One Source of Truth: How Wonderfield Uses Communication as a Strategic Operational Tool

About Wonderfield Group

Wonderfield Group is an international, multi-channel food business operating across restaurants, retail kiosks, manufacturing, and franchising. Within the UK and Ireland, the business includes 33 YO! Sushi restaurants and more than 550 retail kiosks across brands including YO! Sushi, Panku, Bento, Sushi Circle, and UZUZU. While the restaurants are corporately managed, approximately 95% of kiosks are operated by franchise partners. 

This creates a highly diverse operational environment. Corporate restaurant teams, franchise partners, field-based colleagues, and central support functions all require access to information, but their needs are often different. Delivering targeted, relevant communication while maintaining consistency across the organisation is therefore critical to operational success.

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Evolving Beyond Traditional Information Sharing

Like many organisations, Wonderfield historically relied on a combination of systems, including SharePoint, a corporate intranet, and Ziik. As the business evolved and its kiosk operation transitioned from primarily corporate-owned locations to a predominantly franchise-led model, communication requirements became increasingly complex. 

The challenge was no longer simply publishing information. The business needed a way to:

• Communicate effectively with multiple audiences.
• Ensure information remained relevant and targeted.
• Provide franchise partners with access to the content they needed.
• Protect them from irrelevant corporate information.
• Create consistency across the organisation.

To address this, Wonderfield undertook a significant review of how Ziik was structured, governed, and managed. Led by the Central Operations team, the platform was redesigned to better support the diverse needs of its users. 

Today, Ziik serves as a central information hub for both corporate teams and franchise partners, with permissions and content structures designed around operational relevance.

“The hierarchy and the way the platform is managed means we can make sure people get the information they actually need. We are not overloading franchise partners with restaurant information or restaurants with retail information. It is information that is relevant for their specific role.”

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Creating a Self-Service Operating Platform

Wonderfield's ambition extends beyond traditional internal communications. The objective is to create a self-service environment where teams can quickly find answers to operational questions without relying on emails or escalating routine queries through management channels. 

Whether someone needs to locate a planogram, understand a current promotion, identify maintenance support, recruit a team member, or resolve an IT issue, the platform should provide a straightforward route to the correct answer. 

This approach delivers benefits beyond convenience. By reducing repetitive enquiries to support functions, central teams can focus more of their time on strategic support and business improvement.

“If a department gets asked the same question 50 times, I say: let us do something about that. Whether that is creating content, improving searchability, or updating FAQs. It means we spend our time more efficiently and support franchise partners and restaurants in better ways.” 

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One Version of the Truth

At the heart of Wonderfield's communication strategy is a simple principle: creating a single, trusted source of information. 

Instead of information being stored across individual drives, shared informally, or interpreted differently across locations, Ziik is becoming the place where teams know they can find the latest and most accurate guidance. 

Department pages follow a consistent structure, whether users are accessing Finance, Recruitment, IT, Operations, or another function. Standardised layouts, FAQs, quick links, and contact information help users navigate content more effectively and create a familiar experience across the platform. 

“One version of the truth. There is one answer, not different answers.”

Accelerating Self-Service Through AI

The introduction of AI-powered search represents the next stage of Wonderfield's digital communication strategy. Rather than manually searching through documents or department pages, users can simply ask a question and receive an immediate response based on the content available across the platform. 

The technology not only improves access to information but also highlights opportunities for continuous improvement. If users cannot find an answer, it prompts a review of whether the necessary content exists or whether it needs updating. 

“The AI search engine is going to make life significantly easier for everybody. If you can simply type in what you need and receive the answer instantly, that is hugely positive. It saves time and helps our teams access the correct information.” 

For Wonderfield, maintaining information quality is just as important as making it searchable.

“The platform needs to be updated, with new information added and outdated information remove, alongside suggestions from our teams to help them fulfil their duties”. 

Built to Support Growth

Scalability has become another significant benefit.

As the business grows, the platform can automatically enroll users into the correct groups, regions, and departmental structures. New locations can be integrated quickly, while closed locations can be removed without extensive administration. 

These capabilities help ensure governance remains consistent as the organisation expands, reducing manual effort while improving the user experience. 

The success of the UK and Ireland implementation is now helping inform wider adoption across the Wonderfield Group. Learnings are being shared with the Sushi Take business in Spain, while further opportunities are being explored across other parts of the organisation.

“This is about us improving as a franchisor to make the franchisee's life better.” 

A Partnership Focused on Continuous Improvement

For Graeme Barnes, the relationship with Ziik extends beyond a technology platform. Having spent more than two decades in hospitality leadership roles, he recognises the value of working collaboratively with suppliers who challenge assumptions and help solve problems effectively. 

The relationship between Wonderfield and Ziik has evolved into a partnership centred on continuous improvement, innovation, and user feedback. Ideas generated by franchise partners, restaurant teams, and support functions frequently shape future developments and enhancements. 

“Wonderfield and Ziik have an amazing relationship. We work together to make the platform the best it can be for our teams. We can bring development ideas forward based on the feedback we receive from our people.” 

Favourite Features

AI-Powered Search

Users can ask questions directly and receive answers sourced from information held across the platform, making operational content easier to access and navigate. 

Targeted Permissions and User Groups

Content can be tailored to franchise partners, restaurants, departments, and other audiences, ensuring users only receive information relevant to them. 

Broadcast Channels

Critical operational updates can be published in controlled channels, preventing valuable information from becoming lost within wider conversations. 

Usage Analytics and Read Confirmations

Reporting tools help Wonderfield understand engagement levels, monitor adoption, and identify opportunities to improve communication effectiveness.