'Our program is about taking the brand to places the brand itself cannot go'

BakeryandSnacks spoke to Richard Pink, MD of Pink Key Licensing, about the power of heritage and how brand licensing can capitalize on it to take brands into places where the brand itself cannot go.

According to Pink, most food brands with a huge heritage are not utilizing it.

His company, Pink Key, is the exclusive licensing agent for Kellogg’s in Europe and designed a program to exploit the cereal giant’s heritage.

Kellogg’s vintage archive contains over one million pieces of artwork collected since foundation of the company in 1906, including iconic characters, packaging and imagery.

“We even used the packets that came off the line when the company was founded,” said Pink.

“Kellogg’s has a strong presence in retail, so, using its heritage, we took the brand into non-food area, like department stores such as Debenhams. Brand licensing is about adding value to the brand in a way that the brand cannot do itself.”

When it comes to developing a specialized licensing program, Pink told us it depends on what its values are, where it is positioned, where it wants to go and how it wants to project itself.

“Our program is about taking the brand into places where the brand itself can’t go.

“We have three criteria to take on a new brand: if it’s got a story; if it’s got food; and primarily, do we love it? We have to love it and want to keep it forever,” said Pink.