Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast

KW Marketing
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Fuelling Foodies is for the real food & drink founders who want to scale without the fluff. Hosted by Kate Williams, founder of KW Marketing, this podcast gives you the raw truth about growing your food business. Forget generic advice – this is about real stories, struggles, and breakthroughs. Every episode will dive deep into what it actually takes to build and grow a food business. From expert digital marketing strategies to the gritty challenges founders face, we share what works (and what doesn’t) in building food & drink brands that THRIVE. Whether you're just starting out or scaling up, Fuelling Foodies gives you the insight, inspiration, and no-nonsense advice you need to FUEL your growth.

  1. 2d ago

    Black Friday 2026: Don't Discount Until You've Heard This.

    Black Friday is nearly here… and somewhere inside a food & drink business right now, someone is suggesting 20% off. Someone else wants 30%. The Meta budget is going up. And everyone is talking about how much revenue they're hoping to generate. But how much of that revenue are you actually going to keep? Because a record-breaking Black Friday means absolutely nothing if you've destroyed your margins to get there. In Episode 28 of Fuelling Foodies, the team got together to talk about what we're REALLY seeing across food & drink brands heading into Black Friday 2026. Should every brand even take part? Is 20% off enough anymore? Should you run a sitewide discount, bundle products together or offer something completely different? And when competition gets expensive, where should your marketing budget actually go? Because the answer isn't automatically “discount more and spend more.” From protecting your margins and premium brand positioning to making better use of the customers you've already paid to acquire, we're getting into what can actually make Black Friday profitable. You'll hear: Whether every food & drink brand should participate in Black FridayWhy you need to understand your margins BEFORE signing off a discountSitewide discounts vs bundles, free delivery and gifts with purchaseHow premium brands can participate without cheapening their positioningWhy your existing customers and email database could be your biggest Black Friday opportunityWhen we'd scale Meta, and when we wouldn'tWhy Google Ads plays a different role during peak buying periodsThe Black Friday mistakes that can eat into your profit, or even steal sales from DecemberWhat we'd prioritise if a brand came to us TWO WEEKS before Black Friday with no plan The biggest takeaway? Your goal shouldn't be to have your busiest day of the year. It should be to have your most PROFITABLE one. And if your email strategy needs some attention before peak season really gets going, download our FREE Email Playbook. LINKS & RESOURCES: Download our free guide: The Email Playbook - How one food & drink brand made £56.7K in email sales (with no extra ad spend!)Need help with your marketing? Book a Strategy Call with KateFollow us at @kwmarketinguk for podcast clips, content, and food & drink marketing tips! If this episode inspired you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow founder - we love seeing how you’re fuelling your growth 🔥

  2. Oct 9

    Building A Food Brand in a Crowded Category with Wild Thingz

    Standing out is as a brand hard. Standing out in a crowded confectionery category? Even harder. 👀 Walk down the healthier snacking aisle and there’s no shortage of brands telling you they’re better for you. Less sugar. Better ingredients. Healthier choices. But how many of those brands could you actually remember five minutes later? That’s the challenge Wild Thingz is taking on. In Episode 27 of Fuelling Foodies, Kate sits down with Fliss Newland, founder of Wild Thingz, to talk about building a challenger confectionery brand in one of the most competitive categories in food & drink. After years working at Mondelez with some of the biggest names in confectionery, Fliss made the leap from big corporate to building her own brand, taking what was once Veggie Bears, completely rethinking the positioning and relaunching it as Wild Thingz. You'll hear: Why Wild Thingz chose to make “better-for-you” confectionery feel FUN rather than worthy.The challenge of designing and marketing a product for two very different audiences: parents and children.Why being distinctive and memorable matters in a category dominated by huge brands and even bigger budgets.Why getting the biggest retail listing as quickly as possible isn't always the right goal.The expensive TikTok Shop lesson, and why what's working for another brand might not be right for yours.What's next for Wild Thingz as the brand looks towards bigger retail opportunities, community growth and 2027. And perhaps the biggest lesson of all... challenger brands don't need to be everywhere. When you have limited time, budget and resource, every “yes” to one opportunity is a “no” to something else. The job is knowing your customer, understanding where your brand genuinely has an opportunity and focusing your energy on the things that are actually going to move the needle. Because in a category as noisy as confectionery, having a better product isn't enough. People have to remember you. LINKS & RESOURCES: Follow Wild Thingz and explore their wildly delicious sweets.Join the Food Marketing Club for just £57/month - your monthly hub for digital marketing strategies, templates, and supportWant tailored strategy support? Book a Strategy Call with KateFollow @kwmarketinguk for food & drink marketing insights, email tips & digital strategy If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow founder building a challenger brand - we love seeing how you're fuelling your growth 🔥

