Branding - Workshop Facilitation

Lawson's Delicatessen in Aldeburgh, is a much-loved specialist food retailer on the Suffolk Coast. When the founders retired and sold the business in January 2017, the new owners asked me to facilitate an away-day workshop for them and the staff. The objective of the day was to give the staff the opportunity to share their thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the business and explore ideas and new opportunities drawing on their years of experience in the shop.

The challenge was to create a welcoming and open environment for all the team to share their thoughts and listen to each other. It was important to make sure the team felt valued by Lawson's new owners and give them all a chance to get to know each other better.

I developed a number of exercises and games to make the day fun and engaging. We had cheese jokes, lots of post-it notes and quizzes.  I worked hard to make sure that everyone was involved and listened to and to make sure the discussion kept moving.

We wrapped up the day with a tutored cheese tasting and delicious lunch. It was an unusual opportunity for the whole team to get together away from the busy shop and have the chance to chat together.

As a result of the workshop, we developed a long list of actions for the team to put into place immediately as well as identifying some interesting ideas for development or improvements that will be implemented.

Trade PR - Skinner's Brewery

Trade PR for Skinner's Brewery

Skinner’s Brewery, a renowned Cornish community brewery in the heart of Cornwall, brewed its first pint in 1997 and has gone on to winner numerous awards; but, until recently, has prided itself on being a secret to the South West and has not been available in the rest of the UK.

In early 2016 the brewery underwent a major review of its marketing and sales strategy resulting in a complete brand refresh, as well as major investment in production facilities and a renewed effort to expand distribution to both the on and off-trade.

We were brought on board to support the marketing team with PR to both the consumer and trade press as well as freelance beer writers and bloggers. We developed a sustained media campaign that secured significant coverage of the developments in the influential trade press including the Publican Morning Advertiser, The Grocer, Imbibe and and CAMRA publications. We also organised for samples to be sent to relevant beer bloggers for review on their websites.

Alongside traditional PR we secured a number of opportunities for Skinners beer to appear at interesting and relevant food and drink events including a book launches for chef Dan Doherty's new book and Tom Hodgkinson of The Idler.

Digital Marketing - Hepple Gin

Hepple Gin is a premium gin created by four friends: chef Valentine Warner, countryman Walter Riddell and spirits experts, Cairbry Hill and Nick Strangeway. Their ambition was to create the perfect Martini gin by developing a unique triple distilling technique that goes further than traditional gin-making.  The distillery is based on the Hepple estate on the Northumberland Moors and is rich in native botanicals including the largest juniper stands in England.

Hepple Gin has a small team and is thinly stretched and needed support with their digital marketing and communications. Working alongside their PR, Fiona Smith, I have developed and continue to implement  a digital communications plan that reflects their premium position in the craft gin market. The plan pulls together all their activities including launches in new bars or retailers, events and tastings and what's going on at the distillery from harvesting botanicals to developing new cocktails - it then identifies how these are communicated through PR, social media, the blog and email newsletter.

When Hepple launched in autumn 2015 they had a website and blog; Twitter and Facebook accounts; and started to collect email addresses for a newsletter. However, as the team is so thinly stretched the blog or Journal was rarely updated, the database had under 50 subscribers and social media was erratic. By creating a plan of regular new web content which we then push out through various channels we have increased audience reach and engagement.

Hepple wasn't on Instagram which seemed a crucial way to engage with high-end restaurants and bars, as well as their customers, which are Hepple's target market. Now Hepple is really active on Instagram and we're seeing excellent engagement. On Twitter we have more than doubled the number of followers in a matter of months and are much more consistently present there.

I switched Hepple's newsletter platform from something that was rudimentary and a paid for service to Mailchimp (which is free for under 2000 subscribers). I created a branded template and now send regular monthly newsletters which push people to the website to read the full story and engage more with the brand. 

We've also grown the mailing list by making it easier for people to sign up to the newsletter through the website and formed a couple of partnerships with a publisher and an event company to run competitions to reach new audiences.

On a monthly basis I provide detailed reports on web site analytics, social media and newsletter engagement.

There is still work to be done to improve the Hepple website and we will start to implement various improvements there.

Brand development - New Bean to Bar Chocolate

What I love most about my work is meeting people who are passionate about making food or drink, who have had a personal experience that has led them on a journey to explore and learn to do something new; and who plan to take the brave step of turning their hobby into a business.

So was excited to help someone who was so driven by the real benefits of bean-to-bar chocolate, beyond just the taste, that she embarked on a journey to learn how to make it, source sustainable and ethical cocoa beans and invest in quality equipment to roast, winnow and temper.

