Food and drink challenger brands: how to build visibility and drive growth.
The food and drink sector is more competitive than ever. Challenger brands are launching at pace, direct-to-consumer (DTC) products are flooding our social media, and retail shelves remain limited real estate. Gaining a retail listing and shelf space is still a major milestone, but it’s no longer enough. If customers don’t know who you are, what you stand for or where to find you, they won’t buy.
The challenge in 2025 isn’t just shelf space, it’s mind space. Your brand needs to be visible and in mind – not to everyone, but to the right audience, at the right time, with the right message. This is where selecting the best media planning strategy for your challenger brand becomes critical.
At MEERKATworks, we are experts in helping ambitious food and drink challenger brands break through the noise. Maybe you’re launching a new product or perhaps you’re scaling into retail – either way, we build smart, creative media plans that put you in front of the people who matter, without wasting budget.
What it means to be a challenger brand in 2025
The MEERKATs know well that a challenger brand isn’t a ‘small’ brand, it’s a bold one. In 2025, challenger food and drink brands are those shaking up categories, challenging norms and winning over consumers by doing things differently. They’re often purpose-driven and niche-focused but they punch well above their weight with strong stories and sharper strategies.
Today’s challengers thrive on:
Value-led storytelling – They don’t just sell a product; they stand for something. Whether it’s sustainability, provenance or health benefits, their mission is always up front and centre.
Speed to market – With lean teams and agile operations, challenger brands launch fast, adapt quickly and respond to trends in real time.
Creative experimentation – From social-first campaigns to unconventional formats, these brands aren’t afraid to test innovative ways to reach their audience.
But with this pace and ambition comes pressure, especially in a crowded market. That’s why media planning and buying services for challenger brands need to match their energy, speed and novel approaches. This is where the MEERKATs excel with their innovative thinking, nimbleness, adaptability, ‘stand out’ creativity, and ability to ‘dig deep’ to ensure every single media pound counts.
We understand that challenger brands don’t just need media – they need media that works as hard as they do.
The real job of media in growing a challenger brand
For challenger brands, growth doesn’t happen all at once, it’s a journey. And media has a critical role to play at every step, in moving people from curiosity, to consideration, to conversion. Exposure is important, but it’s not everything, you need to build momentum too. At MEERKAT we think of it as a funnel which moves from visibility, to trial, to loyalty. A carefully honed media planning strategy guides your audience through that path.
Awareness
At the top of the funnel, the goal is to get noticed. Whether you’re launching a new product, entering a national retailer or building buzz around a seasonal range, the right media choices will allow you to create impact quickly. This might mean high-visibility OOH, social teasers or programmatic digital video that stops people scrolling.
Consideration
Once people know you exist, the next challenge is making them care. This stage is all about education, storytelling and trust. Media in this area supports influencer partnerships, customer reviews, explainer content etc, all designed to show why your product is worth trying. Retargeting warm audiences is key.
Conversion
Now it’s time to drive action. Sampling and experiential campaigns (for example, the ‘hot sauce’ campaign for Louisiana), promo codes, geo-targeted mobile ads near stockists and retail media placements (e.g. Mackie’s Programmatic OOH) can all give that final nudge. Smart brands make it as easy as possible for people to buy, just at the time when they’re most interested.
Picking the right channels (without blowing the budget)
One of the biggest advantages of challenger brands is the ability to be nimble – and this should apply to media planning too. The right mix of channels depends on your budget, growth phase and audience. Here’s how different media types can work together to obtain results:
Programmatic – display, video and YouTube
Highly targeted and scalable, programmatic digital advertising allows you to reach people based on interests, context, behaviours or even location. It provides an impressive means of retargeting website visitors or supporting other campaign activity with consistent messaging – all with trackable results (eg: Ridgeview Sparkling wine).
OOH and DOOH (Out-of-Home and Digital Out-of-Home)
Whether it’s a poster in proximity to a stockist or a digital screen in a high-footfall area, OOH gives credibility and visual impact. DOOH, particularly, enables more flexible buying and can be updated dynamically depending on weather, time or location (e.g. Dean’s Shortbread).
TV, VoD and Streaming
Although from October 2025 there will be significant changes to HFSS regulations, TV, VoD, Pause Ads and Streaming should still be considered for leveraging food and drink brands (for example, see our high impact TV advertising campaign, boosting sales across England and Wales for Mackie’s Ice cream). Video ads create an opportunity for storytelling in a trusted environment, and consumers often refer to Pause Ads as “like having a billboard in your living room” with impressive dwell times of almost 4 minutes.
Digital audio, radio and podcasts
This format is perfect for building emotional connection and trust — especially with engaged, niche communities (for example, Pickerings Gin). Digital audio advertising, such as pre-roll podcast ads or Spotify campaigns, is great for value-led challenger brands looking to deepen awareness.
Influencer and creator partnerships
Authentic content drives results, especially when food or drink products are involved. Partnering with creators who align with your brand values can lead to compelling content that lives beyond the initial campaign, from recipe videos to unboxing and taste tests.
