MB Talks with Jennifer Carlsson – The Beauty Brand Expert

Content Type: Interview

Consumer, Cosmetics, Events, Health & Beauty, Industry, Interview, Marketing, Retail, Sustainability

Posted on 6 July 2023

With global revenue over $571 billion US dollars and trending upwards, health & beauty has proven to be a resilient and dynamic sector.

Able to reshape itself around expanding innovations, shifting consumer demands, and intensifying competition, it takes a keen eye and expert knowledge to navigate this ever-evolving industry.

In an exclusive interview, MacGregor Black’s global health & beauty specialist, Kriisti Atherton, sits down with Jennifer Carlsson, the beauty brand expert and Founder of market research business, Mintoiro to delve into her journey, her expertise, and what makes her such a sought-after figure in the industry.

Kriisti Atherton: So, Jennifer, for those who haven’t come across your profile yet, can you introduce yourself and tell us what makes you the ‘Beauty Brand Expert’?

Jennifer: Oh wow, where do I start?

Well, my name is Jennifer Carlsson, I’m a 30-year-old beauty brand strategy consultant, data analyst and designer from Stockholm.

I’m also the founder of my own professional services business, Mintoiro, and I launched the Beauty Design Awards in 2020.

At Mintoiro, I work closely with independently owned beauty brands to help them get loved by the people that care, and take market share from big corporations…

At the moment, I spend most of my time doing competitive market research, which I love, and it also helps be inform the consulting work I do.

I guess a lot of people might also know me from LinkedIn. Every month I post updated lists of the ‘Top 100 Brands Trending on Instagram’ across skincare, makeup, haircare, and fragrance. Those I’ve been posting for a few years now.

What makes me the beauty brand expert? Hmm, since I’m constantly doing research, I’d say I probably know more about beauty brands than anyone else. I’m not claiming to know more about the industry than anyone else, of course, but on brands specifically, I know what I’m talking about.

I always say that I’m an information sponge. I want to know everything about everything, I want to understand every aspect of the beauty industry and exactly how everything works.

I’m always talking to people in all parts of the industry’s value chain, and I learn so much from those conversations. But when I think of what really makes me an expert, I think of a quote that one of my mentors, Errol Gerson used to say… ‘the main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing’. You’ve got to do one thing well and focus on one thing at a time, because if you’re trying to do two different things at 50/50, you’re never really doing anything at 100, and how could you gain that expertise? Beauty is my main thing and I’m always giving it 100.

Kriisti Atherton: So why is Beauty in particular an industry you’re so passionate about?

Jennifer: I mean, I’ve always been into fashion and makeup. I really love the industry; I love the people I get to chat with, and coming from a design background, the creativity in the beauty industry just speaks to me.

In my early 20’s, I used to be a fashion blogger. My main focus was cute Japanese street styles and I was quite well known in that scene.  

When I initially started my own business, I decided I was going to do design, so when the time came to launch Mintoiro, it just made sense to design for Beauty Brands. For my first year in business I was mainly doing brand identity and packaging design for cosmetics brands.

Kriisti Atherton: You mentioned earlier that you spend a lot of your time compiling market research for your clients. Can you talk us through your process?

Jennifer: There’s lots of different parts that go into it.

I’m constantly adding more to my database, most of which is gathered through manual data entry. This is time consuming but really beneficial because, coupled with my eidetic memory, it gives me a good overview of everything that’s in my database. The only exception to this is social media metrics, I update this every month, but I use a scraping tool to gather that data and automatically import it to my database.

For my ‘Top 100 Trending Brands’ lists, the way I rank companies is completely data driven and based on followers, engagement, and growth over time. This is important because it’s not interesting to look at what brands have the most followers; I try to capture which brands are steadily growing whilst maintaining an engaged audience.

I also look at the products that brands are launching, their ethics, certifications, which markets they’re in, their target audience and who owns the brand. I have so much fun doing the research, some people find it boring, but I just love it.

Each report can take several months to complete, and when it’s done, it’s really exciting to be able to see all the patterns emerging in the industry.

I’ve recently finished a report on emerging colour trends for beauty brands, which was grounded in tons of data analysis, but presented it in a really visual way. I looked at the latest colour trends in beauty product packaging, and as part of the research, I tagged the exact colour shades of over 16,000 products from over 3,500 different beauty brands. I then split the 35 trend colours I identified into 7 different colour moods.

I also tagged the colours of around 4,000 runways looks from the 2023 Spring and 2023 Fall collections, as well as looking interior design, sneakers and other adjacent industries, as you tend to see a lot of overlapping trends across different industries.

It takes so much time to do this research. Straight up, it just takes so much time. I don’t have a secret thing that gathers it all super quickly for me, I’m doing data entry pretty much all the time. But I really enjoy doing the market research side of things, so the time it takes isn’t a problem for me.

Kriisti Atherton: Your audience is really engaged with your content, including myself and a number of my clients. But from your perspective, why do you think it is that so many brands choose to work with you in particular?

