'Brand licensing can open avenues into the science of baking'

Abigail Ratcliffe, head of licensing for the Science Museum Group, told BakeryandSnacks that ‘to learn while you’re having fun’ is the ethos behind the Groups licensing program.

According to Ratcliff, the UK museum group – which includes the Science Museum in South Kensington, London, the Railway Museum in York, and the Flying Scotsman – has had a long history in brand licensing.

“Our work includes everything you can think of in brand licensing to get our brand and ethos of STEM out to a much wider audience and also provide an income for the museum,” she said.

STEM Learning is the UK’s largest provider of education and careers support in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

She added the group has tentatively forayed into the food category, but would like to broaden that out.

“I think exploring opportunities like cosmic baking and the science behind baking could be very interesting. Treating it as an experiment, something the consumers can test and see the reaction between things and what result they would get by adding different things.

“If you can learn while you’re having a really good time, that’s going to last with you a lot longer and you’re going to want to engage and do more.

“We always ensure that we add a lot of extra to our products,” added Ratcliff, adding she could see the Group exploring this route.