La Lah Cafe
Full-scale Rebrand
La Lah is a family-owned café in Dunsborough, Western Australia — a coastal town internationally recognized for its beaches and relaxed lifestyle. Formerly known as Mealup Café, the venue’s dated branding and interiors no longer reflected the vibrant, family-friendly, and community-focused vision of its new owners.
My Solution
I led the creative and marketing direction to reposition La Lah as a family- and dog-friendly café at the heart of Western Australia’s most iconic coastal tourism region. My approach combined visual rebranding, a refreshed marketing strategy, and community activations that grounded the venue in local culture. The creative direction leaned into a coastal, casual, and welcoming aesthetic that reflected both the lifestyle of Dunsborough and the owners’ vision of La Lah as a gathering place for brunch, coffee, and connection.
The Challenge
Previously known as Mealup Cafe, the venue was a dated Thai-inspired space with tired branding, little cohesion, and minimal community presence. When the new owners took over in 2018, they had a clear vision: to rebrand and reinvent the café into a bright, welcoming brunch destination that reflected Dunsborough’s easy-going coastal lifestyle and appealed equally to locals, tourists, families, and dog owners. Achieving this required a full-scale transformation — from the name and branding through to interior fit-out, marketing strategy, social presence, and community engagement.
Execution
Brand Development: Oversaw the renaming and full brand identity rollout, including logo, color palette, menus, staff uniforms, and signage to establish a cohesive new image.
Photography & Visual Direction: Directed the establishing brand photoshoot to promote La Lah’s family- and dog-friendly ethos, with imagery rooted in the coastal, relaxed lifestyle.
Social Media & UGC: Built a strong Instagram presence that encouraged user-generated content, boosting reach and authenticity by showcasing real customers and their experiences.
Community Partnerships: Activated collaborations such as rotating exhibitions of local artist Christian Fletcher’s photography within the café, creating a cross-beneficial partnership with his gallery next door.
Operational Innovations: Introduced the takeout window, solving customer feedback around limited takeaway options and increasing revenue opportunities.
Events & Activations: Supported La Lah in becoming a community hub, including hosting annual Sculptures by the Bay events and becoming a go-to brunch spot for wedding parties, families, and visitors.
Capabilities Shown
Brand Strategy & Development — complete rebrand including naming, visual identity, and rollout across all customer touchpoints.
Creative Direction — photoshoot direction, visual identity, and aesthetic positioning.
Marketing Strategy — building a strong social presence, encouraging UGC, and embedding La Lah into the coastal lifestyle narrative.
Community Engagement & Partnerships — driving local collaborations, events, and cultural activations.
Hospitality & Experience Design — aligning menu, service, and operations (e.g. takeaway window) with customer needs and brand positioning.
“Anna was a pleasure to work with and we could not be happier with the outcome!”
— Lesley & Andrew
(La Lah Owners)