Jennifer: I’m very interested and engaged in the beauty industry specifically.

When I’m researching, I look at brands from a holistic perspective because you can’t get a full picture of what’s actually going on in the industry from just looking at quantitative data.

I talk to all kinds of people in the industry, I look at visual aesthetics and I also try on a ton of products from a range of different brands, which gives me another type of data to add to my holistic view of the industry. Fortunately, lots of brands send me their products to try, even some that I wouldn’t typically be able to buy myself because they don’t usually ship to my location.

I’d say I also have a really good overview of everything going on in the industry so, if you want to understand your competitors and how you can differentiate your beauty brand; I’m the person to talk to.

For the brands that may not have the budget to fund a huge research project, I also offer pre-made research reports on my website, because I want to make my research affordable for beauty brands at all different stages of their growth cycle.

Kriisti Atherton: You recently attended the Clean Beauty in London event and gave a fantastic speech on ‘The Latest Trends in Sustainable & Conscious Beauty’, what were the key trends you identified?

Jennifer: My talk at Clean Beauty in London mainly focused on brands doing sustainability the right way to show that doing better is possible. That’s something I care about deeply and I’m well-read on the subject.

I find it shocking how much greenwashing is going on in the beauty industry, particularly around the use of plastic. I’m not a purist, I’m not saying that brands can’t use any plastic, but I think they should be honest about the fact that plastic is not sustainable, right? Brands should be truthful and tell their consumers that “we choose to use plastic packaging to be able to offer our products at an affordable price point”, which could up the conversation for consumers to tell the brands “we would pay more for your products if you stop using plastic packaging”. But if consumers are being led to believe these products are already sustainable, then the brand can’t really have those conversations.

People are getting really tired of the greenwashing and sooner or later, they’re just flat out not going to accept it. For example, using biofuel or fossil fuel doesn’t make much of a difference. Turning either into plastic causes just as much pollution and people based near plastic plants are getting sick from the chemicals.

In Mississippi, there’s a stretch of land where over two hundred petrochemical production plants are based, and people call the area ‘Cancer Alley’. When you look at the whole picture like that, you start to realise the bigger issues and how necessary it is that we as an industry approach them.

Kriisti Atherton: As well as a more focused approach towards sustainability, what other trends have you noticed shaping the beauty industry?

Jennifer: Well, I’d say a lot of beauty brands are rethinking the way they approach marketing.

I’ve heard a lot of brands saying that they’re not getting as much return on their ad spending, which I think will see a lot of companies exploring alternative options. I mean, to see a good return on paid advertising, brands should really be spending at least 25K a month on it, and honestly, if a brand has that much to spend, I’d say they’re better off using it elsewhere.

My advice would be to take that money and spend it building partnerships with more influencers, I think the optics of that is way better than just throwing money at ads. Especially if you’re working with influencers that aren’t that big yet, and have a targeted beauty audience, because they produce genuine content that’s real and honest. And if you’re a brand that’s aiming for transparency, this fits well with that goal. Plus, you’re giving money back to hard-working, diverse content creators in the community.

Although, I’d say that if brands go down the influencer route, they need to do it right. I’ve heard some horror stories about beauty brands paying marginalized influencers less than their other influencers, which is just unacceptable. Aside from the fact it’s totally wrong, it’s also likely to hurt your brand’s reputation as people in the beauty industry talk to each other and these things always come out before long.

So, yeah, doing things right is super important, people don’t want to buy from brands that don’t.

Kriisti Atherton: I’ve combed through pretty much every inch of your blog by now and I’m always recommending it to others. In addition to your own, which other blogs/publications would you recommend for beauty fans to check out?

Jennifer: One of my favourites is the Founded Beauty podcast by Akash Mehta, he’s one of the founders of Fable & Mane, which is a plant-based haircare brand inspired by ancient Indian beauty secrets!

On the podcast, Akash interviews beauty founders and entrepreneurs about their business journeys. It’s extremely insightful and it’s a great podcast for people who really want to understand the industry.

Kriisti Atherton: And Jennifer, as The Beauty Brand Expert, which brands should our audience be keeping an eye on right now?

Jennifer: Oh, wow, that’s hard to say. There are loads of really great brands out there.

One brand that I mention often is Dip.

They’re a haircare brand that does shampoo and conditioner bars. I’ve tried a lot of products like this and theirs is the best on the market.

They mostly work with smaller refill stores, and they don’t spend anything on advertising, their brand is spread entirely by word-of-mouth. I think that’s so interesting. Plus, they’re really inclusive, they don’t do different bars for different hair types, they’ve made sure their product can be used by anyone, you just pick the scent you like.

Also, a Swedish brand that I’m really liking at the moment is Manasi 7. I’ve been using their products recently; they have a cheek and lip tint that I actually use for both my lips and cheeks. I also really like their branding. In Sweden, there’s a big market for minimalistic designed brands with a very specific look to them, and these guys have nailed it.

