Purpose driven brands shine at Bread & Jam Festival
Bread & Jam Festival 2023 has left us energised and optimistic. During two packed days of listening, learning, sharing and connecting, we witnessed brands bursting with ideas and ambition. That so many of these businesses are purpose-driven, recognising their impact on people and planet, reinforces our belief that the food and drink industry can be a force for good. It’s truly been a feast for our minds and hearts, as well as our bellies (thank you Producers’ Shop for all the tastings!).
If we had to choose a highlight, it would be the animated panel discussion on building a brand with purpose, hosted by Catherine. The panel was made up of founders of successful purpose-led businesses - Matthew Isaacs from My Emissions, Mimica’s Solveiga Pakštaitė and Natalie Campbell MBE from Belu Water Ltd. Each gave insightful, practical advice, rooted in real-world experience. Their words demonstrated the undeniable power of aligning your brand with sustainability.
The discussion touched on topics including how to communicate purpose effectively in an era of greenwashing, the value of impact certifications for consumer recognition and accountability, and persuading consumers to prioritise ethical, sustainable credentials over price. Panellists also focused on the challenges food and drink start-ups face when trying to get everything right from the start and shared their rallying cries for emerging brands in a time of climate crisis.
The advice that really stood out to us was always to:
Lead with your ‘why?’
Set out your mission and values from the start
Let your mission and values act as your guiding light
Start every pitch with ‘what if we could…?’
With more than 100 speakers on the programme, it was impossible for us to get to every talk that interested us. But we did our best to divide and conquer. One of our favourites was hearing Chester Robinson talk about how his start-up Raise Snacks benefited from the Thrive with Sainsburys programme. After getting headhunted while featured in @raye the store, the business grew with help from a free 16-week incubator programme, designed to support Black founder-led brands on their journey from start-up to supermarket shelves. Huge kudos to Chester for getting his brilliant product retail-ready and listed after the programme.
As business founders ourselves, one of the things we love about Bread & Jam is the speakers’ honesty and openness about the business journey they are on. It's not easy out there and we can all benefit from listening to the sound advice shared.
What stood out most to us was:
Getting listed is the first challenge, staying listed is the bigger one! Be clear on the specific role your brand and product plays in the category and for retailers
Be tenacious. Chances are you're not going to get a response from a buyer from that first approach. Keep going and find ways to connect that cut through the noise generated by other brands.
Define your mission and then have a plan to deliver on that mission. The combination of the two is where brands really succeed.
Finally, to everyone we caught up with this week at Bread & Jam Festival, thank you for the conversation and the inspiration. To anyone that we didn’t get the chance to talk to, please do get in touch or sign up for one of our upcoming Introduction to B Corp webinars. We’d love to hear from you.
