Premium North East soft drinks brand Fentimans has announced a new strategic marketing collaboration, coinciding with its 120th birthday this year.
Fentimans has appointed FMCG marketing consultancy Big Black Door to get its range into the hands of more consumers, partnering on in-store strategy and media.
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Jayne Andrews, director of marketing at Fentimans, said: “We selected Big Black Door due to the team’s extensive background in FMCG marketing and category management. The agency’s boutique size gives us the benefit of a personal service, and their experience has meant that they’ve quickly understood our aims amidst a competitive landscape.”
Gareth Turner, founder and director of Big Black Door, has worked in the food and drinks sector for over 30 years. In addition to his former roles as UK marketing director for Lurpak and head of marketing at Weetabix, his agency has a strong track record working with some of the country’s most exciting new brands.
Turner added: “I established the agency in 2022 with a clear aim; to provide businesses with the same secret sauce that the biggest brands have always had access to – simple, agnostic advice on how to grow. Our experienced team blend strategic thinking with creative flair to ensure our actions leave a positive legacy for our clients.
“It is a pleasure to collaborate with Fentimans, an iconic North East brand with a rich heritage and reputation for excellence. They’re a dream client, and together we will build on the fantastic marketing they’re already doing, bringing it to the supermarket shelves of the UK and setting them up for continued success in the next 120 years.”
Botanical brewery Fentimans, based in Hexham, Northumberland, was established in 1905 by Thomas Fentiman, an ironworker from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. Fentiman acquired a recipe for botanically brewed ginger beer in return for a loan to a fellow tradesman. The loan was never repaid, so Fentiman became the owner of the recipe and set up a door-to-door ginger beer sales company using a horse-drawn vehicle for transport.
Fentiman’s brews botanical sodas with ingredients including roots, bark and flowers and, with the exception of adding new flavours, makes its sodas the same way today as it did at the turn of the century.