Oh, I’m also really fascinated with exploring the Indonesian beauty market at the moment. They have some really cool looking brands with great formulations. They look like luxury brands that could be sold in Sephora. A good example to check out is the brand Dew It Skin. I love their products.

Kriisti Atherton: You’ve given us some great insight into your expertise and what you’re doing as The Beauty Brand Expert right now. What’s next on the cards for you and your business?

Jennifer: My biggest focus in 2023 is creating the research reports that I sell through my website.

I find the work very satisfying and enjoyable, and creating my own reports allows for me to put all my strong sides to use.I have a few different types of reports in the pipeline and I’m excited to reveal and share them with everyone soon!

I’m also doing Beauty Design Awards for the fourth year running. The award is completely free, and brands are welcome to submit their products for consideration until the end of August. You can find more information on the website, beautydesignawards.com.

The award looks at the holistic experience of a product, so both packaging and formulation are just as important.

Kriisti Atherton: Jennifer, thank you so much for your time today and we look forward to seeing yours and Mintoiro’s success in 2023 and beyond.

Latest blogs & insights

Consumer, Events, Gifting, Industry, Interview, Toy Industry

Posted on 13 April 2023

With global revenue primed to break the $300billion mark for the first time this year and near double digit growth forecasted, the Toy industry is bursting with potential. Potential that many brands, old and new, are looking to build upon.

One such company, a LEGO licensed product distributor rooted in over thirty years of toy distribution, is currently navigating this highly competitive market. Most recently they have made a bold move, birthing their second distribution brand in four years.

MacGregor Black caught up with CEO & Founder of YAMANN, and the newly formed Bablu, Dominik Piotrowski to discuss the ins and outs of the global toy distribution industry. Including, licensing agreements, partnerships and what it takes to launch a successful brand in this fast-paced, billion dollar market.

MacGregor Black: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today, Dominik.

Let’s kick things off with a simple one, what exactly does licensing involve?

So, when it comes to licensing, firstly you’ve got the brand owner…you could say for example, LEGO, Disney, or Nickelodeon.

At some point, this brand owner decides that they don’t just want to create their own products anymore, they’re big enough that they can allow other manufacturers to create and sell products using their intellectual property. Such as, their branding, patents, and trademarks. Which is great for the manufacturers because they get to use globally recognised branding. But it’s also beneficial for the brand owner, as they get to expand their experience for their customers.

Usually, for the end customer, there’s no distinguishable difference. All they see is their favourite movie or game characters and assume the product was created by the brand themselves. More often than not, it was manufactured by a completely different company.

Now here’s where it can get slightly confusing. Many people confuse licensing with partnerships…

Licensing is essentially one company renting out their branding to another company, whereas a brand partnership will see the two companies come together with a collaborative approach. Usually, resulting in a range of products using both companies’ branding. LEGO have quite a few brand partnerships with the likes of Adidas, Nintendo, and Moleskin, that you’ve probably seen before.

MacGregor Black: Can you tell us more about what YAMANN does?  

Absolutely! YAMANN is a LEGO licensed product distributor in Poland. So, we work with the manufacturers to distribute their licensed products to retailers.

As soon as the LEGO licensed products are with YAMANN, we manage the entire process from that point onwards. So, YAMANN manages the relationships with buyers, the product placement on shelves, right through to territory marketing. We’re responsible for pretty much the entire customer experience.

YAMANN was founded almost four years ago, but we’re a company rooted in family tradition, with more than thirty years of LEGO distribution running through our veins. We’re a monobrand, and we have most of the LEGO licensed products under our portfolio. Which is so unique, and I think, gives us our biggest competitive advantage.

YAMANN’s relationship with LEGO is a legacy and a huge part of our brand purpose. It’s really important that we stick to that. But we do still want to grow and explore different opportunities, which is why we’ve just officially launched our daughter brand, Bablu!

MacGregor Black: Congratulations on the launch! So, can you tell us more about what Bablu does?  

Only cool stuff…

MacGregor Black: Is that the company tag line? ‘Only Cool Stuff’…

Haha, you guessed it!

Bablu is a distributor of top brands and sought-after licenses! The company has been in the works for a while now, but we officially launched at the International Kids’ Time Toy Fair in Kielce. It was fantastic!

MacGregor Black: Tell us more about Bablu? Why did you decide to launch the brand?

Like I said, YAMANN’s core identity is LEGO. Introducing non-LEGO products into YAMANN’s portfolio just didn’t fit with our identity. This is where Bablu comes in.

Launching Bablu meant that we could build a separate brand with a diverse catalogue of cool products and suppliers. Over the last two years, everyone at Bablu has been scouting Europe for brands we’d like to add into our portfolio. So far, Bablu is working with several strong licenses, with the likes of Hot Wheels, Pokémon, Chupa-Chups and Gabby’s Dollhouse, and we’re also working with some really cool independent brands like Waboba, Wild Planet and Mitama.

