FOOD & DRINK
Big Business for Metrostar with Kraft Heinz Metrostar’s Claire Potter talks to Total Brand Licensing about the company’s partnership with Kraft Heinz and why it is a perfect placement
You’ve been signed by Kraft Heinz to manage its brand licensing in the UK and Ireland – how did the deal come about? Brand Central LLC is the exclusive licensing agency for Kraft Heinz for the United States and Canada. There was an opportunity for Brand Central to expand their territory into the United Kingdom and they decided the
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best approach was to partner with a local UK agency. Fortunately, they chose Metrostar as their UK partner for this opportunity. We had worked previously with Brand Central on Krispy Kreme so we knew we had the combined expertise, relationship and process to build a successful program. We were selected by Kraft Heinz UK and we announced our joint representation in June. Why is Metrostar perfectly placed to work with Kraft Heinz? We have fmcg food experience and big brand management experience gained from working in senior brand management roles in bluechip firms. So we’re brand managers first and licensing agents second. When I set up Metrostar in 2004, I brought the skills and processes gained from working in global food companies like Unilever and Dalgety. They underpin our strategy planning and ensure the brand promise is delivered effectively and also naturally in each licensed product. Kraft Heinz were also keen to extend beyond their traditional grocery retail base. We have always had a strong retail focus, which has helped us to secure a large number of DTRs and retail ex-
clusives for our brands. What are your immediate plans for the brand in UK and Ireland? We have just completed strategy planning with each brand team at Kraft Heinz to identify their key product categories for both food and non-food opportunities. We’re fortunate to have a long list of iconic brands such as Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Heinz Beanz, Heinz Salad Cream, Heinz Tomato Soup, Heinz Pasta, HP Sauce, Lea & Perrins, Amoy and Bulls-Eye.
TOTAL BRAND LICENSING
