How do you build fame and drive engagement? If you didn’t answer “PR agency” then Alishia Chitolie wants a word in your ear… and a strong one at that.  Fighting back against the “traditional” label, Alishia shares how your PR partner should be your first call to and how you should expect more… So. Much. More from your PR partner.

How do you lead a business as you grow from start-up to scale up, from national to international operator?

Every stage of your business brings different leadership challenges and in this episode, we speak to an expert in the field, Ben Morton. 

Ben goes through each of those distinct business stages…. and for a little post-dinner petit four Ben advises us on how independent food and beverage operators, that are bought out by a market leader, can address the inevitable culture clash.

You can find Ben via his website www.ben-morton.com and his own excellent podcast “The Ben Morton Leadership Podcast” of which Episode 20 is an absolute doozy… 

It’s a monster trading period which it seems to me that most retailers say they hate, but secretly love.  

For those that haven’t experienced it, what’s it like?  And for those that live it, how do you maximise performance?  We get Lily Thistlewood from Reform the Fold to tell us her reflections of ten years of black Friday at one of the UK’s leading E-Commerce companies.

You can reach Lil on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilythistlewood/

And you can hire her agency here:

https://www.reformthefold.com/

As tempting as it is to grab any old celebrity with a big following, chuck them oodles of cash and put your product in their hand, don’t. For many brands it’s not an option and for those that can afford that tactic it’s unlikely to be the optimal way to spend your £££.

In a discipline where reach can mislead; authenticity is key and where helping, not selling drives results we speak to Ash Hatchard of influencer agency Seen Connects about how to do it properly and how to make influencer marketing, work for you.

You can speak to Ash here.

You can reach Seen Connects, the innovative influencer marketing agency here.

How do you position your brand as Luxury?  One of, if not the leader in doing this is LVMH so we spoke to Greg McCann who has worked there and in agency land on exactly this challenge.  He also ends the show on the best “perfect serve” so far. . . . all in less time than it takes you to drink a brew.

You can reach Greg for consultancy here

And follow his journey to build a new company here

How can sound improve how your product tastes?  Running his company Sonic Sauce alongside producing for world-class artists, Producer Wez takes us through the neuroscience of sound.  A great chat looks at how playlists in bars, engines on planes, and the fact technology is changing how music is consumed are all opportunities for brands.  Is sound an underutilised tool in F&B.  We discuss.

Find out more from Producer Wez at:

Instagram: sonic sauce official

YouTube: sonic sauce official

How do you buy contact time with new customers on social. With peak trading season fast approaching Lily Thistlewood of Paid Media agency Reform the Fold discusses the fundamentals of a paid strategy that F&B brands can execute now.

How do you create a collaboration so both brands and the customer take something from it.? Done well there is a good likelihood of reaching new audiences and generating additional sales but done without authenticity, there is a potential for it feeling like a gimmick.  Fashion is the home of collaborations so Katie Mitchell, MD of Retail and Production agency SEEN, joins us to discuss what F&B brands can learn from retail.

How do you use your social channels to encourage customers to trade up?  As life happens the brand you entered a category with might not be the one you stick with, but through effective social media management you can keep a customer within your portfolio of products. We ask Danielle Smith of creative content agency Communicator London, how to solve this problem.

How do you create packaging that stands out on shelves?

For those that have secured their place on the shelf, that’s only the first battle. You now sit cheek by jowl with your competitors, so how do you create packaging that stands out in a crowded space? Paul Brennan, the Co-Founder of Design agency Missouri, has done exactly this for over a decade and in this episode, tells you how to get your products into consumers' hands.