Sourcing the coolest, rarest, most exciting products on the market is Bablu’s number one goal. We visited numerous industry trade shows like, Distoy, The Toy Fair, KIDS’ TIME, and Nuremberg, to find the best partners. I definitely owe your consultant, Abbie Richardson a dinner! She recommended a few of those shows and they really paid off.

MacGregor Black: We’ll make sure to let her know! It sounds like you’re working with some really interesting brands, what are the factors in your decision making when sourcing new products?

Well, I’m very much a ‘gut feeling’ driven person. One of my personal mottos is, follow your gut, look for goosebumps. But, aside from that, it’s going to trade shows, speaking with people in the industry, keeping your eyes open for products that are unique and rare on the market.

Before I go to any tradeshow, I ask my team to run through the agenda so I can get a few different perspectives about what’s happening in the market. That helps the process massively because they might send me to see something different, or speak to someone I might not have spotted on my own. Teamwork is a huge part of what we do.  

Another big part of the process is also, of course, market research. We speak with buyers in Poland to get their opinions and feedback on our ideas. They’re the experts and they have so much experience.

We have strong personal relationships with our buyers, something that many of the bigger wholesalers can’t offer buyers because they just don’t have the time. I think cultivating personal relationships is how both companies get the most out of the interaction, it’s honest, it’s friendly and it’s fun. This is something we’re really proud of at YAMANN and definitely an element we want to carry over into Bablu. You know, I met a buyer last week and it was just like meeting an old friend, that’s something I love about my job.

MacGregor Black: What are you expecting to see in the licensing and distribution industry in 2023, and where does Bablu fit into this?

Well, the industry titans like LEGO, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Harry Potter, and Minecraft will remain strong in 2023. All of those brands are regularly releasing new licensed products and partnerships. But what we have noticed is, there’s a few new kids on the block looking for a slice of the market share too, like Gabby’s Dollhouse. They’re growing rapidly at the moment!

What we’ve also noticed is a rising consumer interest in Anime. As a result, Pokémon has seen a huge revival and we’re seeing more demand from titles like, Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia. 

At Bablu, we’re staying up to date with the latest trends to guarantee we’re seeing the most rare and exciting products on the market, and there’s some independent brands out there that are making some really cool, well-designed, surprising products. Bablu brings the best of these two worlds together. We have some really strong licensed products in our portfolio, but we’re also courageous enough to introduce new brands to the market.

We have something for each of our customers to love.

MacGregor Black: Thanks for sharing your time with us and we look forward to seeing YAMANN & Bablu’s success in 2023 and beyond.

Latest blogs & insights

Drinks, Hospitality, Industry, Insight, Interview

Posted on 10 January 2023

From a humble beginning selling beer into London’s bustling pubs, to masterminding the rebrand of what would become the UK’s bestselling premium lager, and most recently, leading a small South London Brewery to a £120m acquisition by SAB Miller Brands…

Drinks industry stalwart, Nick Miller has hopped up the ranks of the ever-evolving beer sector, amassing over 35 years’ experience and shaping a range of world-class brands along the way.

MacGregor Black recently sat down with the current Non-Exec Director at Young’s PLC, and author of ‘In The Meantime: Lessons and Learning from a Career in Beer’, to discuss all things drinks and what it takes to brew a successful career in such a competitive industry.

MacGregor Black: So, Nick, you’ve certainly had an interesting career in the beer industry. For those of us who are yet to read your debut book, ‘In The Meantime’, tell us where it all began.

Nick: I left school when I was 18 after failing all my A-levels, and ended up working  down a mine for around 6 months as a Laborer. That was a real education… I wasn’t very career focused then, but that experience did teach me what I didn’t want to do with my life!

After that, I spent some time as a shoe shop manager before I joined Bass in 1986 as a Free-Trade Salesman, selling their beer into pubs, working men’s clubs, bingo halls and restaurants; anywhere that had an alcohol license, really. That was my first step into the drinks industry. Three years after that, when I was 24, Bass asked me to manage 18 of their North London pubs.

The change from selling beer to retailing in pubs was a great learning experience as it facilitated seeing both sides of the coin.

When I was a free-trade salesman, my perspective was of representing a branded company selling its products to someone who is planning to sell it on to someone else, so it was very much business to business sales. When I became the receiver of the product and I managed an actual outlet, I got a much greater understanding of what the consumer wanted as I was actually experiencing their needs and requirements in a face-to-face ‘relationship’. These experiences shaped my future selling perspective, I knew that when selling a product or service I had to ensure that both consumer and customer needs were fulfilled.

I also learned a lot from the people around me, people who had really lived life. I was a country lad, living just outside Burton on Trent so I was pretty ‘green’. When it came to working in London, it was a totally different world and I had to grow up pretty quickly. The whole experience made me more streetwise…

MacGregor Black: During your successful career with Bass, you were headhunted by our CEO & Founder, Jon McNeish, with an exciting opportunity to join SAB Miller Brands UK. Can you tell us a little about the challenge of steering the little known beer brand, Peroni, onto the path to becoming the fastest growing beer brand the industry during the late 80’s ?

