There’s no shortage of advice in the food and drink world. Podcasts, panels, LinkedIn threads—you name it.
What is harder to find?
A space where founders can actually do the work, pressure-test their ideas, and leave with something tangible.
That’s exactly what’s happening through the Campaign Bootcamp, a collaboration between Tastebuds Collective, Opply, and The Forge—three organisations coming together to support the next wave of ambitious food and drink brands.
This isn’t theory. It’s execution.
Why this collaboration hits different
Each partner plays a distinct role:
Tastebuds Collective brings the community—connecting people across food, drink, academia and industry
The Forge delivers the structure—turning ideas into actionable campaigns
Opply, the headline sponsor, powers the operational side—helping brands increase profitability and scale sustainably
Together, they’re tackling one of the biggest gaps in the industry: bridging the space between having a great product and building a scalable business around it.
Inside the bootcamp
The Campaign Bootcamp is designed to go beyond surface-level learning.
Across sessions, founders:
- Build and refine real campaign strategies
- Get pushed beyond first ideas into deeper thinking
- Learn directly from experienced experts
- Collaborate with peers facing similar growth challenges
The result?
Not just inspiration—but clarity, confidence, and direction.
In conversation: Tastebuds x Opply
When Opply joined the second session of cohort one, they sat down with Tastebuds to talk about what drives the business—and why initiatives like this matter.
Charlotte: So, Louis tell me what Opply does.
Louis: In a nutshell, the whole point of Opply is to increase the profits for food and drink brands. Opply is a collection of industry experts and a really powerful engine. The idea is that Opply is this big purple “brain” that plugs into your business, and from day one you will begin finding ways that can increase your profitability.
Charlotte: What kinds of customers do you want to work with?
Louis: Anyone who is ready to scale, or even people that have already scaled and are looking to continue the growth in a sustainable way. We work with customers of all sizes—people that spend £50,000 a year on packaging and ingredients to millions. The idea is that we are here for all SMEs, particularly challenger brands.
If people want to scale outside of their region, be nationally listed, get a retail listing or go into food services, then we can support.
Charlotte: Why did you decide to partner with Tastebuds and The Forge on the Campaign Bootcamps?
Louis: That’s a great question. We know The Forge because the founder, Jeni, founded a drinks brand called Nocrudo—which is an Opply customer.
When I moved into the Head of Partnerships role, I was speaking to Jeni about how there is always a lot of noise online surrounding food and drink, but it is always London-centric. We live in an amazing country full of food and drink. There are so many pockets throughout the UK where things are seasonal, they’re local, and there is a real tight-knit community across the country—and this is exactly what we want to support.
We want to break out of the London-centric bubble and support people that may have never heard of us or who are not attending fancy trade shows—but I bet they are making an incredible product somewhere and are searching for help to take it to the next level.
Charlotte: Thank you for joining us during the second session of cohort one of the Campaign Bootcamp that Opply is kindly partnering on. I would love to know what you thought of the session.
Louis: I had no idea what to expect coming in this morning, as I haven’t been to one of these sessions before. I thought it was curated so thoughtfully and there is a real sense of inclusion.
The speaker, Jeni, was amazing in prodding and nurturing answers past the first points. Sometimes you have a question and someone gives an initial answer—and you just need someone to say, “go on, a little further or deeper.”
It was a very supportive environment because it wasn’t just the facilitator getting involved. Everyone had a thought, feeling or opinion—something to share.
It felt like a really warm and collaborative, but fundamentally useful session. I think everyone who attended got something really tangible out of it.
More than a bootcamp
What’s emerging here isn’t just a series of workshops—it’s a shift in how support for food and drink brands is being delivered.
Less theory. More action. Less noise. More community.
And importantly, a move away from a London-centric lens—towards something far more representative of the UK’s diverse and thriving food and drink ecosystem.
Want in?
If you’re building a food or drink brand and looking for more than just inspiration—this is where you start turning ideas into momentum.
Members get a free ticket to the bootcamp.