  3. Sep 25

    Heritage Meets Modern Growth - The Miles Tea & Coffee Story

    Heritage is powerful. But it doesn’t mean you can stand still. Some food & drink brands spend years trying to build the kind of heritage Miles Tea & Coffee already has. Generations of history. Loyal customers. Products people have been buying for decades. But that creates a different challenge… How do you take everything people already love about your brand and use it to build the next stage of growth? In Episode 26 of Fuelling Foodies, Kate sits down with John Halls from Miles Tea & Coffee to unpack exactly that. From a hand-coded website in 1998 and a very first online order worth £125, to customers now spending £60, £70, £80 or even £100+ online, Miles has seen the way people buy tea and coffee completely change. And yet, one thing has stayed remarkably consistent: customer loyalty. You'll hear: What genuine heritage actually means commercially, and why being “in it” can make it difficult to see the value you have.Taking a heritage brand online - from Miles' first hand-coded website in 1998 to its modern eCommerce operation.The power of genuinely loyal customersGrowing without losing your identityFinding the next generation of customersThe customer journey beyond the purchase - from packaging and dispatch to email and creating a memorable experience.What's next for Miles And perhaps the biggest lesson of all... you don't necessarily need to reinvent a heritage brand. You need to tell more people why it matters. If your food or drink brand has history behind it, the question is: Are you using that history to drive your next stage of growth, or are you simply talking about it? LINKS & RESOURCES: Follow @milesandteacoffee and explore their heritage teas and coffees.Join the Food Marketing Club for just £57/month - your monthly hub for digital marketing strategies, templates, and supportWant tailored strategy support? Book a Strategy Call with KateFollow @kwmarketinguk for food & drink marketing insights, email tips & digital strategy If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow founder building their brand - we love seeing how you're fuelling your growth 🔥

  4. Sep 11

    Q4 Is Here! Where Should Food & Drink Brands Actually Spend Their Marketing Budget?

    Q4 is here. But before you spend another pound on marketing... are you actually putting your budget in the right places? Meta? Google? Email? Content? Black Friday? More customer acquisition? Because unless you've got an unlimited marketing budget, you can't do everything. In Episode 25 of Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast, the KW Marketing team get around the table to break down where food & drink brands should actually be spending their marketing budget heading into Q4. We're talking about where we'd invest, what we'd fix before increasing ad spend and the biggest money-wasting mistakes we see brands make when peak season panic kicks in. Because more marketing activity doesn't automatically mean more revenue. Here’s what we cover: Meta vs Google vs email: how we think about where to investIf you had £10K to invest in Q4, where should it actually go?Why retention could be your biggest Q4 opportunityWhat to fix before increasing your ad spendWhy your website and customer journey need to be ready before driving more trafficAcquisition vs retention: where should your focus be?Is Black Friday actually worth it for food & drink brands?The biggest Q4 money-wasters we're seeing right now This episode is especially useful for food & drink founders who are heading into Q4 with a limited budget and need to make smarter decisions about where to focus. Because you don't necessarily need to spend more. You need to know what's actually going to move the needle. If you're currently planning your Q4 marketing budget, this episode will help you step back, look at the bigger picture and focus on the activity that has the biggest opportunity to drive profitable growth. LINKS & RESOURCES: Download our free guide: The Email Playbook - How one food & drink brand made £56.7K in email sales (with no extra ad spend!)Ready to level up? Join the Food Marketing Club for more marketing strategies and support.Need help with your marketing? Book a Strategy Call with Kate Subscribe, share, and leave us a review if this episode made you rethink your Q4 strategy and tag us @kwmarketinguk to join the conversation.

  5. Jun 19

    The Craft of Ice Cream - Building a Luxury Heritage Brand with Granny Gothards

    Scaling a premium food brand sounds exciting… until you actually have to do it. Because growth often brings pressure. More volume. More demand. More complexity. And with that comes the risk of losing the very thing that made customers fall in love with your product in the first place. In Episode 24 of Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast, Kate sits down with Amanda Ringelberg, CEO of Granny Gothards, the award-winning luxury ice cream brand built on craftsmanship, provenance and doing things properly. Over the last 14 years, Amanda has grown Granny Gothards from a small artisan producer into a nationally recognised premium brand, whilst staying true to the quality, people and values that sit at the heart of the business. Together they discuss: How to scale an artisan food brand without compromising qualityWhy premium brands need to communicate value before customers buyThe power of getting your product into the right handsWhat founders often misunderstand about premium positioningManaging growth whilst protecting brand identityUnderstanding who your ideal customer really isWhy your team becomes your greatest asset as you scaleAmanda's biggest lessons from 14 years of building a successful food brand Whether you're building a challenger brand, scaling an established business, or trying to position your products more effectively, this episode is packed with practical insights from a founder who's done it for over a decade. LINKS & RESOURCES: Follow @granny_gothards and explore their luxury ice creams.Join the Food Marketing Club for just £57/month - your monthly hub for digital marketing strategies, templates, and supportWant tailored strategy support? Book a Strategy Call with KateFollow @kwmarketinguk for food & drink marketing insights, email tips & digital strategy If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow founder building their brand - we love seeing how you're fuelling your growth 🔥

  6. Jun 5

    Influencer Marketing In 2026: What Actually Drives Sales For Food & Drink Brands?