Nick: Well, the first step was creating a brand position that people could connect to both emotionally and from a needs basis. Where you position your brand is key, a product has got to give the customer reasons to believe in it and the attributes of that product will determine how the customer feels about it. We started with the brand name, calling it Peroni, instead of ‘Nastro Azzurro’ because it was easier to say at the bar and it rolled off the tongue better. That was quite fundamental to re-positioning our brand.

Then, because the aim was to create a premium product, we built the whole brand around a high-end Italian proposition, which was crucial because Italian products are often perceived as premium. As you know, there’s many Italian iconic brands covering all sorts of consumer categories – luxury Italian fashion, quality leather products and world-famous chefs, so Peroni being an Italian brand actually gave us a fantastic starting position to creating a premium brand.

After that, lots of research was commissioned to find out if the customer and consumer would actually buy the product. We were always measuring the desirability of the brand and were constantly hosting consumer feedback groups. There’s a handy scale you can use to measure how your brand is doing that I’ve included in the book. there was a lot of ‘marketing science’ that was employed to ensure we built a brand that resonated with both direct customer (the retailer) and the consumer.

 “I’m a big believer in ‘you’re only as good as those around you’, and I couldn’t have done it all without the amazing, highly skilled people that I got the pleasure of working with.”

MacGregor Black: Successfully shifting an existing brand into the premium category certainly comes with its own unique challenges. One of those being the balance a marketer must strike between maintaining a product’s exclusivity and managing its perception, in line with increasing consumption and sales.

Nick: Yes, that’s exactly it. You have got to be really careful how you market a premium product because if you make it too available, you can dilute your exclusivity. We marketed our product on a word-of-mouth basis. We targeted the main UK cities including, London, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Edinburgh, and focused our marketing activity there. After that, we would let our customers do the rest, as most of our ‘opinion formers’ would invariably travel into those cities for nights out and they’d then talk about the brand when they got back home.

We also focused on convincing retailers that we weren’t going to discount the product in the off trade. This meant they could keep a premium price point on the product. We avoided the ‘big box discount’ route that other premium lagers had followed and tried to ensure that demand stayed ahead of availability.

MacGregor Black: All of which clearly worked given Peroni’s success!

Nick: It was a total team effort. I’m a big believer in ‘you’re only as good as those around you’, and I couldn’t’ have done it all without the amazing, highly skilled people that I got the pleasure of working with. That was a big reason for wanting to put together the book, to shoutout and thank all those who had helped me along in my career. We wouldn’t have had the success we did at Peroni, or Meantime, without the people who passionately worked together to make it a success. I was the lucky one to lead them.

MacGregor Black: You mentioned your time at Meantime Brewing Company, a totally different environment from Peroni… What were the most notable differences you found moving from a large corporate setting, into a small start-up environment?

Nick: There was a massive cultural difference. You operate in a ‘glamorous ‘bubble’ in a big PLC company like Peroni. There are people to bring you coffee, chauffeurs, assistants, analysts, and most notably a treasury department to look after your banking needs. Meantime was like working in a shed compared to that! It was freezing, my laptop was ancient, and I used a decorating table as my desk for a while before we got things going. There were no secretaries, so I had to revisit a lot of the work I’d forgotten over the last 30 years. As you grow in your career, you start passing on a lot of responsibilities to others, so when I started at Meantime, I understood how to run a business, but I didn’t realise how much I’d have to re-learn. That was a big challenge.

MacGregor Black: And what would you say are the biggest personal challenges that the CEO of an SME will face?

Nick: Just don’t get ahead of yourself…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m passionate, fun, and I try to never take myself too seriously. If you do that you can get ahead of yourself. I get excited, of course, but not over excited, which was a big part of staying grounded at Meantime. I also never got despondent, and I tried to operate within an emotional framework that didn’t go to the extremes. When something went badly, (which they did, and I certainly ballsed things up a few times over the years), whilst it upset me at the time, those moments became good learning experiences that I could fall back on. If you ‘get ahead of yourself’ you often miss learning experiences.

Basically, you want to avoid flat lining, you should absolutely get excited, or even upset, you’ve got to have some passion in life, but you mustn’t let it overspill. Sometimes life is two steps forward and one step back, it’s about trying to navigate that perspective.

MacGregor Black: It’s fantastic that you have been able to carve out such a successful career for yourself, if you hadn’t been approached by our CEO for the role with SAB Miller, where do you think your career would’ve taken you?

Nick: that’s a really good question! I’ve not thought about that much… but I loved my time at SAB Miller. I would have stayed for a while longer, maybe even moved abroad if it wasn’t for the opportunity with Meantime. I’d love to know if I could have had the same success in a different country.

I’ve also always had an appetite for risk, so I’d also like to think that I still would have taken the entrepreneurial plunge in another small company.

