From a cultural idea to a shared experience

Persian Feast

Turning Persian food, stories and culture into a meaningful experience — and building a new catering brand around it.

Persian Feast is a cultural food experience created by Zahra, bringing Persian food, traditions and stories to audiences in the Netherlands.

For the May 2026 pilot, I supported the development of the catering start-up and its first cultural food experience, from concept development and audience research to campaign strategy, visual communication and event activation.

The goal was to create more than a memorable cultural dining experience. It was also to build brand awareness, attract new customers, encourage orders and support business growth.

By bringing together food, storytelling and thoughtful campaign communication, we aimed to spark curiosity about Persian culture, make guests feel welcome around the table, and inspire them to share the experience with others.

The challenge —

How do you introduce a new catering concept while making Persian food and culture accessible to a wider audience?

As a new catering start-up, Persian Feast needed more than an attractive event announcement. It needed a clear story, a recognisable identity and a communication approach that could explain what the experience was, why it was special, and why people should join.

At the same time, the campaign needed to support a practical business goal: reaching new customers and turning interest into bookings, orders and future opportunities.

The challenge was therefore twofold: Build awareness for a new catering concept — while creating an authentic cultural experience people would want to discover, experience and share.

The approach

I worked with Zahra to develop the experience from both the audience and business perspective — looking at who we wanted to reach, what would make them curious, how to communicate the value of the experience, and how the event could support the growth of the catering business.

The process included:

01 — Understand the audience
We explored who might be interested in Persian food and cultural experiences, what could spark their curiosity, and what might encourage them to take the first step. These insights helped shape both the communication and the experience itself.

02 — Shape the concept
Rather than positioning Persian Feast simply as a catering service or dinner, we shaped the pilot as a cultural food experience. Food became an entry point into Persian traditions, hospitality and storytelling — creating a format that could welcome both people familiar with Persian culture and those discovering it for the first time.

03 — Develop the campaign
I translated the concept into a clear campaign story and customer journey, connecting awareness, discovery, registration, participation and follow-up. The communication needed to balance cultural storytelling with practical information, while keeping the wider business goals in view: awareness, customer acquisition and future orders.

04 — Create the communication
I developed and supported the campaign content and visual communication across different touchpoints, including social media, event descriptions, promotional copy, email communication, invitations, feedback messages and printed materials.

The aim was to create a consistent story across every stage of the customer journey.

05 — Bring the story to life
The campaign continued beyond digital communication and into the physical experience. Food, storytelling, cultural details, recipe cards and on-site communication were brought together to create a cohesive experience — from the first invitation to the shared table.

06 — Learn and evolve
The pilot was treated as a starting point for future development. Audience responses and participant feedback provided insights into what resonated and what could be improved, creating a cycle of Listen → Create → Activate → Learn → Improve for future Persian Feast experiences.

The experience Khaan-e Avval: The Arrival of Autumn

The first Persian Feast gathering brought guests together around Persian food, culture and storytelling.

The experience was designed to introduce guests to Persian culinary traditions while creating an intimate and welcoming atmosphere for sharing food and stories.

Rather than simply presenting a menu, the event encouraged guests to discover, taste, listen and connect.

Printed recipe cards extended the experience beyond the event, giving guests something tangible to take home and continue the story.

The experience was designed as: Discover → Taste → Listen → Share → Remember → Take something home

* Event video of Khaan-e Avval: The Arrival of Autumn on Instagram

What I brought to the project —

Brand & Marketing: Audience research and thinking, Brand and experience positioning, Campaign strategy, Customer journey thinking, Business and customer-growth perspective.
Campaigns & Experiences: Event concept development, Campaign messaging, Promotional strategy, Community activation, Event storytelling, Participant journey.
Visual Communication: Digital campaign assets, Event communication materials, On-site communication, Supporting digital and physical visual content.
Community & Engagement: Audience invitations, Community outreach, Partnership activation, Participant feedback, Future-event development.

Beyond the event

The pilot was treated as a starting point for building the catering brand, rather than a one-off event.

Before the event, audience feedback and campaign responses helped shape the format, communication and content.

Afterwards, participant feedback provided valuable insights into what resonated with the audience and what could be improved for future gatherings.

This created a continuous cycle: Listen → Create → Activate → Learn → Improve

The approach allowed Persian Feast to learn from a real customer experience while building a foundation for future events, catering opportunities and customer relationships.

Impact

The May 2026 pilot helped Persian Feast move from a catering idea to a tangible customer experience.

The project created a platform to:

Introduce the Persian Feast concept to a new audience
Build awareness around the catering brand
Attract potential new customers
Encourage event participation and future orders
Test the experience and communication with a real audience
Gather feedback for future events
Create a foundation for continued brand and business development

More importantly, it connected brand building with real-world experience — allowing people to discover Persian Feast not only through communication, but by experiencing its food, hospitality and cultural story first-hand.

Have an idea you want to bring to life?

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