Café Joyeux Case Study

Café Joyeux Creates an Interactive Brand Experience with a Social Impact

Brand: Café Joyeux

Date: Jun 2024

Overview

In an era where social impact meets digital innovation, Café Joyeux, a family of inclusive café-restaurants, is leading the charge in promoting the inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and educating consumers through immersive, next-gen educational experiences.

The company, known for creating job opportunities for individuals with disabilities, expanded its mission into the metaverse by launching a 3D virtual café that educates visitors about their brand and philosophy. This innovative educational space aims to inform global consumers about Café Joyeux’s social mission while leveraging digital trends to create meaningful, interactive brand experiences.

Explore the space

Challenge

Raising Awareness About Inclusion Through Digital Innovation

Café Joyeux's goal was to raise awareness about the importance of workplace inclusion for people with disabilities in an engaging, innovative way. Traditionally, Café Joyeux's mission was shared through its physical locations and through word-of-mouth, but with younger generations increasingly active in virtual spaces, the challenge was to create an interactive, educational platform that would bridge the gap between Café Joyeux's real-world efforts and the digital-savvy audience. The brand needed a way to engage users in an educational context that was immersive and accessible while still staying true to its core mission of inclusion.

The aim was to not only educate visitors about the importance of inclusion but also to foster empathy and emotional connections with Café Joyeux's employees, who are real individuals with intellectual disabilities. The space needed to be a tool for understanding, empathy, and digital engagement.

Solution

An Engaging Educational Space for Brand Mission and Social Change

To tackle this challenge, Café Joyeux partnered with the innovation agency Instinct to create an immersive, interactive café environment on the Spatial platform, using the Spatial SDK powered by Unity. This combination of technologies enabled the creation of a high-fidelity 3D interactive space that mirrors the welcoming atmosphere of Café Joyeux's physical locations. The virtual café serves as an experiential learning space, where visitors can explore the brand's mission of inclusion, interact with avatars of Café Joyeux employees, and understand the positive impact of inclusive employment.

The virtual space allows users to create avatars or explore anonymously, offering easy access for all. Visitors can order a virtual coffee, chat, donate, and shop for avatar items in a seamless, interactive experience. The Spatial platform supports multiple languages and is accessible on desktop, tablet, smartphone, and VR, ensuring an accessible experience for a global audience.

Result

Café Joyeux's 3D virtual café offers an innovative, interactive space that educates users on workplace inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities while extending the brand's mission globally, empowering users to take action through donations and awareness. By combining social impact with advanced technology, Café Joyeux sets a new standard for immersive educational experiences that inspire a more inclusive future.

Audience Reach

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Mobile Users

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Countries of Users

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Quote

"Constantly innovating and capturing the attention of all age groups, particularly the youngest - future professionals - is extremely relevant in our mission to promote a society that is more open to difference and capable of not excluding anyone."

Filipa Pinto Coelho,

CEO of Joyeux in Portugal

"For us, supporting Café Joyeux means supporting society as a whole to become more enlightened, tolerant and responsible towards true social inclusion. It is remarkable what Café Joyeux and the VilacomVida Association have managed to do in such a short time, bringing a new perspective on the difference that deserves to be expanded in virtual worlds as well."

Sandra Lucas Ribeiro,

Managing Partner of Instinct

Key Information

Key Information: Café Joyeux

It's time for a coffee break! ☕️ Explore an inclusive workplace for extraordinary people. Sit down, relax, and learn more about Café Joyeux's mission to professionally include people with mental and cognitive disabilities, leading by example in their family of café-restaurants. Developed by Instinct.

Here are the key points from the information about Café Joyeux:

Inclusion and Employment

Café Joyeux was created to address the inequality faced by people with intellectual disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome, who experience significantly higher unemployment rates. Only 0.5% of people with intellectual disabilities in France have a job.

Mission and Vision

The café's mission is to promote the inclusion of individuals with mental and cognitive disabilities through work and meaningful social encounters. Its vision is to foster a more empathetic and harmonious society by opening hearts to people's differences.

Work and Training Model

Café Joyeux hires individuals with disabilities, starting them as interns before offering permanent employment based on assessed skills. Employees receive vocational training in hospitality roles, including greeting customers, cashiering, food preparation, and waitering. They are guided by professional managers who ensure they develop confidence and valuable skills.

Growth and Impact

Since its founding in 2017, Café Joyeux has expanded to 26 locations across France, Belgium, Portugal, and the U.S., employing 205 individuals with disabilities and training them alongside 119 managers and catering professionals. Over 87 million cups of Café Joyeux coffee have been consumed worldwide, and 2 million guests have dined in their restaurants.

Values and Commitment

The brand prioritizes beauty, with carefully designed interiors by renowned designer Sarah Poniatowski; quality, ensuring homemade, seasonal dishes with guidance from Chef Thierry Marx; and authenticity, fostering a professional yet welcoming and joyful atmosphere.

Transformational Impact

Employment at Café Joyeux positively transforms the lives of its employees, providing them with independence, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Employees express newfound happiness, friendships, and empowerment through their work.

Key Information

Key Information: Café Joyeux

Here are the key points from the article:

Café Joyeux in the Metaverse

The café has launched a virtual space on the Spatial platform, developed by the innovation agency Instinct, to connect with younger audiences and align with emerging digital trends.

Interactive Virtual Experience

Visitors can access the metaverse café by creating an avatar or joining anonymously. They are greeted by avatars controlled by real Café Joyeux employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Engagement Opportunities

In the virtual space, users can learn about Café Joyeux's mission, order a virtual coffee, chat with others, donate, discover real-world products, and buy virtual items for their avatars.

Mission Alignment

The initiative supports Café Joyeux's broader mission of fostering a more inclusive society by engaging younger generations and promoting awareness through digital innovation.

Leadership Statements

Filipa Pinto Coelho, CEO of Joyeux in Portugal, emphasized the importance of innovation in fostering inclusion. Sandra Lucas Ribeiro of Instinct highlighted the project's role in expanding Café Joyeux's impact into virtual spaces.

Accessibility

The metaverse café is available in Portuguese, French, and English and can be accessed via desktop, tablet, smartphone, or VR glasses.

Café Joyeux in Portugal

Since opening in 2021, Café Joyeux has expanded to four locations in Cascais and Lisbon, employing 30 people with disabilities. The Cascais location has served over 2,700 meals and 5,800 cups of coffee in its first year.

Café Joyeux's Metaverse Launch

Café Joyeux, a family of inclusive café-restaurants, has launched in the metaverse to further its mission of inclusion and social awareness.

Virtual Interaction

Visitors can create avatars or use random avatars to explore the space. Real staff members with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) welcome guests and share the café's mission.

Features in the Metaverse

Order coffee.
Chat with other visitors.
Make donations.
Discover products to order for the real-world café.
Access a virtual store to purchase items for their avatars.

Target Audience

The virtual café experience is designed to engage younger users, particularly those active in virtual worlds, and promote awareness of inclusion in the job market.

Multilingual and Accessible

The metaverse space is available in Portuguese, French, and English, and can be accessed on desktops, tablets, smartphones, or virtual reality glasses.

Developed by Instinct

The experience was developed by the innovation agency Instinct and is hosted on the Spatial platform.

Website

The virtual café can be accessed in Portugal via the website joyeux.pt.

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