I suspect in a few years’ time that the Food & Drinks industry will look back at Lockdown at a seminal moment when brands finally addressed a number of those ‘hot potato’ topics that they’d eluded for too long, those sensitive, hushed topics like: obesity, unacceptable synthetic nasties, underwhelming ingredient decks, excessive packaging….. that are constantly scribbled about furiously on business post-its before being popped on future ‘to do’ lists. 

Of course, attention has currently honed in on lost sales, faltering retailers, the likely impact of furloughing ending, EVEN inconvenient face masks.  YET in time we’ll return to the hot topics in our field:  prioritising real ingredients over synthetic nasties, the demise of palm oil, authentic food craft, the growth of food minority interests (GF, plant-based, paleo…) accessible founders, powerhouse regions (food & drink).

The good news is that versatile, fleet-footed small disruptors have always been perfectly placed to meet and shape ever-changing consumer needs courtesy of their dynamic founders, ambitious new product development visions, trim/flat organisational structures and infectious can-do attitudes:

Here are 10 Pointers To Help Ambitious Start-Ups On Their Way

1. Imperfect action: One of my clients always talks about ‘imperfect action.’ In other words, stop hanging around for everything to be perfect because that’s a fool’s errand.  Everyone learns as they go along and however good your first offerings are, you will always find elements to improve.  Pontification and constant titivating is such a waste of good energy.

2. Do upset the apple cart: The very role of a disruptor is to ruffle the hair of status quo by pointing out the opportunity for constant improvement.  Don’t be rude or condescending, but at the same time don’t leave it to others to point out the gaping holes in food retailer offers.  As the saying goes ‘fortune favours the brave’ because standing on a soapbox is part & parcel of being a brand pioneer.

3. Help everyone around you (it says off!): I have a ‘meat snack’ client who is quite honestly one of the nicest people you can meet.  Always full of positivity and good energy, insanely enthusiastic and brand proud and always taking time out of his day to offer advice to others, pat them on the back….. Food & drink is a notoriously well-connected and compact sector and pretty much everyone knows everyone else.  By exuding such a positive persona he unwittingly became everyone’s 2nd favourite brand with absolutely everyone wishing him well and helping him out should an opportunity ever arise.

4. Be humble: I know another amazing snacking founder, (alas I was unable to secure the gig) who tells the funniest story on his brand communications about the uncomfortable moment he had telling his parents that he wanted to junk his doctor ambitions  to become an olive trader (ok there’s a clue there).  It’s a great tale that underpins the fact that when a passion becomes a hobby, which in turn becomes a career, nothing could or should get in the way. 

   In stark contrast, I always remember one founder naming his brand after himself, as if that alone would sell the brand. Let’s just say it didn’t work out! 

5. Treat LinkedIn with respect: Linkedin is all about engaging with the food community, voicing opinions and sharing thoughts in a light and interesting manner.  There’s one healthy food provider (who shall remain nameless) who must post 3-5 times a day the most annoying, self-inflating comments (9/10 bigging himself up).  Imagine raiding John Major’s or Theresa May’s secret diaries, this is how interesting most of these articles are.  Use these forums when you have something interesting to say and not because you feel attention seeking is a sensible marketing strategy.

6. Social media PR in right order: There are so many founders so desperate to share their ‘good news’ that they lose sight of the fact that every story has a shelf life and that if you peak too early with your social media you, inadvertently cut the legs away from the PR you have bubbling away in the background.  Always dispatch your long and short lead PR out first and once these commitments/deadlines have been met, reinforce your messaging with ‘well executed’ social media which should ably support, not replace your PR.

7. Keep checking that you’ve stayed true to first principles: Clearly brands evolve over time, in tune with new learnings, an ever-changing marketplace, proactive competitors…. Clearly there’s nothing wrong with ‘adaption,’ indeed if nothing changes overtime you’re probably misreading the marketplace.  That said, any brand worth its salt should have a mission statement, a positioning chart, a SWOT……tucked away in a file so that once every blue moon, hard-working founders can take some well-deserved thinking time to revisit their original documentation and see what’s changed and more importantly the thinking behind the change.  Change itself isn’t the problem, its noting/appreciating what change has taken place and whether such a change in direction can be vindicated.  Too often brands built on shaky foundations lose sight of their original reason for being.

8. Not being first to market isn’t a crime: The priority isn’t to be the 1st but the best in the market. Whilst some people might talk about ‘bandwagon jumping,’ the truth is that so many of the best ideas are iterations of another idea AND that flagrantly original ideas have always been in short supply.  There’s a lot to be said for holding back and seeing what your rival does before building upon their offer.  So often in food & drink history it’s the 2nd to market young pretender that evolves into the eventual category leader because they were prepared to embrace the best on offer before adding their own unique twist.

9. Eenter awards (as long as they’re good ones!): Whilst some people might judge entering awards a tad self-indulgent, the truth is there’s nothing like a credible third-party commendation; as long as the decisions come from judges who know their stuff.  As with most things in life there’s gold dust & fool’s gold, but a good award is worth its weight in precious metal. 

10. Play to your strengths: It’s very tempting as a founder to keep hold of all the ‘sexy’ tasks and farm out the dull stuff. However, if nuts & bolts stuff is your specialist subject don’t be afraid to decant the creative/visionary elements to those best suited to crack it.  It’s not as though as you the founder you won’t have the final say anyway!  Running a brand isn’t cheap and cashflow is curse that affects everyone, so don’t be afraid to take a step back if there are those in the immediate vicinity who’re better equipped to succeed.  After all, it’s a team effort at the end of the day!