Branding a Portsaid restaurant into a destination

El Marakby brings authentic Portsaid food and culture to Jeddah, but the in-restaurant brand experience didn't yet match the ambition — it needed to feel like a destination guests return to and talk about, and look professional enough to stand among Jeddah's leading venues.

Treat the whole guest journey as branded touch points — every surface a guest meets, from the table to the takeaway bag to the kids' corner to seasonal moments, tells the Portsaid story and elevates the experience.

Designed and rolled out 13+ touch points across dine-in (a plate-lifting placemat, leather check cover, staff name tags, an 80+ item leather menu built for instant clarity), takeaway (branded meal covers), reception and events (a Portsaid-boat photo corner, a Friday host podium, a fully rebranded meeting hall), seasonal dressing (a full Ramadan look), a children's coloring book, and 2nd- and 3rd-anniversary events with media coverage and a live semsemya performance by Portsaid singer Ali Ouf — plus a new website and 18 months of social presence.

Guests come back: El Marakby holds a 36.5% repeat-customer rate — at the top of the 25–40% F&B benchmark — driven by the hospitality, the reception and the cohesive Portsaid experience the touch points create. Anniversary events drew crowds and local media coverage, and the brand now reads as one of the more polished F&B names in Jeddah.