How Wahaca's new CEO rebuilt the guest experience to match the plate — and the partnership campaign that drove £120k of sales without a single discount.

Four years ago, newly promoted Wahaca CEO Gemma Glasson launched Wahaca Reimagined: a line-by-line operational rebuild of the guest experience covering bespoke crockery, cutlery weight, chefs on the pass, new uniforms, rebuilt steps of service and even door handles. In this episode she walks Conor through the full playbook — diagnosing the experience gap, investing in hospitality rather than stripping it out, acquiring customers through brand alignment rather than discounting (including the Atis campaign that drove more than £120k of sales), using Mexico trips and five-year sabbaticals as retention tools, and defending scratch cooking as a moat in an era of UPF backlash. Plus her 2026 strategy distilled to a single line: every guest leaves a super fan.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Close the gap between product and experience — in casual dining, every detail is a proxy for quality
• Acquire customers through brand alignment, not margin erosion: the Atis partnership drove £120k+ of sales with zero discounting
• Invest in the fourth and fifth visit, not just the first — loyalty and CRM compound in ways discounts never will
• Pride is a retention strategy: Mexico trips, five-year sabbaticals and a culture people build careers inside
• Scratch cooking is a burden — and an increasingly rare moat as consumers wake up to ultra-processed food

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro — the experience gap in casual dining

2:39 Welcome, Gemma

3:04 From EY corporate finance to CEO of Wahaca

6:31 Leadership: blue energy, yellow energy and clarity built on empathy

11:39 Launching Wahaca Reimagined — diagnosing the problem

17:47 The operational rebuild: crockery, cutlery, chefs on the pass

27:08 Measuring guest experience — the KPIs that actually matter

31:06 Reaching a younger, digital-native audience

33:49 The Atis partnership and the £120k margarita coaster campaign

36:14 The Mexico connection — pride as a retention strategy

45:33 Growth strategy: brand momentum over new sites

48:41 Reflections on Wahaca Reimagined

51:44 The Quick Turn — rapid-fire questions

57:27 Fixing VAT for UK hospitality

1:01:58 Shift Notes: Conor's closing reflections

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts

Nory: https://www.nory.ai/

Nory blog: https://www.nory.ai/blog

Nory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/

Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/

Gemma Glasson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-glasson-452b7475/