If I was to rewind back and start again, I’d look at working in finance or tech. Those industries just keep growing and growing. However, if I’m honest, I don’t think I have the personality for those types of businesses. I like people focused companies so would probably still ended up with working with some sort of consumer brand.

MacGregor Black: In just a few short years, we’ve seen UK & European drinking culture evolve drastically. We find one of the biggest catalysts for change has been the recent shift in conscious consumerism, with more people focusing on the products they consume, what’s in them, how sustainable they are etc. which all feeds back to the positioning of a brand in the market.

Nick: Absolutely, in 2022 we noticed a decrease in alcohol consumption within the 18-24 age group, which the sudden boom in health-conscious consumerism has definitely influenced.

MacGregor Black: As the recent Gin boom begins to level out, our dedicated Drinks practice have been increasingly busy supporting several of our Rum and Craft Beer producing clients, following the increased consumer demand during the past year. What has caught your eyes most in the Drinks Industry during 2022?

Nick: Hmm, there’s been quite a few actually…

Craft beer has seen some serious innovation, with brands like, BrewDog and Beavertown dominating the off and on-trade respectively. This was also the first year that flavored gin overtook normal gin sales, which was unusual, and both sparkling wine and champagne have also done really well recently. Oh, and watch out for English sparkling wines – they’re very good!

All in all, 2022 was a pretty hard year for everyone. Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, rail strikes and inflation have all impacted the hospitality industry.  I’m hopeful that 2023 will be more productive.

MacGregor Black: And looking ahead to 2023 there seems to be a blend of hesitation and excitement in the market, as often comes with economic uncertainty. What are your predictions for this year?

Nick: I think it will all depend on how the cost-of-living crisis pans out, but I’m hoping we see more innovation in the industry. I believe the shift in health-conscious consumerism we discussed will continue and we’ll definitely see a surge in more health drinks this year. More people are trying seltzers recently, I think we’ll see some seltzer brands break into the mainstream in 2023.

MacGregor Black: And finally, Nick, following a glittering career and the release of your debut book, ‘In The Meantime: Lessons and Learning from a Career in Beer’ what does the next chapter hold for you?

Nick: Well, I’m currently working with Youngs PLC as a non-exec Director and I’ll probably continue to dabble in certain things from afar (on the advisory side that is).To be honest, moving from operating to advising has been challenging… Whilst I don’t really have the appetite to do 70 hours a week anymore, I sometimes find it hard being a consultant because I just want to go and do it, you know, “get stuck in! “

If you would like to speak with our specialist team of Drinks Consultants, contact us on 0191 691 1949 or email us at hello@macgregorblack.com

Latest blogs & insights

Consumer, Drink, Events, Hospitality, Industry, Insight, Interview, Retail

Posted on 15 November 2022

As a wave of drinks brands look to innovate and evolve in a post-Covid world, consumers are often left wading through an overwhelming number of choices that currently flood the shelves of bars, restaurants, and supermarkets alike.

This sudden burst of quality spirits has birthed a highly competitive market, with one such brand, launching on the cusp of the global pandemic, having embraced the highs and lows of the unpredictable, yet exciting drinks industry.

Born out of a deep love for the Caribbean and a desire to shake up the rum category, this unique brand has gone above and beyond, voyaging across the oceans to bring us a range of quality, craft rums… with a twist.

MacGregor Black talks with Cleo Farman, Managing Director of award-winning drinks company, Diablesse Rum, about ‘savouring over sessioning’, breaking the sailor mold, and what the future holds for this ambitious brand.

MacGregor Black: So, Cleo, to someone who’s never come across Diablesse Rum before, how would you introduce the brand?

Cleo: Gosh, where do I start? First of all, I’m proud to say it’s the first female-owned rum brand in the UK (Yay!). Diablesse was born out of a HUGE appreciation for quality Caribbean rums, where people have distilled rum since the early 17th century and is where I think the best rums come from! The figurehead of the brand, the beautiful woman on the label, is La Diablesse, a mythical female enchantress character from Caribbean folklore. The purpose of the brand is to change people’s outdated perception of rum which still seems to be that it’s mega strong and quite samey flavours, if you know what I mean?

MacGregor Black: And why did you choose La Diablesse to represent the brand?

Cleo: Some of the best master distillers out there are women but unfortunately, you wouldn’t always know that. I wanted to get a bit more female representation in the industry, and I was lucky enough to come across Diablesse. She was a temptress that also stood for female empowerment and she’s of Caribbean descent so represents the heritage of the beautiful rums in the blends (and it would be a travesty to put anyone else on the label in my opinion), But, yeah, I thought her character sat well with the brand and what we stand for, which is that: Diablesse rum is a female forward inclusive rum brand, is flavour lead and is here to show people that there’s more to rum than they might think.

MacGregor Black: With so many spirits out there to work with, why did you choose to launch a rum brand?

