The Brand Cellar was set up two years ago by a team of marketing, finance and turnaround experts, with a mission to acquire and reinvent “much-loved brands with heritage”.
Its current portfolio includes butcher’s brand Dewhurst, Denby Dale pies, whisky brands Glen Rossie, Glenside and Carrick Mhor as well as the real ale brand 1805 The Victory.
Heritage brands
Group global brands director Andrew Harrison (pictured) formerly held marketing director positions at Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola and Nestle, and ceo of Müller Dairy UK.
He told FoodManufacture.co.uk that Brand Cellar had just completed a major round of fundraising, and was now well-placed to take up opportunities across the food sector as well as in other niches.
Harrison said: “There are so many brands with a lot of potential but which are trapped in a small company, where management do not have the experience in marketing and retail to get the distribution and give them a chance to fly.
“We are interested in taking on these brands across the spectrum of the food industry.”
Harrison said Brand Cellar had already had many enquiries regarding its services in regard to brands in the confectionery sector.
“There may be particular sectors of the food industry where you tend to find these sort of brands and where we will end up specialising,” Harrison added.
Current portfolio
Licensing arrangements for the firm’s brands in global markets would form the majority of its business, Harrison said. The Brand Cellar has already opened an office in Hong Kong.
High street butchers Dewhurst, which went into administration on 2006, is currently Brand Cellar’s flagship brand. It plans to launch a range of Dewhurst branded meat products into retailers by Christmas, Harrison said.
With 200-plus year old Yorkshire pie brand Denby Dale the focus is on export, he said. Denby Dale went into administration this February and Brand Cellar brought the brand. It has now licensed it to Chapel Foods, which bought the company’s assets from administration.
Scotch whisky Glen Rossie has been relaunched, in a campaign fronted by Status Quo star Francis Rossi. A new-look bottle carries a label in the shape of a plectrum.