Why Ohio sushi restaurant chain Fusian is refreshing its brand 16 years in

Much has changed since 2010. TikTok didn’t exist back then; neither did ChatGPT. Most people hadn’t given a second thought to the meaning of the word “pandemic.”

What hadn’t changed since 2010 was the branding at FUSIAN, a fast-casual sushi chain based in Columbus, Ohio. The concept — which opened its first location in downtown Cincinnati that year — was still using the same colors, fonts, and logo that were a part of its founding.

Until recently.

Fusian just introduced a top-to-bottom brand refresh, developing a new color palette, logo, and typeface that modernize the seven-unit chain and prepare it for its next phase of growth.

Stephan Harman, cofounder and CEO of Fusian, joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to talk about the brand refresh and how the business is using the change to better serve its guests and enter new markets.

In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why:

• Your first location should be a profitable test kitchen

• There’s always room for improvement — even with your core product

• If your product travels well, consider fewer units in each market

• Customers can make their own decisions around health and wellness

• Branding guidelines help you tell your story — and grow into new markets