Far from a churlish response to a new idea, the “so what?” test is perhaps the most important marketing interrogation of all. It acts as a clear-eyed assessment of whether the market truly understands why your brand matters and how it helps operators perform. By scrutinising campaigns with our audience's perspective in mind, we can cut the fluff, prioritise actionable benefits and highlight the true value of our messages. But has modern foodservice forgotten its importance?
Many food and drink suppliers rely on brand heritage and premium positioning to drive operator interest. Yet as the industry faces higher costs, more complex compliance obligations and less forgiving consumer expectations, buyers increasingly want evidence that a brand directly contributes to their performance.
Simply, operators today don’t buy on promises. They buy on proof. They’re looking for suppliers that help them materially boost margins, improve kitchen compatibility, meet guest demands and drive menu appeal. To have any chance of winning and retaining listings, brands today need to communicate and evidence their unique selling points and real-world impact.
Omne helps brands targeting the foodservice/Away From Home channels turn activity into evidence. We translate product strengths and campaign results into the language operators actually act on. And we use laser-sharp targeting, cut-through creative and expertise-driven go-to-market to achieve Away From Home engagement.
Let’s explore some real examples of how we’ve delivered it.
Positioning McCain SureCrisp as the fry for delivery
McCain Foodservice's SureCrisp demonstrates the importance of big-picture perspective and actionable foodservice intelligence. Food delivery services continue to shape the Away From Home sector. And although McCain is perhaps the world’s best-known fry brand, Omne identified a clear tension built on takeaway market insight: how can operators deliver consistently crispy fries when so much of the journey is out of their control?
Omne and McCain’s digital campaign, “Together, let’s take control of crispiness”, spoke directly to operators’ lived experiences. It underscored SureCrisp’s USP - fries that stay crispy even after 20 minutes in a closed delivery bag - as the key to both consumer and operator satisfaction.
Smart audience segmentation and strong early performance informed a strategic pivot towards sustained awareness, prioritising long-term brand equity and share of voice over short-term consideration messaging.
By refining formats, placements and delivery mechanics in real-time, Omne significantly exceeded expected benchmarks: achieving over 63 million impressions and more than 57,000 clicks. Today, SureCrisp is definitively positioned as the fry built for delivery, and McCain as a brand that truly understands operator realities.
Powering “Veg Excitement” for Strong Roots
In the UK, vegetarian and vegan dining options have transitioned from a ‘nice to have’ into a mainstream hospitality requirement. To meet consumer and operator demand, veg-first supplier Strong Roots looked to launch from a standing start into a crowded foodservice market.
Omne built a distinct foodservice proposition, “Where Veg Excitement Begins”, to position Strong Roots as the antidote to existing plant-based brands. The campaign highlighted the brand’s frozen products as the answer to fresh-food waste challenges, with its B-Corp certification and carbon footprint transparency spotlit to help operators meet tightening ESG regulations.
With a bold new brand book, distinctive visual identity, and a digital-first go-to-market strategy, the campaign challenged operators to get ahead of the veg trend. The results? Strong Roots achieved its operator recruitment target within six months, quickly embedding itself in leading-edge menus. With clear proof and smart creative execution, the brand achieved meaningful commercial traction and strong early-stage advocacy - placing it firmly on the foodservice radar.
Driving “future ready” foodservice with Carlsberg Britvic
Carlsberg Britvic bottles some of the UK’s most popular beverage brands, like Pepsi, Tango and Lipton. But Britain's rapidly changing foodservice landscape, from the government’s soft drinks levy extension to the "less healthy" product advertising restrictions, required the company to evolve beyond a reliable mainstay of hospitality.
To modernise operators’ perceptions, unify a fragmented portfolio and drive growth against competitive alternatives, Omne delivered “Future Ready” - a bold proposition that positioned Britvic as the brand of choice for operators wanting to stay ahead of shifting trends.
From lead-gen campaigns to digital content - covering commercially crucial topics like “Top 3 tips for maximising your soft drink sales” - “Future Ready” repositioned Britvic as the progressive partner in drinks strategy. The platform empowered sales teams with consistent messaging, modern toolkits and category-led insight, generating over 1,000 marketing qualified leads and 50+ new national account engagements.
Igniting national pizza excitement with Arla Pro
Pizza is perhaps the world’s best-loved food, with over five billion pizzas eaten globally each year. It’s no surprise, then, that the pizza sector sees constant innovation - with recent trends like Detroit-style slices and “sweet and hot” toppings all carving out a niche in an ultra-lucrative market.
“Britain’s Best Pizza” by Arla Pro is a foodservice-first awards programme created to inspire, engage and reward innovative pizza pros across the UK. Omne’s latest campaign generated major growth for the awards: new judges and influencers extended reach, while smart media integration, from paid social to third-party editorial, amplified cut-through. Entries rose 163% year on year, with total campaign impressions reaching over 2.7 million.
The campaign firmly positioned Arla Pro as the UK’s category leader in foodservice dairy. Perhaps more importantly, it embedded the brand at the heart of a passionate, fast-growing sub-sector. The most creative pizza chefs now see Arla Pro as the partner with the ingredients - and proof - to encourage new pizza inspiration and drive even greater sales.
When it comes to foodservice, expertise is everything
In 2026, the operators most worth winning are already forming views before your sales team arrives. The question isn't whether your brand has a good story. It's whether you have the evidence to ensure that story lands in the operator's world.
Our campaigns show that real foodservice results come from understanding operator realities, presenting evidence that speaks to them and having the infrastructure to reach the right people, with the right message, at the right time. That’s exactly where Omne, the 2025 B2B Marketing Agency of the Year, comes in. We’re the strategic and creative partner powering growth for the world's best foodservice and hospitality brands, now and into the future.
For more insight into what operators expect from foodservice brands in 2026, download Omne’s free growth strategies report today.
