It’s 7.40pm on a Tuesday in Margate. Friends are due at eight, there are no dips in the fridge and nobody fancies a trip out in the drizzle. So out comes the phone, open goes Deliveroo, and a thumb-sized picture of a tub of houmous decides which brand gets invited to the party.
Ask the Tesco app what to cook for dinner and if you’re among the first customers to get its new AI assistant, it won’t just suggest a recipe. It will start filling your basket too. In early October, Tesco started to roll out an AI assistant designed to help customers plan meals, following a trial with around 280,000 employees. Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, launched an AI-powered tool to help customers plan their shop, create lists and find products more easily. For the first time, the UK’s two biggest grocers have AI shopping assistants sitting between the shopper and the shelf.
A third of UK shoppers now think too many food and drink products make health claims. For brands with several health claims on pack, it raises an important question. It’s also the clearest sign yet that functional food marketing has entered a new phase.
Most people plan a holiday around a beach or a city. At jellybean, we plan ours around lunch. So when my friend in Basel suggested cycling the Route des Vins d’Alsace, the only real question was how much Alsace food and wine we could fit into one trip.
When the first lockdown hit in 2020, dried pasta, tinned tomatoes and blocks of Parmigiano Reggiano were among the first products to vanish from UK supermarket shelves, faster even than bread. It wasn’t panic. It was priority. Britain has been quietly obsessed with Italian food for a very long time, and in a crisis, people reach for what they trust. YouGov has named Italian cuisine the most popular in the world, with 91% of British people who have tried it saying they like it. For any Italian food brand weighing up the UK market, that’s one of the strongest tailwinds going in FMCG.
Walk into any supermarket this autumn and you’ll feel it before you even see it: a connection between brand and shopper. It’s on the pack, in the display, in the moment someone reaches for it – a moment where the shopper doesn’t think, they just instinctively reach. That instinct isn’t random. It’s been built by everything the brand has already said elsewhere, integrated long before the shopper ever gets near the shelf. When that connection is executed well, it’s rarely an accident. It’s there because the shopper marketing agency behind it worked integrated by instinct – understanding how that moment linked to everything else the brand does and stands for, even if shopper marketing was the only brief they’d actually been given.
One in five UK adults is currently taking, has taken, or is actively considering a GLP-1 weight loss medication. That is a significant consumer base with significantly reduced appetites. Not great news for the food and drink industry, but as ever, any challenge can be an opportunity when armed with strong insight!
I am absolutely thrilled that from April 2026, Neil Brenson becomes Managing Director, alongside Susan Wickes in a joint MD structure at jellybean that reflects both the growth of our business and the direction we are heading.Read More
Right now, someone is asking an AI tool which food brand to buy. Which sauce, which drink, which supplier to call. And the answer they get won’t come from a Google search. It won’t link to your website. It will be a single, confident recommendation from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity and more. If it doesn’t include your brand, you simply don’t exist in that moment.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth from this year’s shopper, retailer and category conference: brands aren’t losing because they lack insight. They’re losing because they can’t execute brilliantly using the right insight. Read More
This week saw Lumina Intelligence host a webinar that challenged many of our assumptions about sustainability in the food and drink sector. The session revealed a significant shift in consumer attitudes around sustainability set to impact foods and drink brands in 2026.
The UK market represents an incredible opportunity for international food and drink brands. With discerning consumers, a sophisticated retail landscape, and strong demand for brands with provenance, it’s no wonder the UK is viewed as a priority market to support global brand expansion. However, what works brilliantly in Milan, Barcelona, or Copenhagen doesn’t always translate seamlessly to Manchester, London, or Edinburgh.
Breaking into the UK market as an international brand presents unique challenges and incredible opportunities. You may be a household name in your home country, or even across multiple markets, but the UK requires a localised approach to truly succeed. At Jellybean, we’ve helped numerous international brands navigate this journey, including our globally acclaimed work with premium Italian tomato brand Mutti. Here’s your roadmap to UK market success. Read More
Since 5th January 2026, the UK food and beverage advertising market has fundamentally shifted. New restrictions on Less Healthy Food and drink (LHF) advertising are now in force, sitting alongside existing HFSS (High in Fat, Salt or Sugar) rules and long-standing protections for children. If you’re a food and beverage brand with LHF products, you’ve likely felt the headache.
If you still think of Pinterest as the place for mood boards, DIY hacks, and dream home inspo, it’s time to shift your perspective. After joining the Pinterest Presents webinar, it’s obvious the platform is evolving fast, not just creatively, but commercially. Pinterest is stepping into a space where inspiration naturally becomes action, and where brands can reach people at the moment they’re making decisions about what to buy, wear, cook and try next.
At New Trade Media’s Partners in Success event, an insight was shared that immediately struck a chord with me. Their data confirmed something I’ve believed for 20+ years: <1% of convenience stores operate as true influencers in our sector.
From Anti-Algorithm to the New Young, Mintel’s recent webinar on their consumer predictions for 2026 presented a slightly bleak outlook into our future as consumers.
It’s an era of digital mistrust and economic insecurity, but… what should brands be doing to connect?
I’ve summarised the three key trends Mintel are predicting for next year, and solutions to help brands tackle the challenges they’ll be faced with. Read More
If you still think in grocery aisles, Gen Z has already moved on.
Dentsu’s Generation Flex report, covered byThe Grocer this summer, shines a light on a generation that doesn’t see categories, only possibilities. For them, protein bars can be treats, bubble teas can be pick-me-ups and sustainability isn’t a choice – it’s a given.
Shopper marketing has always been about meeting people where they are. In 2025 that’s becoming more literal than ever. Smaller store formats, quick commerce and dark stores are reshaping the way we shop. For food and drink brands the battleground is no longer the aisle, it’s the last 100 metres before purchase.
In partnership with jellybean the iconic Italian tomato brand Mutti has transformed the historic Queen’s House in Greenwich into the stage for a one-of-a-kind immersive dining experience.