Cleo: Basically, I used to be a gin drinker but, to be honest, I got a bit bored. And since I used to own four bars in Manchester, that gave me a really good platform to explore distinct categories of spirits and I discovered that I quite liked rum.

So, I went off to the Caribbean and looked at the distilleries there, met with loads of impressive people that knew a lot about rum and I really loved it. Ok, I’m going to be a nerd now, but my Diablesse Golden Rum is a blend of an eight-year-old double distilled rum from Barbados, a four-year-old copper pot still rum from Jamaica and a three-year-old rum that’s made in the only wooden column still in the whole world! It’s been really exciting working with all these lovely flavours and pairing them up to see what fits.

MacGregor Black: So, what exciting things do you have going on now at Diablesse Rum?

Cleo: Oh my gosh. Loads of things! So, right now I’m going through a major fundraise. There’s so much money involved in launching a spirit brand. I’ve put a lot of my own money into the brand because I believe in Diablesse and now that I’ve demonstrated, through a good sales record, that people like it and want to buy it, I’m now looking for investors to join me!

I’ve also got a new Marketing person starting with me soon who is working with me to put together quite an ambitious marketing plan. If we raise the money, we’ll be doing activations across the UK, attending festivals, and just working hard to get the brand message out there, really. Which is nerve-wracking but also super exciting!

Diablesse Rum is also going to be making an appearance at the Manchester Christmas markets this year, which is 41 days solid of talking about rum! I’ve put a team together and we’ll be there to spread the message and speak with anyone who’s interested in knowing more (and to give everyone a taste!)  I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve got a stall at St Anne’s Square, and we’ll be there from the 10th of November, so come and see us!

MacGregor Black: What would you say your most ambitious goal is for the Diablesse Brand?

Cleo: I’d love to open a little distillery under the Diablesse brand, where I could experiment with creating more of my own small batch limited addition rums. I’d like to have a brand home at some point in the near future, where people can learn about the company, visit our in-house bar, and really get a feel for the complete Diablesse experience. And I’d also love to see Diablesse launch into the US and China, but not just yet. 

But, having said all that, I’d say my most ambitious goal for the brand is, like I say, to change people’s opinion about rum entirely. In the UK, a lot of people still associate rum with the Navy and it’s seen as quite a male drink. You know, you’ve got many rums brands such as, Neptune Rum, Captain Morgan, or Sailor Jerry, but I wanted to do something a bit different. Bring a new light in and really shake up people’s perception of rum to see it as something that can be savoured, rather than chucked back with a coke mixer. ’Savour, not session’ is what I’m going for!

After building Diablesse here and abroad, one of my most ambitious personal goals is to launch into different spirits, but not under the Diablesse brand. Diablesse is so personal to rum and the Caribbean, so I don’t think another spirit would sit under that brand. I would probably look to get into white spirits, but not gin. There you go, there’s a clue… yeah, Gin is brilliant, it’s doing really well but not gin ….  I’d like to keep away from that.

MacGregor Black: Having been there and done it, what advice would you offer someone looking to launch their own brand-new rum brand?

Cleo: Well, firstly I’d say do your homework! It takes a lot to get off the ground, there’s so many hoops you have to jump through for instance getting your licenses from HMRC. I even had people check my home to make sure I wasn’t some sort of dodgy rum dealer! For Diablesse, I store a lot of the rum under bond, which basically means I stored my rum in HMRC-operated warehouses and am only required to pay the Alcohol tax once I’ve taken a bottle out of the warehouse, rather than paying it all in one go. That has helped with cashflow immensely, but you have to get special government licenses to be able to do it and it can be quite difficult.

Secondly, I’d say be honest with your forecasting. It costs a lot more money than you’d ever think to get going, I learned that the hard way.

Another thing is, you’ve got to build your distribution. Once you’ve made your rum, how are people actually going to buy it? It’s not often that you can just walk into a bar and say, here, I have a rum, do you want to sell it? You need to work with wholesalers, which can be hard and takes a lot of time. I started out doing markets to push Diablesse out there and that’s how I met my wholesaler. I now have a distributor that sells to wholesalers, so I’ve gone about it that way.

Lastly, build a brand that means something. Don’t just think, ok, I want to make a rum because I want to make lots of money because people see right through that. people want to know who you are, what you’re about, what drives you and what drives the brand. For me, I really like rum and I’ve built the brand around a story that resonates with what I’m trying to achieve.

MacGregor Black: And finally, to round things off, which Diablesse drink would you recommend to newcomers?

Cleo: I’m sorry, but I love them all!

Well, I guess you could say my personal favourite is our Golden Rum with a ginger and lime mixer, but that’s not always to everyone’s taste, is it? So, I’d recommend trying the Clementine Spice Rum, paired with a Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale mixer, or at this time of year, hot apple juice! I also really love the Diablesse Coconut & Hibiscus Flower Rum with Franklin’s Pineapple and Almond mixer. All of those are delicious and I drink them at home.

