Brand, Business & Channel Architecture
Brand, operations and sales channels are built as one system: one standard, one umbrella, one production base, many points of sale.
1. Brand layers
| Layer | Name | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Category & seal | 5th Table | Names the missing fifth American table next to Taco, Pizza, Noodle and Burger; certifies authenticity through an independent NGO working decision |
| Umbrella company | Ā Levantine | Wellness-led Mediterranean/Levantine brand for Gen Z and beyond; coastal, foodie and wellness consumers |
| First product brand | Ohanyan's | Heritage name with ~40 years in Armenian-American and Middle Eastern retail; the Armenian family story leads the narrative working decision · ohanyans.com |
| Formats (new) | Phygital Wellness Kitchen · Mediterranean Chef | Automated 24/7 kiosks and chef-signed counters that put the products in front of consumers (Sections 06–07) |
2. Operations: one central kitchen, four lines
| Line | Products | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Meat processing | Seasoned köfte and dolma mixes, döner, later sucuk sticks and bastırma | Via Ohanyan's USDA license; Azusa as scale site |
| Meze (cook–chill–pack) | Hummus, babaganoush, cacık, olive-oil dishes; plant-based Akdeniz Burger/Köfte | Core of the Meze Bar and Wellness Kitchen supply |
| Bakery | Simit, poğaça, pide, lahmacun | Added to plan |
| Dairy | Ice cream, milk desserts, yogurt, cheese | On hold |
Facility rule working decision: buy or lease operating food businesses that have already solved U.S. market access, not empty buildings. Ohanyan's (Fresno) is the lab and sample kitchen; the Azusa site (1120 W. Foothill Blvd., former USDA & BRC certified plant, offered by CBRE) is the scale candidate.
3. Sales channels
| Channel | Model | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Meze Bars in supermarkets | Fresh meze from the central kitchen, refrigerated trucks, in-store bars modeled on supermarket sushi bars (Kroger, Albertsons as targets) | Concept; chains not approached |
| Phygital Wellness Kitchen | AI "Build Your Tray" kiosks in hotels, hospitals, campuses, residences, senior living, store-in-store | Concept (Section 06) |
| Grocery & club retail | Semi-cooked meze/meal packs (Trader Joe's idea); Costco, Target, Walmart as best-fit national accounts | Targets; not approached |
| Existing Ohanyan's network | Distributors into ethnic and specialty retail | Inherited at closing |
| Specialty / foodservice | FOODMatch (NYC) — merger or acquisition evaluated as a channel | Under evaluation |
| Travel retail | Plaza Premium lounges (from the Panayır plan) as showcase | Not approached |
| DTC | Online, subscription, overnight delivery in core metros | To build |