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.

In this episode of Fuelling Foodies: The Food & Drink Marketing Podcast, Kate sits down with Harriet, Co-Founder and Marketing Director of Penrhos Spirits - a beautifully British farm-led gin brand turning wonky fruit into premium spirits.

What started as a farming problem, £30,000 worth of unsellable strawberries, became the foundation for a challenger gin brand now stocked nationally in Sainsbury’s, sold across Amazon and travel retail, and recognised for its pioneering recycled aluminium packaging.

Harriet shares the honest story behind building a spirits brand from a family farm in Herefordshire, navigating one of the most competitive categories in food and drink, and the reality of scaling when your product suddenly lands on 400 supermarket shelves.

We spoke about:

1. The Penrhos origin story - how a surplus of fruit sparked the idea for a gin brand
2. Why provenance, transparency and “price with justification” matter more than ever
3. Standing out in the crowded gin category
4. What really happens after landing a national retail listing
5. The moment Penrhos aired its first Sky TV advert (and what it did for sales)
6. Community-led marketing: farm tours, “Sip & Walk” experiences and founder storytelling
7. The realities of scaling a family business - from big wins to “can we actually sustain this?” moments
8. Why collaborations, partnerships and email marketing are powerful growth levers for challenger brands

If you're building a food or drink brand right now, particularly in a competitive category, this episode is packed with real founder insight on how to grow while staying true to your brand!

LINKS & RESOURCES:

1. Follow @penrhosspirits and explore their premium spirits.
2. Join the Food Marketing Club for just £57/month - your monthly hub for digital marketing strategies, templates, and support
3. Want tailored strategy support? Book a Strategy Call with Kate
4. Follow @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 🔥

Email has been declared “dead” more times than we can count. But inside strong eCommerce food & drink brands? It’s still driving 25-40% of total revenue, and often the highest margin revenue too.

In Episode 19 of Fuelling Foodies, we go deep into what’s actually converting in 2026 and why email remains the most controllable, profitable channel you own.

Here’s what we cover:

1. Why “email is dead” is one of the most damaging myths in eCommerce
2. Owned audience vs rented audience (and why it matters more than ever)
3. The 30% Revenue Rule - what to fix if you’re not hitting it
4. The highest-converting flows: Welcome, Abandoned Cart & the most overlooked revenue driver…
5. Why repeat customers spend 65–70% more than new customers
6. Automation vs broadcasting (and how to use both properly)
7. Strategic list growth: giveaways, downloadable assets & capture-first thinking

We’ll show you how to build an email marketing strategy that increases revenue, improves retention, and turns first-time buyers into repeat customers.

Because if email isn’t driving 30%+ of your revenue, it’s not built properly.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

1. Download our free guide: The Email Playbook - How one food & drink brand made £56.7K in email sales (with no extra ad spend!)
2. Ready to level up? Join the Food Marketing Club for more email strategies and support.
3. 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.