How best-in-class suppliers solve operator marketing challenges

Operators in the away from home market face continued pressure to show value, remain relevant and differentiate their offer, but they often lack the time, investment or marketing resource to do it alone. During our recent research trip to Cologne and Frankfurt, we discovered how suppliers can go beyond buying visibility to provide practical support that makes it easier for customers to execute marketing activations. 

The strongest examples helped to address a clear operator challenge, while creating more occasions for supplier brands in foodservice. They turned trends into easy-to-execute campaigns, supported product innovations from the drawing board to the shop floor, reduced uncertainty at the point of purchase and solved everyday challenges. 

For suppliers, these examples highlight an opportunity to make smarter activation investments, strengthen customer relationships and create more routes to awareness, trial and sale in the away from home market. 

Turn social media trends into accessible campaigns  

PepsiCo’s Doritos Loaded campaign highlights how suppliers can help operators respond quickly to fast moving social media trends.  Building on a TikTok trend where users combine indulgent flavours with Doritos, the campaign provides support through TikTok partnerships, recipe inspiration, point of sale materials and packaging that operators can build into their existing proposition without needing to build a new offer. 

This gives operators a simpler and cost-effective way to engage younger consumers, who most frequently use social media, across physical and digital touchpoints. While large operators benefit from PepsiCo’s international recognition and extensive supply chain experience, smaller operators can save costs with free purpose built packaging. 

Implication: identify where your insight, marketing reach and operational support can turn social media and consumer trends into propositions that customers can execute quickly and consistently. 

Support innovation beyond the product  

Nutella’s collaboration with Wiener demonstrates the value of supporting the full innovation journey. Ferrero combined a recognised brand with strong quality signals, then reinforced with marketing and execution support across the consumer journey, helping Wiener create and communicate a more distinctive bakery proposition.

Products developed without early operator involvement risk failing to reflect the operational realities or needs of the intended foodservice customer. Bringing operators into the process earlier can help suppliers test whether an idea is relevant, commercially viable and practical to execute before committing significant investment. 

Implication: establish clear co-development strategies within your NPD process, collaborating with operators to shape the proposition, assess scalability and agree the launch, promotional and execution support required to land the product well. 

Use brand equity to reduce uncertainty 

Oatly and backWERK show how a recognised supplier brand can help an operator lower the barrier to trial and strengthen the perceived value of its offer. Consumers interested in dairy free coffee may still question whether an alternative will deliver the quality and consistency they expect. Oatly’s strong credentials, communicated from the storefront to the self-service fixture, provide recognition and reassurance at the point of decision. 

However, recognition alone is not enough. Brand equity creates the most value when it signals credentials that matter to consumers and the operator can deliver the promised experience consistently. This can encourage trial, attract existing brand advocates and support a more premium perception of the overall proposition. 

Implication:  identify where your brand can resolve a specific consumer concern, then combine co-branded solutions with operational support needed to deliver that promise. The role of brand equity is to build confidence, strengthen the operator positioning and create incremental demand. 

Make activations useful every day  

Fritz-kola’s branded chalkboards offer one of the clearest lessons. They give cafés a flexible, repeatable way to communicate products and offers while keeping the supplier brand visible near the point of decision. For operators running on a tight budget, this creates longer term value rather than a short-lived activation for a single campaign or product launch, as it supports everyday operations. 

Implication: review whether activation investments resolve a recurring customer challenge, such as communicating value, improving visibility or increasing advertising space without adding obsolescence, cost or complexity. 

Let operator value guide investment  

The recurring theme across these examples is not the format or the activation, but the operator problem they solve. Suppliers can create better commercial value when their investment helps operators attract consumers, communicate their proposition or deliver a more memorable experience. 

Before allocating activation spend, consider what the investment will do for operator customers. The strongest activations will solve a genuine need, give the supplier brand a clear role in the away from home occasion and more opportunities for collaboration. 

You can find out more about how to support operator marketing activations in our report Impactful marketing activations in away from home Q2 2026 (exclusive for Away From Home subscribers). Not subscribed? Read a free summary of last quarter’s activations here.