Latest news & events

THE ‘SOUL OF MADRID’ THAT’S BREWED IN TADCASTER – A deal with the Devil, ‘Chulapos,’ and Peaky Blinders. The inside story of Madri Excepcional’s exceptional success.

NOCADO! – Jeff Bezos is the Don Juan of the takeover deal. (Nobody can resist him.) But this time, Ocado should say ‘no.’

ANTA. THE $29 BILLION SPORTS BRAND NO ONE IN EUROPE HAS HEARD OF – How can the Chinese sports brand compete for market visibility with mega-brands like Nike and Adidas?

INTRODUCING COKE ‘TOTAL.’ NO, IT’S NOT A DRINK, IT’S A BEVERAGE STRATEGY – After its recent acquisition of Finlandia Vodka, can Coca-Cola’s ‘Total Beverage Strategy’ turn it into the everywhere company?

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME –Brewdog, Robbie Burns, corn-starch, and going “aft agley.” (What the English packaging and hospitality industries can learn from the Scots, in advance of the ban on single-use plastics.)

BODIFYCATION – Elvis, AI, and gold lame jumpsuits. How Kansas start-up Bodify plan to reduce retail returns.

THE RACE TO BE THE NEXT LULULEMON – Six key runners and riders.

“HEY, GUYS! I’M, LIKE, SO INTO THIS…” – Six eyeball-grabbing consumer brands on TikTok.

CADBURY UNWRAPPED – How the brand’s ‘stillness’ strategy unlocked £261 million of revenue.

TOMORROW ISN’T SOON ENOUGH – After Getir bought its nearest rival, Gorillas, in a $1.2 billion deal can q-commerce (delivery in minutes, not hours) thrive?

NEW YEAR, ‘NEU’ LOOK? – Taylor Swift champions it. Fashion and beauty marketers are paying attention to it. Will 2023 be the year of ‘body neutrality’?

YOUR FUTURE JUST GOT FASTER – Accelerated digital transformation, “blurred boundaries,” and “co-creating” consumers. Six key business trends for 2023

SERVE ME UP A SLICE OF SPOTIFY – Rihanna, Beyoncé, Fleetwood Mac, and $16.9 billion global streaming revenues. Why PE firms are taking a big bet on music catalogues

WHY STARTUPS SOMETIMES STOP – Harvard Business School’s Tom Eisenmann has the inside track on six common entrepreneurial mistakes to avoid

HOW TO BULID A BILLION DOLLAR SPORTSWEAR BRAND – Six tips from Ben Francis, CEO of Gymshark

KIMFLUENCING THE CITY – Will SKKY, Kim Kardashian’s new PE firm, help her beat Serena Williams to uncover the next Beats by Dre?

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NEXT? – Topshop’s gone. Debenhams too. But Next are thriving. How does Lord Wolfson do it?

BUY. EAT. BUT NO REPEAT - Have vegan products been overhyped?

THE BIG SLOW DOWN? – Will charging for returns put the brakes on fast-fashion?

IS ‘JUNK’ FOOD BEING UNFARILY JUNKED? – Are HFSS products really the ‘new tobacco?’

THE INTERNET OF SENSES, 6G, AND OTHER FARFETCHED TALES – How Farfetch’s $200 million investment in Neiman Marcus is all about the future of omnichannel retailing

ERNEST SHACKLETON AND THE MISSING MENTOR

MAMMON AND THE METAVERSE – Alexander the Great, virtual Air Jordans, and $41 billion of NFTs

COGNAC AND THE SHANGHAI COGNOSCENTI – Global sales of the sophisticated spirit are soaring with Chinese drinkers leading the way

HOW TO GROW FASTER IN PASTA – Six top tips to grow any D2C start-up from Pasta Evangelist’s Alessandro Savelli

TUESDAY NIGHTS ON TATOOINE – GroceryAid CEO Steve Barnes talks Star Wars, Brentford FC, and this week’s GroceryAid Ball

SATYA IN WONDERLAND – Why Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s $68.7 billion deal to buy Activision is all about the metaverse

ME, ME, ME, YOU! – How the world’s pandemic consumers are putting others first

IS SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE? - Will the pandemic consumer pay a premium to save the planet?

UNEXPECTED COMPANIES IN THE BAGGING AREA?

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES? – Reformulation can help food brands navigate the UK’s HFSS legislation. But it’s not without risk.

FastTrack | 60-second read

THE ART OF UNSELLING – How beauty brand The Ordinary gained a $2.2bn valuation

FastTrack | 60-second read

THE POWER OF THE PIVOT – Crisis what crisis? Three Consumer Sector lock-down successes.

FastTrack | 60-second read

WARY OF PLANT-BASED – Three key consumer insights that may be holding back vegan product sales

FastTrack | 60-second read

Right Person. Wrong Role. – When being an exceptional candidate doesn’t necessarily mean you are the right ‘fit.’

Zen and the Art of Activewear Marketing – Will the continued popularity of male yoga further transform the activewear market?

Uncertain times, Exceptional people - the impact of making the right appointment in the current climate

‘Ā, upane! ka upane!’ – How a four-hundred-strong haka symbolises the transformation of KP’s business culture

The AI revolution in procurement. Why saying "No" to machines might well be the hallmark of tomorrow’s best CPOs

The rise and rise of brand transparency – How ethical consumerism is forcing beauty brands to go ‘makeup free.’

Guardiola, Fergie’s “hairdryer”, and hardy perennials – Drayton Partners illuminate the mysteries of cultural fit.

As Coca-Cola announce "Signature Mixers," Drayton’s Byron Beatty sees a bright future for rum.

Ian Wright, CEO of the Food & Drink Federation, on fighting for his members’ interests.

"If I’d listened to my customers I’d have given them a faster horse" – Henry Ford’s guide to focus group research.

"How many of the world’s 1-year-old children today have been vaccinated against some form of disease?”

Passion, patience and a valuable lesson for Dale Carnegie – Stéphane Masseran on leadership.

Why living in an ‘observed society' is changing the way Gen Y and Gen Z drink

It’s Veganuary – Drayton’s Ian Pickett analyses the opportunities presented to the food industry by the continued rise of veganism.

Rob Seery discovers the food industry might be evolving in ways that can make us all feel more optimistic about sustainability

Drayton's Nick Maughan, brings some down-to-earth insights to the problem of perfectionism and how it can adversely affect a business.

Same Old Vs Brand New? How to rebrand in the Food & Drink sector

The insightful personality test that’s withstood the test of time