If you would like to speak with our specialist team of Drinks Consultants, or would like to discuss featuring in our next MB Talks, contact us on 0191 691 1949 or email us at hello@macgregorblack.com

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Consumer, Fashion, Industry, Insight, Interview, Outdoor, Sports, Sustainability

Posted on 27 May 2022

Clothing & apparel, like many other industries, has swung back and forth navigating the intricacies of Covid-19, countrywide lockdowns, and the ever-changing societal habits that have ensued. As the pandemic has irreversibly accelerated the shift to not only digital, but also experiences we have as customers, one such brand has not only successfully navigated the pandemic, but done so building an army of loyal customers with an unwavering commitment to purpose, quality, and most all… building in Britain.

We sat down with Oliver Massy-Birch, Director of clothing brand, Fortis, to talk outdoors, apparel, and what the future holds for the brand flying the flag for British manufacturing.

MacGregor Black: So Oliver, to a newcomer out there, how do you introduce them to Fortis?

Oliver: Well, the first thing people say about us, is that we’re very different.

The idea we have at Fortis is to make something that is going to be a trusted friend for a long, long time. And not only that, but to make it in Britain, with British fabrics. Manufacturing in the UK has been depleted for years as the fashion world is very much, centred around fast fashion. We’re very much going against that.

We want to increase the demand for, what we call slow fashion. And that means making a better product. It’s a bit more expensive, but it is going to last longer, have a repair service, and you know, have all of these things that incorporate something that you’re going to have for years to come.

We think, why can Fortis not lead the way for the fashion world?

Oliver Massy-Birch, director – fortis clothing

MacGregor Black: Going down the ‘slow fashion’ route, is that something that you’ve pursued, where did the decision come from?

Oliver: It came very much from my father, who to begin with, manufactured for the police & military world. Then he moved into the shooting, fishing, and farming markets. So, when I took over, I just saw it as ‘we can do this right across the board.’, it doesn’t just have to be a brand for, you know, the hardcore country types.

It can be the same technology, the same quality, just across fashion markets, but also to lead the way in that actually, you don’t have to change the colour of your jacket every year. You can have it for the next five years, six years, whatever it may be, because it’s quality, and it fits well.

And I’m a big advocate of that. A well-made product does look very nice. So, I will always say something of quality is absolutely on trend. So we aim to cater to that base going forward and fit that demand, if you like.

MacGregor Black: In the last decade we’ve certainly seen a noticeable shift in buying behaviour, where there’s now a greater need for fashion to also be functional for the everyday consumer. Particularly over the last 3-4 years there are luxury brands that have a deep history in producing purpose-built clothing, such as Canada Goose and Moncler, that have incredible success in the Fashion industry, due to positioning in that specific category.

Is this something you can see happening to Fortis in the future?


Oliver: I think the ‘made-to-order’ market we are right now is a very good market… and importantly, it’s a growing market. There are a few things that make it a little, confused if you like. You can have police officers in forces jackets, farmers in forces jackets, and shooting & fishing in them too, as along the way, one item can meet the needs of many. You know, the core ideals of staying dry, comfortable, and ultimately having their needs met are our priority.

So, I don’t see us going down the route of saying we’ll design a piece for this purpose and this market only, and that’s how it will stay.

As long as we meet our functional performance and sustainability promises. I’m happy to move and steer our direction as we see it developing. Whether that be in five years’ time or 20 years’ time.

MacGregor Black: You mentioned earlier that many people describe Fortis as ‘very different’. One of the ‘stand-outs’ for me is your commitment to manufacturing in Britain. Why is it so important to you that this remains at the core of Fortis?
Oliver: For me, I know tomorrow we could pick it up in China and you have make five, six times the profits, maybe more.

But the issue for me with that, is that there’s a principle. And the principle for me is that okay, great, I enjoy what we do and I enjoy making profit that we can reinvest into the company and into the local community. And you want to do exactly that over time. But there’s also something about creating a positive, lasting legacy. One of something that is quite different… and special. Rather than being just another company that manufactures in China.

Thinking ahead, how sustainable really is that for the environment? Fewer miles for our materials and products to travel means reducing our carbon footprint. We’re going to bring it down by manufacturing in Britain, and in the long run it’ll make a big difference.

Ultimately, we’re doing the same processes, but we’re doing them in Britain, and to a better standard. So there is a long term plan.

And I’m an outdoorsman myself, so the environment is the biggest thing for me. So we think, why can Fortis not lead the way for the fashion world?

MacGregor Black: Finally, to round things off, give me the five words that embody Fortis now and to move forward with.

Oliver: Quality, sustainable, trustworthy, and… bloody good!

With Oliver at the helm, Fortis looks to be in good hands, and with a flexible strategy for the future, centred around it’s unwavering core principles of quality, sustainability, and trust, it’s easy to see why they’ve been quick to gain such a loyal following.

If you’d like to talk talent with our specialist team of Sports, Fashion, & Outdoor recruitment consultants, get in touch via hello@www.macgregorblack.com or at 0191 691 1949

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