San Luis Potosí
No. 196, Suite 206
Roma Norte
06700 CDMX
E. hello@thrust.com.mx
T. +52 8190 1290
M. +52155 40941527
How did Sushiitto reinvent itself from within to rewrite and reclaim its category leadership through a 360° transformation?
As a pioneer in bringing Japanese food to Mexico and Latin America through a casual dining format that launched a new category in the region — with 140+ locations across 6 countries in Central and North America and over three decades of history — Sushiitto has shaped the way sushi is experienced and enjoyed. Now, in a landscape where the category has expanded with new formats and competitors, the brand chose to defend its leadership with the same spirit that drove it in the 90s: to innovate again, raise the bar on service, and build a culture capable of rewriting the rules of the game.
CMR’s bet (the group that has owned the brand since 2019) was a 360° transformation: from renewing its value proposition to redefining its visual identity and service model. A move that elevated the way the brand shows up externally, while also unlocking the opportunity to transform its cultural DNA by aligning the internal experience.
With this ambition, Sushiitto stepped into a new era — one where culture becomes a key ingredient in sustaining its commercial evolution and future expansion.
An Unprecedented Opportunity
For this growth model to take hold, the goal was clear: achieve double-digit growth in average ticket in the middle of a shifting landscape — new players, more agile formats, and a post-pandemic environment that tested the brand’s resilience.
Against this backdrop, the brand refresh and the WAO! concept were a bold step forward, but the real opportunity was bigger: to make the evolution change the way the organization thought, worked, served, and connected with people.
That’s where Thrust became a key player: translating market momentum into a cultural redesign capable of aligning product, service, and experience — so the transformation wouldn’t stay on the surface, but would be felt in every interaction, inside and outside the brand.
Reading the Invisible
The first step was to map before acting. Using Change Readiness AI™, we identified the invisible elements that could accelerate or hold back the evolution: the perceptions, tensions, and capabilities that go unnoticed, yet determine whether a transformation truly takes root or stays on the surface.
The assessment revealed three fundamental levers: 1) Rebuild trust through clear communication and leadership; 2) Strengthen key capabilities with solid processes and training; and 3) Ignite motivation through sustainable recognition frameworks.
With this foundation in place, a clear path emerged: define a new cultural identity that bridged innovation with legacy, and give Sushiitto the footing it needed to write the next chapter of its story.
Activating a New Identity
Building on the findings, we designed a cultural system that works as a shared compass — guiding decisions, aligning everyone in the same direction, and offering a common language to live the change day to day.
At the heart of this system lives the purpose “We live for the WAO!”, which brings the brand’s new philosophy and value proposition to life. From here, we designed operational practices that drive behaviors and habits tied to the service experience; rituals that foster cohesion and belonging; and symbolic tools that remind every Waori — as Sushiitto calls its team members — how their contribution connects to the purpose.
To embed and scale this behavioral model beyond any single area, we created a Cultural Playbook as a self-management guide that takes culture out of HR and brings it to every level of the organization — allowing the transformation to be adopted and measured in a pragmatic way.
Building the Future of the Industry
By approaching this project through a co-creative lens —with Cadena Concepts as partner in experience, branding, and architectural design— the work translated into a connected set of processes, playbooks, and mindsets that helped shift the organization from a siloed operating model to one built on cross-functional collaboration.
The WAO! bet is already showing up in the real world: strategic openings and renovations bringing the new look & feel and automation to restaurants, with service robots that embody Sushiitto’s leap into the future. At the company level, CMR reported Q4 2024 same-store sales growth of +4.9% and EBITDA growth of +16.3%, with Sushiitto highlighted as the reinvestment and innovation front driving this structural shift (CMR, 2024).
Today, Sushiitto is once again setting the pace for its category — redefining the game with operational innovation and a living culture that shows up in every service interaction. The difference is that now every Waori acts from and toward a clear purpose: “Live for the WAO! With every person, in every moment” — turning each interaction into a leadership statement that rewrites the story of Japanese casual dining in Mexico.
San Luis Potosí
No. 196, Suite 206
Roma Norte
06700 CDMX
E. hello@thrust.com.mx
T. +52 8190 1290
M. +52155 40941527
