Rapport's Brand Partnership Love List.

Welcome to September, and the first of our list of partnerships that we love right now. We must be hungry because our first picks are all food related! Read on with a snack in hand...

1. Whittakers and Bundaberg.

Whittakers have a history of running a strong product collaboration game. They have already teamed up with brands like Tip Top, Lewis Road Creamery and L&P to create the yummiest hybrid foods around. Their latest foray with Bundaberg makes the top of Rapport's love list on taste alone.

Under the surface of this taste sensation, there is a strong alignment between the brands. Penny Glasson, Bundaberg's Chief Marketing Officer, told CMO they were "aiming for a real partnership, it was about creating a new, unique product while remaining authentic to the story and product lines of both brands". Both companies are family-owned, with 175 years of heritage between them. They both have with a strong focus on quality. They are both loved and trusted brands with Trans-tasman appeal.

The Bundaberg and Whittakers brands have been carefully blended for instant dual-brand recognition. The colours are on brand for Whittakers, but the Bundaberg brand features prominently.

They bought this partnership to life virtually due to Covid border lock downs - no small feat I'm sure! The Bundaberg CMO said the partnership came about, in part, due to Covid encouraging them to look beyond the traditional, obvious marketing channels. The partnership also allowed both brands to give something new to their loyal fan base, eager for an affordable treat at a challenging time.

P.S. The Whittakers website has the most amazing recipes for making sweet treats from their newest collab. Start drooling here.

2. Garden to Table and My Food Bag.

Partnerships can be a powerful force for good. My Food Bag, a company taking healthier food into kiwi homes, has recently announced their partnership with Garden to Table, a charity that puts fresh produce in the hands of kiwi children.

Garden to Table is a charitable trust grown from a desire to reconnect children with nature and their food supply. They have a programme for primary schools that helps kiwi kids to grow, harvest, cook and share plant-based foods in a real hands on way.

The partnership is, as the best partnerships are, rooted in shared values. My Food Bag has an emphasis on getting New Zealanders creating and eating real food. So it feels right that they would work together.

Garden to Table benefits from promotion through My Food Bag channels, and the associated donation drive. But Nadia has also put them on centre stage by dancing for the charity in Dancing with the Stars. For My Food Bag, it's about demonstrating their community commitment, the halo effect of working with a charity and reinforce what their brand stands for.

3. Eat Local NZ and (hopefully) lots of local restaurants.

Eat Local NZ was launched with enthusiasm during the first Covid lockdown, riding on the wave of an anti-UberEats sentiment and a ground-swell of consumer support for struggling NZ businesses. But in what must have been a soul-crushing fallout with Australian-based company Mr Yum, the Eat Local NZ platform looked like it would never get off the ground.

But I was pleasantly surprised to see the news that they were back in business, at least in the early stages!

Eat Local’s pitch is that they are an ethical business supporting other local NZ businesses. A social movement if you will - 100% kiwi, supporting other kiwi business. The core product is a dine-in, pick-up or delivery app for restaurants and cafes. They included functionality to deliver deals and experiences to help drive off-peak demand. The Eat Local pitch is that they charge food venues 5% not up to 35% commission. To, in affect, work in partnership so that the local venues can keep a margin in the food they make, rather than handing it over to an overseas company.

The model might take a while to prove it can be sustainable, but the spirit is there to succeed. Eat Local's desire to work in collaboration with their audience, their participating venues, right down to their delivery drivers, puts them on my favourite partnerships list.

If you feel inclined to support them you can become a "Pilot Customer" or a "Local Legend". It might make eating that greasy burger feel a little less dirty knowing that you are #supportinglocal. Check them out.

With that I'm off to eat. More partnership picks coming your way soon. Holler out if you want some help building your brand partnership [email protected] or visit our website for more insight and case studies on Brand Partnerships.