Imagine this scenario. A food business owner pours money into rebranding a high-end restaurant. No expense is spared. Stunning decor, enticing new menu, and anticipation builds. Naturally, the owner and the team expect to see a 5-star hygiene rating displayed on their front door. They are already thinking of how proud they will feel. But things don’t always pan out as we expect, do they.
On EHO inspection day, things unravel rapidly. Instead of that prized 5-star hygiene rating, the EHO delivers a dismal 1-star rating. Suddenly, over-confidence and pride turn to disbelief, confusion, anger and frustration.
So, what went wrong? And what lessons can be learned? Because this scenario, although made up, is more common than you might think.
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Why Did the 5 Star Hygiene Rating Go Awry?
According to one Branding Agency, Frontify, rebranding prices vary between $30,000 – $80,000. In UK terms – that’s between £21,000 to £58,000. This figure depends on whether a brand refresh, or complete brand reboot is settled upon. Naturally, the owner expects a return on their investment (ROI). Yet this will not materialise in the expected timescale if the business fails its EHO inspection. If we look closely, there is a pattern – make sure you don’t make these critical mistakes with your hygiene rating when rebranding.
1️⃣ Too Much Attention and Time Given to Branding Aesthetics
A few weeks before the relaunch date, the food hygiene consultant is called in.
The owner proudly shares pictures of the newly refurbished interior and beautifully plated dishes on social media. An impressive advertising board in town showcases the head chef cooking over roaring charcoal flames. Reservations are pouring in, and confidence is high about achieving a 5-star hygiene rating. As you can imagine, the emphasis is on beauty – not legal food safety compliance.
💡 Lesson 1. Aesthetics are important—but without excellent food hygiene and safety, that 5-star hygiene rating will be impossible to achieve. Don’t spend all that time and money considering rebranding in isolation. You will be putting the business reputation and revenue goals at risk.
2️⃣ Lack of Time to Correct Design and Layout Errors
The food safety consultant highlights some fatal mistakes that have been made with the new design and layout.
💡 Lesson 2 Allow adequate preparation time if aiming for a 5-star hygiene rating. Plan for the EHO inspection in advance (mock EHO inspections are useful here). Talk to the food safety consultant along-side any construction work, refurbishment, and redesign. This allows mistakes to be avoided or corrected early.
3️⃣ Insufficient Time To Embed The Food Safety Management System Into Practice
A robust Food Safety Management System is essential. It must reflect the new menu clearly and the processes that are used. A HACCP Review Checklist is useful here.
Gourmet dishes using high risk foods (e.g. live raw shellfish, or steak tartare), and use of complex processes (sous vide), or complex equipment (like vacuum packing) require careful thought and documentation. New monitoring procedures will also need to be developed and consistently applied.
In our imaginary scenario, the management team had provided new staff training to cover customer service standards. However they failed to think about the time it takes to sufficiently train and supervise staff in the new menu, and new food safety processes. Embedding the food safety management into practice had been overlooked.
💡 Lesson 3 Treat the Food Safety Management System as a living, breathing document. It is not supposed to sit in a corner gathering dust. Ensure you allow enough time to bring this important document to life. And make sure it is kept up to date.
4️⃣ Lack of Awareness About What Is To Be Assessed
The inspector observed mismatches. The paperwork did not match staff practices, risks were not fully documented, and staff struggled to answer typical questions that the EHO is likely to ask.
So instead of celebrating a sparkling relaunch day with a proud 5-star hygiene rating, the owner now faces immediate damage control. Not just damage to ego and pride – but damage to business reputation and revenue loss from a poor hygiene score.
💡 Lesson 4 Take time to become familiar with what will be assessed during an EHO inspection. If you are in the early stages of launching or rebranding and feel unsure what the Local Authority expects — don’t wait until inspection day to find out. Many businesses end up with a 1-star rating simply because they didn’t ask for help at the right time.
What Will The EHO Inspection Will Be Assessing?
When rebranding, if your goal is a 5-star hygiene rating, you need clarity about exactly what the EHO will be assessing you against.
The EHO inspection closely examines any changes since the last inspection, particularly new menu items. The inspector will be looking at what is actually in place, what your management system states is in place, and whether you are meeting legal requirements set down in food law. Best practice counts here too. They will:
🔹 Have detailed conversations with you and your staff, assessing knowledge and awareness of food risks relating to your menu.
🔹 Directly observe workplace practices, including personal hygiene and how staff follow safety procedures.
🔹 Examine your documentation and paperwork.
Your food safety consultant is there to support you — to identify and close gaps between your paperwork, policies, procedures, and practices. A good consultant will ensure your business is fully prepared to meet your goal—the prized 5-star hygiene rating hanging from the entrance.
✅ Use An EHO Inspection Checklist
Rebranding is the perfect time to fix old issues — but it’s also a time when businesses get caught out.
The article below contains a checklist that you can download. Use it to make sure your business can achieve a 5-star hygiene rating — before you plan your re-launch.
👉 Read our article: EHO Inspection Checklist for 5-Star Hygiene Rating
🔑 Key Lessons Learned
1. Allow sufficient preparation time: Aim for at least three months before relaunching to iron out any problems. And if you plan to use a food safety consultant, invite them in during the early planning and design stages.
2. Balance aesthetics and legal compliance: Both branding and food safety must be prioritised equally. If you want that 5-star hygiene rating goal to be realised – stop the siloed thinking.
3. Update and document thoroughly: Ensure your Food Safety Management System (and HACCP Plan) accurately reflects your new menu, new processes and new equipment. Read our other article about when to review a HACCP Plan.
4. Get everyone on board with the goal: Train your staff comprehensively. And overcome resistance to any new habits that need to form. Set the right attitudes and behaviours. Then practice, observe, give feedback and correct. Rinse and repeat until new behaviours are embedded and normalised.
5. Understand EHO inspection criteria clearly: Get to know what EHOs look for, how they gather evidence and how scores are allocated. Familiarise yourself with what to do if things go badly wrong. You have the Right to Appeal, Right to Reply, and if your score is dismal, you can apply for a Re-Inspection.
Ready to Secure Your 5 Star Hygiene Rating?
🟢 Don’t leave your reputation—or your rating—to chance when rebranding.
Need expert support getting ready for your EHO inspection? We help food businesses confidently prepare for launch, relaunch, or reinspection—without the panic.
📩 Get in touch with us today to take the first step toward a 5-star hygiene rating.
👉 If you need help managing a disappointing food hygiene rating – find out how to take back control in this article. Learn how to control the narrative and rebuild trust.