Tosier is a new chocolate maker needed support to develop her brand story and work out how to position her new business in the growing UK bean to bar chocolate market. Through an informal workshop with lots of chat in all directions, all fuelled by some delicious chocolate, I helped her to hone her story and USP (unique selling proposition).

We also discussed business fundamentals such as getting her Food Hygiene Rating certificate to packaging solutions that would be manageable and affordable - using stickers and stamps on generic packaging rather than investing in bespoke packaging at this early stage of the business. After the workshop I provided her with a practical marketing strategy and a detailed plan and list of requirements and considerations that she would need to put in place before launch.

Through research (including eating lots of chocolate) I recommended how she positions her product in the market, considering pack sizes, pricing and distribution channels. I refined the brand values and story and honed the key marketing messages to work across different channels from the packaging to website and social media. I created a simple web page (www.tosier.co.uk) to launch the business and I guided her through getting set up on Instagram and Twitter and how to build an audience through relevant content.

Tosier will launch at a series of food shows at the end of October. I hope that my advice and guidance has given her the additional support and confidence needed to get the business off the ground.

www.tosier.co.uk 

Developing a strategy & plan - Spoon Cereals

Spoon Cereals is an ambitious start-up granola brand with backing from Dragon's Den investors Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones. The founders, Annie Morris and Jonny Shimmin, asked me to help them distill their many marketing and communications ideas and develop an actionable plan to work to over the next 12 months.

I led several workshops with the founders to draw out all their ideas and agree how to position Spoon as a lifestyle brand - clean, healthy, fresh, confident and focussed on quality. I made recommendations on how to develop the Spoon story about Annie and Jonny’s passion, their business journey and ambitions and create a tone of voice.

I reviewed their branding, packaging, event strategy, social media activity and connections with influencers. We carried out detailed research into the UK breakfast market and competitive granola brands to identify where Spoon should fit in the marketplace and how they should position their messaging to make their product stand out and raise awareness of their brand outside their London heartland.

When I started working with Spoon in September 2015 the products were only available in a number of independent retailers in London including Daylesford and Harvey Nichols but a launch in Ocado and 120 Sainsbury's stores was in the pipeline for November. With these major launches Spoon needed to work out how to punch above their weight in the crowded breakfast cereal market.

As a result of my involvement Spoon have a detailed marketing strategy to share with their funders and buyers and a detailed communications plan their small team can work to on a daily basis.

I hope that in 2016 there will have the opportunity to work with Spoon Cereals again as their business grows.

Engaging with influencers - Hillfarm & Hodmedod

Twice a year we are lucky enough to hold a lunch with Mark Hix at one of his London restaurants. We bring together food writers, chefs and journalists and allow Mark and his team’s food to demonstrate to do the talking.

Mark and his team are pioneers in sourcing quality British products to use in their ever growing restaurant group and buy all their oil from hillfarm and we have recently introduced them to our clients, Hodmedod's British pulses and British quinoa.

In October, 14 of us gathered in the beautiful private room at one of Mark’s newest ventures Hixter Bankside, just behind the Tate Modern. We were joined by writers from the Guardian, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Country and Townhouse and chefs including Lucas Hollweg, Oliver Rowe and Tony Rodd, finalist on Masterchef 2015. A highlight this time was that we were joined, not only by Mark, but also his Executive Chef and right-hand man, Kevin Gratton, who had developed the menu and talked passionately to guests about how he uses hillfarm oil and other parts of the plan from the greens to the seeds.

Over cocktails of white port and tonic we enjoyed some fantastic British Roasted fava beans from Hodmedods.

As we sat down for the introductions there was a noisy crunching on scrumpy-fried rape greens. The Hix restaurants have been evangelists for the young flower stems of rapeseed which have a mildly peppery taste and these had been deep fried in a light batter. Alongside them proud Yorkshire puddings roasted in hillfarm oil, perfectly crisp on the outside and soft in the centre.

Next came Game scotch eggs with mayonnaise made with hillfarm cold pressed rapeseed oil, then beautiful golden Manx queenies delicately marinaded with cucumber, wild chervil and oil.

The highlight was the main course of Poached fillet of cod with rapeseed greens and Hodmedod black badger peas. The contrast of colours and textures on the plate was beautiful.

Conversation was flowing and all the hillfarm team moved around between each course to make sure we got to talk to everyone. By our pudding of Temperley (Somerset Cider Brandy) Mess with honeyed madeleine with rapeseeds that crunched subtly and gave a hint of nuttiness against the sweet pudding.