At MEERKATworks, we don’t believe in ‘cookie-cutter’ media plans. We help challenger brands build a bespoke channel mix that precisely fits their goals, budget and audience, whether you’re launching your first Stock Keeping Unit or scaling nationally.
Paid social
Ideal for storytelling, product demos and quick bursts of activity. Paid social allows you to test creative, audience segments and messaging in real time, which is ideal for driving sampling campaigns, flash promos or introducing your brand to new followers.
Why timing, compliance and location are everything
Timing can make or break a food or drink campaign. Challenger brands need to work smarter by aligning their media activity with real-world moments when their audience is most engaged and most likely to buy.
Seasonal timing is key. Whether it’s Veganuary, BBQ season, back-to-school or festive gifting, knowing when your product fits naturally into consumers’ lives helps your campaign feel apt and timely, rather than forced (for example, our Manuka Honey ‘Winter Wellness’ campaign). The same goes for major retail milestones: if you’re launching in a national chain or landing your first independent listings, your media plan should support that with targeted bursts of awareness.
Geotargeting and programmatic media buying allow brands to be hyper-specific and precise, reaching consumers based on location, proximity to stockists, or even event attendance. It is a highly cost-effective way to maximise buzz in the places that matter most, whether that’s a neighbourhood, a city or a postcode.
Common mistakes challenger brands make with media
Challenger brands are known for their energy, creativity and speed but when it comes to media, those same strengths can sometimes lead to missed opportunities or wasted budget. Here are some of the most common pitfalls seen by the MEERKATs:
- Spending reactively without a clear strategy
It’s tempting to jump on a trending platform or throw budget at a quick win but without a strategic media plan, it’s hard to build sustainable momentum. Reactive spend often means you’re chasing visibility, not actually creating it.
- Going all-in on one channel
Putting all your eggs in one basket can limit your reach and reduce campaign resilience. A strong media plan considers multiple touchpoints and, very importantly, how they complement each other and work together.
- Ignoring brand-building in favour of performance
While performance metrics matter, challenger brands need more than clicks and conversions – they need recognition and recall. Focusing only on short-term ROI can hurt long-term brand equity. Media should balance sales activation with storytelling.
- Not tracking ROI properly
Without the right tools and attribution models, it’s hard to know what’s working. Many brands don’t set up tracking until it’s too late, or they rely on last-click data that undervalues key channels. Knowing what to measure, and when, is crucial.
At MEERKATworks, we help challenger brands avoid these traps. We bring discipline to media spend, insight into what works, and flexibility to adapt campaigns in real time.
How MEERKATworks helps challenger brands cut through
We understand what it means to be a challenger brand: the urgency, the ambition and the need to make every move count. That’s why we’ve built a bespoke MEERKAT methodology for media planning and buying. It’s a distinct approach which is tailor-made for fast-moving food and drink brands – those who are ready to grow but need the right partner to help them get them.
We don’t do generic strategies. We work closely with clients, adapting to your pace, priorities and budget to provide bespoke media plans, and we’re always transparent about where your spend is going and why.
We have strong relationships with national and regional media owners, which means we’re able to unlock bonus inventory, added-value placements and exclusive opportunities. All this translates into you punching well above your weight with your media spend.
An extension of your team
Many challenger brands run with small teams. We fill the media planning and buying gap with a dedicated, experienced team that works like part of your crew – no overcomplicated processes, just smart, agile execution.
Knowledge of the FMCG and retail journey
The MEERKATs understand how food and drink brands can grow and thrive, from DTC launches, to winning retail listings, to driving sales. We know what kind of media support you need at each stage of your retail journey and how to align your plan to commercial milestones.
That’s why we’re proud to be attending Bread & Jam 2025, a celebration of the challenger brand community and a place where ambitious food and drink businesses gather to connect, learn and grow. The MEERKATs are excited to meet our fellow “bold and brilliant creatures” – those who are ready to take their brand to the next level – and to demonstrate how media buying can help them reach their goals.
The right media planning strategy can turn a challenger brand into a household name. And the good news? You don’t need the biggest budget. You just need the smartest plan.
Get in touch to start a conversation.
Get to know us…
MEERKATworks is an independent media planning and buying agency with burrows in Edinburgh and Brighton, founded in 2005. We are award-winning experts at planning, buying and creating advertising campaigns for businesses, large and small. We excel across many sectors including Food and Drink, Education, Events, Charity and Travel and our media plans are always bespoke and carefully designed to fulfil your unique goals.
The MEERKAT team’s in-depth knowledge and expertise extends throughout the media landscape, from Digital and Programmatic to OOH (Out-of-Home), TV, Radio and Print.
As a proudly independent media agency, we relish roaming free in the wild and getting stuck into briefs of all shapes and sizes. So, why not call the MEERKATs on 01273 760 100 / 0131 295 0131, or drop us a line? We’re friendly and don’t bite… unless you’re a scorpion!