Brother Marcus has always believed that great hospitality starts behind the scenes with the people who create it. Since opening its first café in Balham in 2016, the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant group has built its reputation not just on food, but on culture. The business is guided by four values - Kefi (joy and energy), integrity, curiosity and persistence - principles that shape everything from the guest experience to how the team supports one another.So when Marianne Denning joined as Experience & Engagement Manager, she saw her role as protecting something special as the company grew. And she already knew one tool that could help.At her previous role at Bone Daddies, Marianne had seen first-hand what YuLife could do for a hospitality team and how it turned a staff benefit into something people actually talked about, competed over, and cared about.So when she moved to Brother Marcus, YuLife came with her.It was one of the first things she put in place.The challenge: wellbeing in hospitality is personalHospitality is one of the most rewarding and demanding industries to work in. Long shifts, high energy, and a culture built entirely around looking after other people can make it easy for teams to deprioritise looking after themselves. Brother Marcus understands that tension well. As the business grew to 200 employees across multiple sites, Marianne knew sustaining that culture would require more than good intentions. It needed infrastructure.The solution: a benefit that travels with youBrother Marcus launched with YuLife in March 2025, bringing the platform to its full team of 200 from day one.The decision wasn't born from a lengthy procurement process. It came from lived experience. Marianne had already seen YuLife work in a hospitality environment, and at Brother Marcus, where the team is spread across multiple sites and rarely shares the same shift, that kind of connective tissue matters.In many ways, YuLife mirrors the philosophy Brother Marcus is built on: small daily actions. Energy and curiosity. Celebrating progress.The app quickly became a shared layer of connection: a kind of digital staff room where challenges, leaderboards and rewards created moments of interaction between colleagues who might never work the same shift.The results: early signals of something specialEngagement has been strong from the start. Within weeks, 88% of the team had downloaded the app, and more than half are using it every month, impressive for a hospitality workforce constantly on their feet.And once people join, they really get involved. Active users are averaging 9,708 steps a day, well above the UK average of around 4,000 to 5,000 steps, while regularly taking part in challenges with colleagues across different sites. Together, the team has already logged over 240 million steps, creating friendly competition between restaurants and shifts along the way.The impact goes beyond personal wellbeing. Through YuLife rewards, the team has planted trees, removed plastic from the ocean, donated water and shared meals with people in need. Remarkably, 94% of rewards have gone toward social impact, a statistic that feels particularly fitting for a brand built on doing the right thing even when no one is watching.The bigger pictureBrother Marcus is proof that a people-first culture isn’t just possible in hospitality, it’s powerful.But culture becomes harder to maintain as businesses grow. What starts as something instinctive in a small team needs structure as headcount increases.That’s where tools like YuLife come in, helping translate values like Kefi, curiosity and persistence into everyday behaviours.And sometimes, the strongest endorsement a product can receive isn’t a sales pitch.It’s someone who’s seen it work before, and chooses to bring it with them.YuLife is working to reimagine the insurance industry by protecting lives, rewarding living and inspiring life. Beyond rewards for healthy habits, YuLife gives employees access to critical support services including a virtual GP and Employee Assistance Programme, resources that can be especially valuable in the fast-paced hospitality industry where looking after staff wellbeing is essential. Find out more at yulife.com.