A New Logo Isn't Going To Save Olive Garden

A New Logo Isn't Going To Save Olive Garden

Olive Garden announced during a presentation to investors Monday that it’s changing its logo in an attempt to bring about a "brand renaissance." The new logo, alongside a number of new menu items, is meant to demonstrate "a sense of flair and sophistication" at the ailing restaurant, which is owned by parent company Darden Restaurants. We’ll let you decide on that one for yourselves:

Here’s the new logo:

olive garden logo

Here’s the old one:

olive garden

Brand redesigns and corporate jargon aside, it will likely take a whole lot more than just removing some grapes from its logo to right Olive Garden’s sinking ship. Darden’s stock price fell about 5 percent Monday on news of the chain’s new efforts to turn things around.

Olive Garden has seen both a decline in customers and slumping sales over the past months. In addition to redesigning Olive Garden, Darden still plans to either spin off or sell off its brand Red Lobster. Darden also owns higher-end restaurants like the Capital Grille and Seasons 52.

Darden’s trouble is the result of both consumers spending less and increased competition for fast casual dining options that don’t require customers to tip, such as Panera and Chipotle. Indeed, one of Olive Garden’s new plans is to ramp up delivery and take-out options, including an online ordering feature to be rolled out in 2015.

“We certainly recognize that industry dynamics have changed considerably over past two years," Darden CEO Clarence Otis said during a call with investors.

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