What Taste Communications does

Taste Communications is a privately-held, Edinburgh-headquartered B2B communications agency operating exclusively in the food, drink and hospitality sectors. Founded in 2011 and self-described as "Scotland's first" specialist in this vertical, the firm delivers professional services — PR, media relations, social media management, content creation, strategic advisory and campaign development — to a roster of more than 30 named clients. The client base spans luxury hotels (Gleneagles, The Witchery, Fingal, Prestonfield House, Fairmont St Andrews), restaurants and pub groups (Contini Edinburgh, Eusebi Deli, Signature Pub Group), drinks producers (Tamdhu, Harviestoun Brewery, McQueen Gin, Magnum Cream Liqueur), tourism routes and festivals (North Coast 500, Edinburgh Food Festival, The Coig), and food producers (Scottish Bee Company). The company is led by Founder Stephen Jardine, a weekly Scotsman food and drink columnist, and Chairman Peter Lederer, former Chairman of VisitScotland and Managing Director of Gleneagles Hotels.

The agency's underlying capability is human-driven communications expertise rather than proprietary technology; no software platform, AI system or API is described. Product surface consists of (1) core PR and Communications Services, (2) Taste TV, a video content production line drawing on the founder's 25+ years of broadcasting experience, (3) Taste Edinburgh Campaign, a COVID-era sector-support initiative encouraging voucher purchases from local hospitality businesses, and (4) Strategic Advisory Services drawing on the Chairman's industry network. Supporting marketing and distribution channels include the company's website, active social media presence on Instagram/Twitter/LinkedIn, earned media, and an annual Food and Drink Conference co-hosted with The Scotsman and Royal Bank of Scotland that draws 400+ delegates.

Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed; pricing is retainer- and scope-based professional services, consistent with a 1–10 employee Edinburgh agency. Distribution is direct enterprise sales through reputation-based referrals, networking and industry events. The company has no disclosed funding, no parent, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity; it is an independent, founder-led firm with a sharply-defined vertical niche.

Name

Taste Communications

Legal name

Taste Communications

Website

https://tastecommunications.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Taste Communications is an Edinburgh-based B2B communications agency specializing in PR, media relations, content and strategic advisory for food, drink and hospitality clients across Scotland, serving over 30 businesses including luxury hotels, restaurants, drinks brands and tourism destinations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. PR and Communications Services: Professional communications services for food, drink and hospitality businesses including PR, media relations, social media management, content creation, strategic advice, and campaign development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Taste Communications is a specialist communications agency providing PR, media relations, social media management, content creation, strategic advice and campaign development exclusively to food, drink and hospitality businesses in Scotland. The agency also produces video content via its Taste TV division and runs sector-support campaigns such as Taste Edinburgh to drive consumer engagement with the hospitality sector.

Product overview

Taste Communications is Scotland's first specialist food, drink, and hospitality communications agency offering a unified suite of services. The core offering consists of PR and communications services for clients ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants to luxury hotels and tourism destinations. The agency provides strategic advisory services, media relations, social media management, campaign development, and video content production through its Taste TV division. The company also runs the Taste Edinburgh campaign to support local hospitality businesses. The team comprises communications professionals with real industry experience from organizations including VisitScotland, Scottish Field, The Scotsman, and Sainsbury's.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PR and Communications Services Strategic communications services for food, drink and hospitality businesses, including media relations, campaign development, social media management, content creation, crisis communications and trade PR. Targeted at restaurants, hotels, drinks brands, food producers and tourism destinations.
• Taste TV Video content production and strategy service that creates food-related online video content for clients in the food, drink and hospitality sector.
• Strategic Advisory Services Senior strategic communications advice for clients in food, drink, hospitality and tourism, leveraging the deep sector experience of Taste's Chairman.
• Taste Edinburgh Campaign Sector-support campaign initiative driving consumer engagement and voucher purchases for Edinburgh hospitality venues, intended to support hospitality businesses through challenging periods.

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Johnston CarmichaelminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2020Regular client networking events partnership with Johnston Carmichael, leading accountancy firm in food and drink sector, for Brexit briefings.
• The ScotsmancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Annual Food and Drink Conference partnership with The Scotsman and Royal Bank of Scotland, bringing together over 400 delegates to address challenges facing the sector.
• Royal Bank of ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Annual Food and Drink Conference partnership with The Scotsman and Royal Bank of Scotland, addressing big challenges facing the food and drink sector.
• ScentAirminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019ScentAir worked with Signature Pub Group (Taste client) to develop signature scents for 20 bars across Scotland.
• Spanish EmbassyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership with Spanish Embassy for Tamdhu 'Spain to Speyside – journey of the sherry cask' campaign launch event.
• Victor and Carina ContinicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20185-year partnership working with Victor and Carina Contini for communications across their three Edinburgh restaurants (Contini George Street, Cannonball Restaurant & Bar, Scottish Cafe).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Muckle Media: Scottish public relations and communications agency headquartered in the same regional market as Taste, directly competing for food, drink and hospitality clients across Scotland.
• Lexington Communications: UK communications consultancy with a strong hospitality, travel and leisure portfolio, directly comparable in sector focus and client mix to Taste's luxury hotel and destination work.
• The BIG Partnership: Scotland's largest independent PR and communications agency, headquartered in Glasgow, with food, drink and hospitality as core sectors and overlapping client roster with Taste Communications.
• Beattie Group: UK-based integrated communications agency with a dedicated food and drink practice, competing with Taste for hospitality and consumer brand mandates across the British market.

Broad incumbents

• Ketchum: Global communications agency with deep food and beverage client roster, offering the same PR and content services as Taste but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Hotwire: Global communications agency with significant food, beverage and consumer brand clients, offering a comparable blend of PR, content and influencer services to Taste's integrated offering.
• FleishmanHillard: Global public relations network with a long-standing food, beverage and hospitality practice, representing a much larger incumbent competitor able to win the same category clients Taste targets.
• Weber Shandwick: Global PR and communications network with a dedicated food, beverage and lifestyle practice competing directly for enterprise hospitality and consumer brand mandates that Taste also pursues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/TasteComms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taste-communications
• Instagraminstagram.com/tastecomms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Taste Communications