We are hugely grateful to Mark and Kevin and all the team at Hixter Bankside for making us feel so welcome and sharing their enthusiasm with our visitors.

Content Curation - Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival

Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival is one of the UK's most renowned food and drink festivals. Over 70 food and drink producers gather at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh in September every year. They are joined by a panoply of well-known chefs and food writers to entertain an audience of nearly 10,000 over the weekend.

Polly worked with Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival from 2009-2014 and was ultimately a member of the small board. During her time with the Festival Polly brought in her network of chefs and food writers to bring new faces like Diana Henry, Sabrina Ghayour and Sam Clark of Moro to the Festival. She also generated many new ideas to evolve and generate additional revenue for the Festival including workshops, a Saturday night ticketed party and brought new sponsors on board.

Polly was particularly passionate about the Festival Fringe which we think is unique amongst food festivals as a fortnight of tours, walks, talks, workshops and special events run by local farms, producers, retailers and pubs and restaurants.

The Fringe events give the public the chance to engage with local food production and support the local economy.  When Polly took on managing the Fringe in 2009 the number of events went from about 25 to 60 with a much wider geographical spread across Suffolk and funding from local organisations.

Writing and Content Creation - Aspall

We developed and implemented an integrated communications strategy for Aspall over a two year period. We worked closely with Aspall's owners, brothers Barry and Henry Chevallier Guild, brand consultant Deborah Taffler and communications expert Robert Phillips to develop a strategy and plan focussed on key themes of authenticity & heritage; modernity & evolution; expertise & craft; brand & terroir and markets & marketing.

Stepping away from a conventional PR approach of blanket press releases and measuring success in column inches our strategy was 'Aspall don't say much but when they do it's worth listening'. All communications centred on the new Aspall web site and blog driving consumers, journalists and trade to there from email marketing, social media, editorial and advertising. 

Aspall has a wonderful rich heritage of nearly 300 years of cyder making in Suffolk. It is one of the UK's oldest family businesses and the brand's reputation for quality cyder, vinegar and apple juice is known and respected across the UK and the rest of the world.

Aspall has many wonderful stories to tell from the family archives which include founder Clement Chevallier's 1728 diaries, letters about the family's role as co-founders of the Soil Association in 1947 and experience of the traditions of cyder making across the centuries. There is also a present-day business story - huge investment in production facilities, increased production, focus on quality liquid with high juice content and opinions on the current state of the UK cyder market. 

We trippled Aspall's audience on Twitter and Facebook and introduced them to Instagram and LinkedIn. We generated significant coverage in trade publications like The Grocer and The Morning Advertiser, features in The Telegraph and Guardian and coverage in Sainsbury's Magazine and Waitrose Kitchen.

Our particular focus now is on vinegar, the unsung hero of the Aspall range.

PR - Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival

We managed PR for the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival for four years until 2014. We built relationships with the local press and radio as well as national journalists, food writers and influential bloggers to raise awareness of the Festival and reach new audiences.

We aimed to secure publicity in the run up to the event working with publications long lead times to achieve both full features and diary listings in publications like BBC Good Food, Delicious, Food & Travel Magazine, Condé Nast Traveller and Country Homes & Interiors. The Festival was regularly named by publications like The Guardian and The Telegraph as one of the UK's top food festivals.

Each year we brought a prestigious list of journalists to and experience the Festival and the magic of the Snape marshes for themselves.  In 2014 journalists from The Telegraph, The Guardian, Waitrose Kitchen, and Country Living attended as well as some of the UK's most influential bloggers like Mrs Marmite Lover, The Botanical Baker and Lavender & Lovage generating significant activity on Twitter and Instagram and valuable online content.

Getting off the ground - Hodmedods

Hodmedod sources British grown pulses and quinoa and sells directly to the public and toindependent retailers.

When Nick Saltmarsh and Josiah Meldrum founded the business in 2012 we led a marketing workshop to help identify their key messages and audience before creating some introductory info for food writers, journalists and chefs. We used our large network of contacts to generate interest in the Hodmedods story and products resulting in Hodmedods building a long term relationship with River Cottage, press coverage in The Guardian and reference in Jane Baxter & Henry Dimbleby’s Leon Fast Veg book published in 2013.

By 2014 Hodmedods had achieved a great reputation amongst the public and the food world and we regrouped to review the current marketing strategy with a half day workshop and detailed marketing strategy for the team to follow as they continue to strengthen the brand, launch new products and tap into new audiences.