Big Fish

What Big Fish does

Big Fish (legal entity: big fish® Design Limited) is a UK-based, founder-owned brand design and marketing consultancy founded in 1993 by Perry Haydn Taylor and headquartered in Chelsea, London. The firm operates as a strategic and creative consultancy exclusively serving food, drink, and lifestyle brands, with a stated mission to help clients 'start, transform, and grow brands as forces for good.' It works with a portfolio of 65+ named brands spanning challengers and incumbents, anchored by multi-decade client relationships (Charlie Bigham's ~25 years, Yeo Valley 12 years, Dorset Cereals retained since 2005, Waitrose 450+ packaging pieces) and high-profile equity-backed ventures (Freddie's Flowers, Howdah, hüüg).

The core offering combines strategic brand consulting with creative execution: brand strategy, identity, packaging, tone of voice, digital/e-commerce design, and campaign work. The firm has codified four proprietary methodologies — 'Packvertising' (using packaging as the primary advertising medium), 'Startup Mentality' (advising incumbents to act like disruptors), 'The Big Fish Five' (sustainability pillars: soil & ocean restoration, supply chain innovation, biodiversity, conservation, mainstream appeal), and 'Fake it to Make it' (a founder-bias mitigation technique). It also advises clients on AI integration within marketing workflows using third-party tools (MidJourney, Sora, Canva, Adobe) but has no disclosed proprietary AI assets.

Commercially, Big Fish generates revenue primarily through fee-based professional services on a selective, referral-and-portfolio-discovery model — explicitly rejecting speculative pitches and requiring client acknowledgement of its contribution on all work. It augments fees with occasional equity stakes in client ventures, effectively operating a hybrid services-plus-venture model. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm is a Certified B Corporation (June 2023), GDPR compliant, and operates with 51–100 employees under three directors (Perry Haydn Taylor as Founder and Chief Stoker, Victoria Haydn Taylor, and Tim Hansell).

Name

Big Fish

Legal name

big fish® Design Limited

Website

https://bigfish.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Big Fish is a 30-year-old UK brand design and marketing consultancy that exclusively serves food, drink, and lifestyle brands, helping challengers and incumbents start, transform, and grow as climate-considerate businesses via proprietary methodologies like 'Packvertising' and selective equity partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Calne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Brand Design and Marketing Consultancy: Big Fish earns revenue through client engagements for brand strategy, design, packaging, identity, tone of voice, digital marketing, and campaign work. They charge for professional consulting services and do not take on speculative or pitch work. They occasionally take equity stakes in client businesses in addition to fee-based work.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Big Fish is a brand design and marketing consultancy that helps food, drink, and lifestyle brands start, transform, and grow as forces for good. The firm delivers strategic brand consulting, packaging design, identity development, tone of voice, e-commerce design, and marketing campaigns, supported by proprietary methodologies such as 'Packvertising' and 'Startup Mentality'. They occasionally take equity stakes in client ventures alongside fee-based engagements.

Product overview

Big Fish is a 30-year-old climate considerate brand design and marketing consultancy that helps brave decision makers start, transform and grow brands as forces for good. The company specializes exclusively in food, drink and lifestyle brands and operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform with modules. Services include strategic brand design, packaging design, brand identity development, digital and e-commerce design, campaign and marketing strategy, and the proprietary 'Packvertising' and 'Startup Mentality' advisory frameworks. Big Fish occasionally takes equity stakes in client ventures as part of its investment approach. The consultancy is B Corp certified and focuses on helping brands achieve positive environmental and social impact alongside commercial success.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Design and Marketing Consultancy Strategic brand design and marketing consultancy helping food, drink, and lifestyle brands start, transform, and grow as forces for good. Engagements cover brand strategy, packaging design, identity creation, tone of voice, e-commerce design, and campaign development.
• Packvertising Theory and consulting practice that uses packaging as the primary advertising medium to drive awareness, consideration, and trial, in place of traditional above-the-line advertising spend.
• Startup Mentality Advisory Advisory framework helping businesses adopt new ways of thinking and doing business, encouraging companies to ask 'what would we do differently if we started our business today?'.
• Equity Investment in Client Ventures Equity partnerships with selected client ventures where Big Fish shares risk by investing in disruptive, scalable, and sustainable brand businesses alongside fee-based consultancy work.
• Packaging Design Design services for product packaging across food, drink, and lifestyle categories with focus on sustainability, shelf standout, and using packaging as primary advertising medium.
• Brand Identity Development Creation of brand identities including logos, visual systems, tone of voice, and brand narratives for challenger and incumbent brands.
• Digital and E-commerce Design Website design and development services, including e-commerce platforms for direct-to-consumer client brands.
• Campaign and Marketing Strategy Strategic marketing campaigns and go-to-market strategies for launching and growing brands, including launch campaigns and ongoing promotional activity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Brand value grew from £4m to £45m in 3.5 years; category grew by 35% for Dorset Cereals
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers28 records

