Habit is rethinking the celebrity restaurant collaboration with the launch of Habit & Co., a new residency platform created by agency Optimism BH that invites chefs and cultural figures to develop original limited-time menus for the fast casual chain. Strategically, Habit & Co., will serve as the culinary and cultural exploration arm of its fresh like that brand platform with the goal being to push fast casual into fresher, bolder territory.
Launching on July 22nd with chef, restaurateur and television personality Jet Tila, the social-first platform replaces the familiar celebrity order with an eight-week culinary residency, giving each collaborator the opportunity to create dishes inspired by their own tastes, backgrounds and stories. Additional residencies will follow later this year.
Rather than centering the campaign on a celebrity endorsement, Optimism BH positioned Habit as a creative kitchen where collaborators can experiment with new menu concepts while staying true to the brand’s focus on freshly prepared food. The agency describes the approach as an opportunity to combine the accessibility of fast casual dining with the originality and anticipation typically associated with chef-driven restaurant experiences.
“Historically, food collabs have just been a name on a package,” said Todd Eisner, Executive Creative Director, at Optimism BH. “Habit & Co. was designed to become something much more immersive by giving residents the space to create new menus that feel personal and worth discovering.”
The debut residency features Tila’s Korean Street Menu, available nationwide through September 15th. Inspired by the flavors of the Los Angeles neighborhoods where he grew up, the limited-time menu includes Korean Fried Chicken Bites, a Crispy Rice Korean Salad and a Sweet & Spicy Korean Char with Bacon and Onion Tanglers.
“I grew up eating Habit, so this felt personal,” said Tila. “With this menu, we pulled from the Korean street food flavors I loved eating as a kid: sweet heat, crispy texture, bold sauces and that perfect balance of savory, spicy and a little unexpected. Then we brought those flavors into Habit’s world with chargrilled burgers, crispy chicken, fresh produce and housemade ranch. It’s LA, it is bold, and it is exactly the kind of food I want to eat.”
Media agency of record Exverus by Brainlabs will unfold the campaign across eight weeks with a social-first strategy supported by digital out-of-home, in-restaurant creative, owned digital channels, paid and organic social media, creator content and an editorial partnership with Eater. Each residency concludes with a fan giveaway tied to the featured resident.
“Habit & Co. embodies what Habit is all about: chef-led fresh innovation with a rebellious confidence,” said Jack Lettenmair, Habit’s Director of Brand Marketing. “We’re not just putting someone’s name on a menu item. We’re inviting top tier culturally relevant collaborators into our kitchen and giving them room to create. Jet is the perfect first resident because he brings real flavor, personality and a fresh point of view that feels completely at home at Habit.”
Behind the scenes, the scale of the campaign required extensive coordination between Habit, Optimism BH, media agency Exverus by Brainlabs, and partnership agency SonderCo, which collaborated with the brand from early concept development through the strategy and talent partnerships that brought Habit & Co to life.
The initiative also extends Habit’s long-standing positioning around freshness by applying that philosophy to its partnerships as well as its food. According to Optimism BH, every creative decision was pushed to feel as fresh and authentic as both the featured collaborator and the brand itself.
Habit has worked with Optimism BH as its agency of record since 2023.
