The Brand Tick List
If you’re a food and drink brand looking for coverage in FT HTSI, you might want to consider the following case studies.
At the end of May, drinks columnist Alice Lascelles wrote a piece for HTSI on Botivo, the non-alc aperitivo. It detailed some of the reasons she likes the drink and why it warranted a whole piece. Firstly, Botivo actually tastes good (unlike other non-alc options, many of which are excessively sweet or virtually tasteless). Secondly, it’s a non-alc that doesn’t preach about wellness or dry January or pitch itself as a “sorry alcohol sub”. And thirdly, it’s a brand working with fun, interesting collaborators such as Ottolenghi, Coco de Mer and Berry Bros and thereby positioning itself as the cool, sophisticated option. I might add, from having met and talked to the founders, that they’re great storytellers and even better advocates for the need for grown-up non-alc beverages.
The other brand I want to mention is Bold Bean Co, which I wrote about for HTSI two years ago in a piece on baked beans. Launched in 2021 by Amelia Christie-Miller, Bold Bean Co has made a name for itself for turning out (British variety) beans that taste great. Miller doesn’t preach about the nutritional value of beans, though that is not to be sniffed at. Her focus is on taste. It’s a message underlined by the many chefs and cooks she has collaborated with and the Bold Bean Recipe book, which is one of the best cookbooks I’ve come across in the last 5 years. The success of this brand is deserved and it’s no surprise that Marks & Spencer has just launched its own comparable range of premium jarred beans. The Marks & Spencer version is cheaper and backed by a partnership with Bowel Cancer UK to encourage people to eat more fibre. Given the rise of fibre, this will surely appeal to lots of consumers, though it’s the kind of worthy messaging that Christie-Miller has been trying to get away from by emphasizing taste or function. Will her brand and its story prevail in the face of this new competition?
Both of these brands exemplify qualities that you as PRs hope for in a product:
Great taste
Great messaging
Great collaborators whose involvement endorses and enrichens the product.
Communicate these to journalists and great coverage will follow.
What Ajesh thinks…
“Behold, the World Cup prompts a discussion about stains and kitchen worktops? At first, I thought this release (sent to me three times over the course of four days) was a tie-in too far, but as someone obsessed with stains and how to get rid of them, this caught and held my attention just long enough. But how does a press release like this translate into coverage?”
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