    Most food & drink brands don't have an influencer marketing strategy. They have a gifting list. Free product gets sent out. A few stories get posted. Everyone feels busy. But sales? Not so much. In Episode 23 of Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast, we unpack what influencer marketing actually looks like in 2026, and why so many brands are still getting it wrong. Because influencer marketing isn't dead. But blindly sending product and hoping for results definitely is. From choosing the right creators and understanding the difference between UGC and influencer content, to tracking performance properly and turning visibility into revenue, this episode breaks down the practical reality of influencer marketing for modern food & drink brands. Plus, the team debates whether influencer campaigns should be judged on direct sales, why micro-creators continue to outperform expectations, and why different generations buy in completely different ways. Here’s what we cover: Why influencer marketing still works in 2026The biggest mistakes food & drink brands makeHow to choose the right creators for your brandMicro vs macro influencersWhy UGC and influencer content aren't the same thingHow to track influencer performance properlyHow to brief influencers effectivelyBuilding long-term creator relationshipsHow to repurpose influencer content into paid ads Whether you're spending £100 or £10,000 on influencer activity, this episode will help you approach it with far more clarity, confidence, and commercial focus. Because the goal isn't more influencers. It's better marketing. LINKS & RESOURCES: Download our free guide: The Email Playbook - How one food & drink brand made £56.7K in email sales (with no extra ad spend!)Ready to level up? Join the Food Marketing Club for more email strategies and support.Need help with marketing? Book a Strategy Call with Kate Subscribe, share, and leave us a review if this episode made you rethink your strategy and tag us @kwmarketinguk to join the conversation.

  7. May 22

    Inside the Coastal Spirit - How Salcombe Gin Became a Premium Icon

    Most premium drinks brands don’t fail because of the product… they fail because they can’t stand out. And in a category like gin, where every bottle looks beautiful on the shelf, that’s a serious challenge. In Episode 22 of Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast, Kate sits down with Howard Davies, Co-Founder of Salcombe Gin, to unpack how the brand became one of the UK’s most recognisable premium coastal spirits brands. From market positioning and storytelling to loyalty, experiences and luxury branding, this episode explores what it actually takes to build a premium drinks brand people remember, emotionally connect with, and buy into long term. Because premium brands don’t just sell products. They sell a world people want to be part of. Here’s what we cover: How Salcombe Gin was built from a shared love of sailing, spirits and the Devon coastThe importance of storytelling in saturated categoriesHow packaging, design and detail shape perceptionWhy emotional connection drives long-term loyaltyCreating a lifestyle brand instead of just selling a productScaling without diluting brand identityPartnerships, collaborations and experiential marketingThe future of the premium gin category This episode is especially valuable for premium food & drink brands looking to stand out in crowded markets, strengthen brand positioning, and create deeper customer loyalty. If you’re building a premium brand, this episode will change the way you think about storytelling, experience and growth. LINKS & RESOURCES: Follow @salcombegin and explore their luxurious spirits.Join the Food Marketing Club for just £57/month - your monthly hub for digital marketing strategies, templates, and supportWant tailored strategy support? Book a Strategy Call with KateFollow @kwmarketinguk for food & drink marketing insights, email tips & digital strategy If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow founder building their brand — we love seeing how you're fuelling your growth 🔥

  8. Mar 27

    Your Q2 Growth Plan: What to Test, Build & Stop Wasting Money On

    Brands don’t stall in Q4. They stall in Q2… and only realise it later. While many food & drink brands wait until peak season to scale, smart brands use Q2 to build the foundations that drive predictable growth later in the year. In Episode 21 of Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast, we break down what food & drink brands should actually be focusing on between April and June - what to test, where to invest, and what to stop wasting money on before Q4 arrives. Because when peak season hits, it’s too late to fix your foundations. Here’s what we cover: Why Q2 is the most important growth window for food & drink brands Why creative is now the biggest performance driver (not targeting) How bundles can increase AOV by 15–30% Why selling occasions converts better than selling products The biggest wasted spend we’re seeing right now Why acquiring new customers in Q4 is often the wrong strategy Why testing now leads to stronger Q4 performance This episode is especially useful for food & drink brands doing £20K–£100K per month who want more predictable, profitable growth heading into peak season. If you're planning for Q4, this episode is your Q2 roadmap. LINKS & RESOURCES: Buy your #FUELLIVE tickets here!Download our free guide: The Email Playbook - How one food & drink brand made £56.7K in email sales (with no extra ad spend!)Ready to level up? Join the Food Marketing Club for more email strategies and support.Need help with marketing? Book a Strategy Call with Kate Subscribe, share, and leave us a review if this episode made you rethink your strategy and tag us @kwmarketinguk to join the conversation.

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About

Fuelling Foodies is for the real food & drink founders who want to scale without the fluff. Hosted by Kate Williams, founder of KW Marketing, this podcast gives you the raw truth about growing your food business. Forget generic advice – this is about real stories, struggles, and breakthroughs. Every episode will dive deep into what it actually takes to build and grow a food business. From expert digital marketing strategies to the gritty challenges founders face, we share what works (and what doesn’t) in building food & drink brands that THRIVE. Whether you're just starting out or scaling up, Fuelling Foodies gives you the insight, inspiration, and no-nonsense advice you need to FUEL your growth.

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