The F&B Partnership

What The F&B Partnership does

The F&B Partnership is a UK-based food and beverage consultancy headquartered in Birmingham, founded by Fiona Smith, focused on sensory and experiential marketing with particular depth in beer. The firm creates and delivers bespoke training courses, trade and consumer events, and activation programmes for brewery, beverage, and hospitality clients, supported by industry-accredited NCPLH personal licence training delivered via a BIIAB-qualified centre. Its core productised asset is the proprietary 'F&B Beer Matrix', a framework for understanding the beer category that is deployed in client engagements. Service delivery is led by Fiona Smith (Master Beer Sommelier, 25 years' experience) and supported by a small specialist team including Chris Myers (former Stella Artois World Draught Master).

The firm's commercial model is professional services: bespoke, project-based consultancy sold directly to enterprise clients, with no public pricing and no channel partners. Its go-to-market blends direct enterprise sales with event- and PR-driven demand generation, including TV appearances, hosted tasting evenings, co-hosted industry events (e.g., with chef Brian Turner CBE), and a content blog. Distribution is founder-led, with direct contact via phone and email channelled through the Managing Director.

The client base is concentrated in global brewing, with AB InBev's brand portfolio (Stella Artois, Budweiser, Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Staropramen) and other majors (Heineken, Peroni, Carlsberg, Paulaner) representing the most prominent relationships; the firm has also worked with beverage multinationals (Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Fanta) and hospitality operators (Sartoria, Malmaison, Harvey Nichols, Mitchells, Gidleigh Park). The decade-long Stella Artois World Draught Masters programme, spanning 20 countries and 5 continents and training 300+ competitors, is the flagship engagement. The firm has no disclosed funding, no acquisitions, and no AI technology stack; competitive advantage rests on sommelier expertise, proprietary frameworks, and embedded client relationships.

Name

The F&B Partnership

Legal name

F&B Partnership Ltd

Website

https://fandbpartnership.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The F&B Partnership is a UK-based food and beverage consultancy delivering bespoke sensory marketing, training, events, and NCPLH certification for breweries, beverage multinationals, and hospitality operators, anchored by Master Beer Sommelier expertise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food and Beverage Consultancy

NAICS

Breweries (312120), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Alcoholic Beverage Tours & On-site Experiences (Brewery/Winery/Distillery) (THAFALAK)

Keywords

• Food beverage consultancy
• Beer training services
• Sensory marketing
• Hospitality training programmes
• Experiential brand activation

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Bespoke consultancy services for food and beverage clients, including brand building and marketing support. Services include trade and consumer events, training programmes, and activation activities.
2. NCPLH Training and Certification: F&B are qualified to award NCPLH (National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders) to individuals responsible for authorising alcohol sales. This is industry-accredited training for the hospitality sector.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The F&B Partnership is a UK-based food and beverage consultancy that creates and delivers bespoke sensory and experiential marketing, training, and event services, with particular expertise in beer. Core offerings include the proprietary F&B Beer Matrix framework, tailored training courses, trade and consumer activation programmes, and industry-accredited NCPLH personal licence training. Services are led by a Master Beer Sommelier and are designed for breweries, beverage brands, and hospitality operators.

Product overview

The F&B Partnership is a UK-based food and beverage consultancy offering a portfolio of services centred on sensory and experiential marketing, with particular expertise in beer. The core offerings include the F&B Beer Matrix tool, bespoke training programmes, trade and consumer events, and Master Beer Sommelier consultancy services. The company also operates an NCPLH Training Centre for alcohol sales qualifications. Services span beer and food matching, brand activation, and industry training across major brewing clients including ABInBev, Heineken, and Peroni.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• F&B Beer Matrix A proprietary sensory and experiential framework that helps brewery, hospitality, and trade clients understand beer styles and beer-and-food pairing, used as the foundation of F&B's training and consulting engagements.
• Bespoke Training Courses Customised training programmes co-developed with brewery, beverage, and hospitality clients to build brand and product knowledge, delivered by F&B's Master Beer Sommelier and training team.
• NCPLH Training Centre Industry-accredited training and certification service through which F&B awards the BIIAB NCPLH (National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders) qualification to individuals responsible for authorising alcohol sales in licensed premises.
• Stella Artois World Draught Masters Programme Long-running bespoke training and competition programme delivered for Stella Artois, training and tutoring over 300 regional and global competitors in Local and Global finals across 20 countries and 5 continents.
• Peroni Gluten Free Launch Event (Sartoria Mayfair) Brand activation and experiential launch event for Peroni Gluten Free, hosted at Sartoria Mayfair, London, with food and beer pairing led by F&B's Master Beer Sommelier Fiona Smith.
• Peroni Tasting Evenings (Lehman Tavern) Series of hosted tasting evenings at Lehman Tavern pairing five courses with Peroni Red, Peroni Gluten Free, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Peroni Gran Riserva and Peroni Ambra, led by Master Beer Sommelier Fiona Smith.
• New Marketing Model Consulting approach positioning taste as a primary purchase driver, integrating training, customer service, brand understanding, sponsorship, and event management to build emotional consumer bonds for food and drink brands.
• Ireland TV3 AM Beer and Food Matching Segment Live television segment delivering beer and food matching demonstrations on Ireland TV3 AM as a media-based brand-building engagement for the beer category.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 regional and Global competitors trained and tutored in Stella Artois World Draught Masters Programme across 20 countries and 5 continents

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• INOWNO.comminorOthersJustin Lennon serves as Director Legal Affairs at INOWNO.com while also being associated with F&B Partnership as the contact for the Dublin office (38-39 Fitzwilliam Square Dublin 2). INOWNO appears to be a separate entity with personal connection through Justin Lennon.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust): Global leader in drinks education and certification (wines, spirits, sake). Most directly comparable to F&B as a drinks-focused training and accreditation business, though WSET is materially larger and more diversified across beverage categories.
• Cask Marque: UK-based beer quality accreditation and training provider that assesses cask ale quality in pubs. Closely comparable niche (beer-focused training/certification) and UK-centric, though Cask Marque is more standards-driven and less brand-activation-oriented than F&B.
• Beer Academy (UK): Independent UK beer education body offering beer sommelier and beer styles certification. Directly comparable on beer education curriculum and credentialing, and competes with F&B in delivering structured beer training to hospitality professionals.
• InnSup: UK hospitality training and qualifications body (successor to BII). Comparable because both F&B and InnSup deliver accredited training (including BIIAB-linked qualifications) to hospitality staff; they co-exist in the same training ecosystem where F&B focuses on F&B content and InnSup on broader hospitality operations.

Others

• Imbibe (drinks media and events): UK drinks industry media and live events platform targeting hospitality professionals. Comparable as an adjacent player in the same drinks-industry marketing and education ecosystem where F&B operates, though Imbibe's model is media/events rather than bespoke training.
• BIIAB: UK awarding body that supplies the NCPLH curriculum F&B delivers. Functions as an ecosystem enabler rather than competitor—F&B is a downstream delivery partner for BIIAB's regulated qualifications.

Broad incumbents

• Diageo: Global premium drinks major with substantial internal brand education, training, and ambassador programmes (e.g., Diageo Reserve World Class). Comparable as a counterpart in F&B's addressable market—Diageo's internal capability is both a competitor for external training budgets and a potential client for specialist beer/hospitality work outside Diageo's spirits focus.
• Heineken UK: Major F&B client with substantial in-house training capability through its Star Pubs & Bars estate and brand academies. Comparable both as a customer of F&B and as a potential insourcer of training services; competitor dynamics depend on Heineken's strategic stance on external experiential partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fnbpartnership

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The F&B Partnership