, Outfly helped founder Fabio fine tune the product (read: we ate lots of pizza and came up with silly names for the menu) and the target market (16-25 year olds who regularly order from Dominos et.al), while developing and implementing a go-to-market strategy based on an asset-light dark kitchen model.
Outfly’s strategists helped NXT LVL build brand/product partnerships with 16 alt-protein industry leaders, which meant the pizza challenger brand could serve up the tastiest new ingredients at a lower cost, all while benefiting from the brand equity and credibility of big names like Beyond Meat & THIS. The result was the world’s first ‘secretly vegan’ D2C pizza company, making eating ethically as inclusive, easy and fun as the target market’s favourite hobby — gaming.
For the brand, the designers set about building a rebellious identity with a Gen Z focus. This meant disrupting the pattern of identikit do-good vegan brands and choosing a bright, attention-grabbing colour palette. The designers took inspiration from gamer culture, as well as the wonderful world of Anime, to create a vibrant brand that made use of HUD-style graphics, typography and stickers.
Appealing to Gen Z meat-eaters wasn’t the only strategy. NXL LVL’s more sustainable approach to fast food (100% recycled packaging, meat-free ingredients and biodegradable sauce sachets) spoke to a broader audience of flexitarians — people who want to reduce their impact without compromising on taste. Meanwhile, vegetarians and vegans were catered to with a secret brand ambassador programme.
After launching in November 2021, NXT LVL PZA’s pilot location became one of Deliveroo’s most popular pizza restaurants in SW London, with a 4.6* rating from 350 orders. The Soho pop-up went one better, winning coverage in The Metro, MyLondon & BuzzFeed. Outfly’s creative coverage of the brand’s events and pizza parties on TikTok and Instagram helped build the hype around the brand, while paid campaigns and email marketing pushed a steady stream of traffic to the website and ordering platforms. Outfly also worked closely with Fabio on funding, creating decks, graphics, pitch videos and investor emails. Through a mix of crowdfunding and private investment, NXT LVL has since raised £3 million and expanded to 10 more locations around London.
NXT LVL PZA
Brand, Digital, Packaging, Product Design, Communications, Film, Marketing, Business Strategy, Design Innovation
Strategy, brand, launch and crowdfund for a rebellious vegan startup that’s bringing ethical eating to the fast food market.
“NXT LVL PZA is on a mission to bring people pizza so good that they wouldn’t even realise – or care – that it’s vegan.”
“Outfly helped founder Fabio fine tune the product and target market, implementing a go-to-market strategy based on dark kitchens and brand partnerships.”
“Disrupting the pattern of identikit do-good vegan brands, the designers chose a bright, attention-grabbing colour palette.”
“NXT LVL PZA’s pilot location became one of Deliveroo’s most popular pizza restaurants in SW London, with a 4.6* rating from 350 orders.”
“NXT LVL has raised £3 million and expanded to 10 more locations around London.”
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NXT LVL PZA
Brand, Digital, Packaging, Product Design, Communications, Film, Marketing, Business Strategy, Design Innovation
Strategy, brand, launch and crowdfund for a rebellious vegan startup that’s bringing ethical eating to the fast food market.
Vegan food has been a trending topic for years now, but most brands in this space preach to the converted. To make veganism mainstream, the world needs more products that appeal to the needs of the fast food market (taste, convenience and price). NXT LVL PZA is on a mission to do just that, bringing people food that’s so good they won’t even realise – or care – it’s vegan.
Involved from the very beginning, Outfly helped founder Fabio fine tune the product (read: we ate lots of pizza and came up with silly names for the menu) and the target market (16-25 year olds who regularly order from Dominos et.al), while developing and implementing a go-to-market strategy based on an asset-light dark kitchen model.
Outfly’s strategists helped NXT LVL build brand/product partnerships with 16 alt-protein industry leaders, which meant the pizza challenger brand could serve up the tastiest new ingredients at a lower cost, all while benefiting from the brand equity and credibility of big names like Beyond Meat & THIS. The result was the world’s first ‘secretly vegan’ D2C pizza company, making eating ethically as inclusive, easy and fun as the target market’s favourite hobby — gaming.
For the brand, the designers set about building a rebellious identity with a Gen Z focus. This meant disrupting the pattern of identikit do-good vegan brands and choosing a bright, attention-grabbing colour palette. The designers took inspiration from gamer culture, as well as the wonderful world of Anime, to create a vibrant brand that made use of HUD-style graphics, typography and stickers.
Appealing to Gen Z meat-eaters wasn’t the only strategy. NXL LVL’s more sustainable approach to fast food (100% recycled packaging, meat-free ingredients and biodegradable sauce sachets) spoke to a broader audience of flexitarians — people who want to reduce their impact without compromising on taste. Meanwhile, vegetarians and vegans were catered to with a secret brand ambassador programme.
After launching in November 2021, NXT LVL PZA’s pilot location became one of Deliveroo’s most popular pizza restaurants in SW London, with a 4.6* rating from 350 orders. The Soho pop-up went one better, winning coverage in The Metro, MyLondon & BuzzFeed. Outfly’s creative coverage of the brand’s events and pizza parties on TikTok and Instagram helped build the hype around the brand, while paid campaigns and email marketing pushed a steady stream of traffic to the website and ordering platforms. Outfly also worked closely with Fabio on funding, creating decks, graphics, pitch videos and investor emails. Through a mix of crowdfunding and private investment, NXT LVL has since raised £3 million and expanded to 10 more locations around London.
