Stirring Up Stories: The Business of Food PR

Leyla Kazim finds out how food companies and restaurants use PR agencies to get us thinking about the meals they want us to buy. From talking teabags to weird breakfast combos, social media has become a way for brands to show us their personalities. In this episode we speak to those behind the stories, find out where they came from, and why they work to keep brands relevant.

In hospitality, as restaurants reopen, PR agencies faced with contract cancellations at the start of the pandemic are now being called on to get people back through the doors. They don't use stunts, but publicising the stories of those involved and their recipes can be as effective in drumming up interest. Leyla meets hospitality PR expert Gemma Bell, who was involved in encouraging restaurants to take part in the Eat Out to Help Out Campaign, she says the way they communicate about restaurants over the past 10 years has really changed - and it's no longer just about getting good restaurant reviews.

Plus we hear from one of London's first food influencers @onehungryasian about the role he plays in promoting restaurant businesses, and young food campaigner Dev Sharma tells Leyla how he hopes fast-food brands won't shift their marketing campaigns completely to PR once the laws change on advertising junk food to children.

Presented by Leyla Kazim Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan