Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I

The PHA Group supports businesses navigating the transition towards environmentally stable and socially positive operations. This includes Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I (SBF GB&I), the UK’s third largest branded soft drinks producer, and makers of iconic British brands Lucozade and Ribena.

The business has a unique Japanese heritage and business culture that hinges on the principle of creating harmony with people and nature. We support the UK corporate comms team to champion stories from the entire lifecycle of its drinks, whether that’s celebrating biodiversity on blackcurrant farms or reporting efforts to achieve circularity through sustainable packaging.

Together we have amplified the voices of their blackcurrant growers, communicated the business’ ambitious sustainability progress and worked with policy teams to explain the importance of delivering circularity through a Deposit Return Scheme.

2023 saw the launch of a new regenerative agriculture project on one of the blackcurrant farms that SBF GB&I works with. The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the growing of blackcurrants through regenerative farming practices and create a sustainable future for the crop.

Our strategy was to position SBF GB&I as a thought leader in regenerative agriculture discourse, focusing on the shift in conventional farming practices and how SBF GB&I’s long-standing Ribena blackcurrant growers are innovating in the industry. This was achieved via strategic thought leadership in key target media and regional media opportunities to communicate the local impact.

We worked closely with Rosie Begg, a second-generation blackcurrant farmer at Gorgate Farm in Norfolk whose family has been growing blackcurrants for Ribena since the 1950s, and SBF GB&I’s agronomist Harriet Prosser who were both key media spokespeople.

As a second phase to the announcement, we supported public affairs activity which looked into growers’ concerns about agriculture and climate. A survey was distributed, and findings were shared at a parliamentary reception organised by SBF GB&I’s public affairs team. We conducted media outreach sharing data points which touched on fears about climate change and desire for more Government support for growers.

Later in the year we also supported with an award entry for SBF GB&I in the edie Awards in the Biodiversity category. The entry focussed on SBF GB&I’s ‘Six Point Plan’ which aims to bring about positive environmental change on blackcurrant farms.

During the project we generated 26 pieces of coverage in key broadcast, regional and trade media publications, successfully raising awareness and positioning SBF GB&I at the forefront of the regenerative farming movement.