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Ellen MacArthur FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBig Fish's founder Perry Haydn Taylor has kickstarted a collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help promote the Great Food Redesign Challenge, which aims to fundamentally change the way food is produced and transition large-scale players to nature-positive models.
• NotplaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBig Fish is partnering with Notpla to investigate seaweed packaging to replace single-use plastics and traditional paper and board in food and drink packaging, as part of their commitment to sustainable packaging innovation for clients.
• City Harvest LondonminorOthersCity Harvest London collects edible food left over from Big Fish's client photoshoots and activities, and donates it to feed homeless and vulnerable people in the community. Big Fish also donates a monthly shop to the charity. In the last 12 months, 1.54 tonnes of food (3,688 meals) have been donated.
• Tree SistersminorOthersBig Fish donates 10,000 trees per year to Tree Sisters, a charity that restores tropical rainforests through community planting projects, empowering women and local indigenous communities.
• Conundrum Consulting LtdminorOthersBig Fish partners with HR consultants Conundrum Consulting Ltd for annual reviews of HR policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and protection of staff rights and freedoms.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Design Bridge and Partners: London-headquartered brand design agency with a substantial food and drink packaging practice. Directly comparable in vertical focus, client base, and packaging-led proposition.
• Pentagram: Largest independent brand design consultancy in the world with a partner-led model. Direct competitor for high-end brand identity, packaging, and strategy engagements in food, drink, and lifestyle categories.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy with deep FMCG heritage (working with the likes of Apple, Uber, and Tate). Competes directly with Big Fish for major brand strategy, identity, and packaging mandates.
• Superunion (now part of WPP): Global brand and design consultancy with strong FMCG credentials. Competes for the same challenger and incumbent food/drink brand engagements Big Fish targets, but with the backing of WPP's network.
• Landor & Fitch: World-leading brand consulting and design firm (WPP-owned) with deep food and beverage client roster. Most relevant as the scale incumbent Big Fish competes against for global FMCG rebrands.
• Carter Wong Design: London-based brand and packaging design agency with a strong food and drink client list. Comparable boutique-scale competitor for premium packaging and identity work in the UK market.
• Bulletproof (now Equator): Independent brand and packaging design agency with a strong food, drink, and lifestyle client base. Overlapping client verticals and similar boutique studio model make it a direct UK peer.
• DNCO: London strategic design agency with a strong CPG and food and drink specialism. Comparable in scale, vertical focus, and the combination of strategy with packaging execution.
• Mother Design: Creative agency sister to Mother, with a brand identity and packaging practice serving challenger and lifestyle brands. Comparable in culture, client posture, and values-driven positioning.
• BrandOpus: Independent London brand consultancy with a long track record in FMCG brand strategy, architecture, and design. Direct peer for the same challenger/incumbent FMCG engagements Big Fish pursues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bigfishlondon
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwLzLDtWKDwB4sjuPAd2v5w
• Facebookfacebook.com/bigfishlondon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bigfishlondon
• Instagraminstagram.com/bigfishlondon/?hl=en
• Pinterestuk.pinterest.com/bigfishdesignli

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Big Fish