Food and drink marketing that grows customer value
Hopkins-Lefevre is a specialist food and drink marketing consultancy for UK brands and retailers selling direct to consumers. I focus on the three things that drive long-term value online: recruiting new customers, keeping them through great email and CRM, and building subscription revenue that compounds.
Why food and drink marketing is different
Food and drink customers buy often, buy emotionally and switch easily. Margins are tight, delivery costs bite and one bad experience can end a relationship. Generalist agencies tend to chase clicks. In this sector, the money is in the second, tenth and fiftieth order.
I learned that at Virgin Wines and Naked Wines, where success meant building customer bases that paid back over years, not weeks. Between them I recruited more than 800,000 customers, and Naked Wines grew a subscriber base of 135,000 members paying £20 or more a month. Every recommendation I make is tested against that reality: what does a customer cost, what are they worth, and how do we make them worth more?
Specialist drinks marketing
Drinks is where my experience runs deepest: wine, beer, spirits, whisky and coffee. I've helped drinks brands build direct-to-consumer channels, grow email and subscription revenue, and win customers through partnerships. Whether you're a challenger brand finding your first direct customers or an established producer growing online sales, I know how to make each customer worth more.
Problems I help solve
Acquisition costs keep rising — paid social is getting more expensive and less reliable
Email isn't pulling its weight — a growing list, but flows and campaigns that underperform
Subscribers don't stay — churn is eating the growth from new sign-ups
Growth has stalled — word of mouth and early momentum aren't enough any more
No senior marketing lead — the founder is doing marketing between everything else
How I work
Understand the numbers — customer cost, retention, lifetime value and where the leaks are
Fix the foundations — email flows, subscription journeys and the offer itself
Open new acquisition channels — partnerships with brands that already reach your ideal customers
Measure, refine, repeat — monthly reporting tied to revenue, not vanity metrics
Frequently asked questions
What does a food and drink marketing consultancy do?
It helps food and drink businesses find, win and keep customers. My focus is direct-to-consumer growth: email and CRM, subscription models and partnership-led customer acquisition, backed by hands-on experience in the sector.
Do you work with drinks brands only?
Most of my clients are wine, beer, spirits and coffee brands, but I also work with food brands and online retailers whose growth depends on repeat customers.
Which platforms do you work with?
I'm a certified partner for Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Shopify, Recharge and Reviews.io.
What size of business do you work with?
Typically brands turning over £500k to £10m, where a senior marketer can make an immediate difference without a full-time hire.