From high-stakes guarantees to high-tech airports: a look at the latest campaigns

The food and beverage sector is buzzing with diverse marketing efforts designed to capture consumer attention, drive product trial, and reinforce brand narratives.

Recent campaigns span everything from bold, risk-free purchase offers to high-tech, immersive sustainability showcases in international travel hubs. Here is a look at how major global brands are engaging consumers this season.

These campaigns illustrate a clear trend: success in the modern food and drink market requires integrated strategies that combine digital engagement, physical experience, and confidence in product quality to resonate with niche consumer segments and to penetrate new markets.

Geeta’s bets on boldness
In the UK, Geeta’s Foods is showing extreme confidence in its product quality by launching its most ambitious consumer engagement initiative yet: the ‘Love Me Or Your Money Back’ guarantee. This risk-free promotion is applied across 2.5 million packs of 11 different products, including their market-leading chutneys and new cooking Sauces.

The campaign, which reinforces the ‘Geeta Bit Naughty’ platform, is supported by an eight-week national outdoor media campaign reaching 18 million consumers and a massive national sampling roadshow across Sainsbury’s and Waitrose stores. The primary goal is to inspire consumers to incorporate Indian flavours into everyday meals and snacks, pushing usage beyond the traditional “curry night.”

Ferrero elevates sustainability in travel retail
Luxury chocolatier Ferrero has launched its first global digital communications campaign, ‘Quality at Heart,’ at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. Running from late September to late October, the campaign uses an eye-catching, hazelnut-shaped installation to guide travellers through the lifecycle of Ferrero Rocher’s iconic ingredients.

The initiative brings the brand’s commitment to responsible sourcing to life, highlighting the renewed Hazelnut Charter. The campaign showcases that over 90% of hazelnuts are now traceable back to individual farms, underscoring Ferrero’s dedication to regenerative farming, fair working conditions, and supply chain transparency.

Rustlers targets the £109m ‘Big Night In’ occasion
Chilled ready meals brand Rustlers is strategically positioning itself as the ‘go-to’ for the ‘Big Night In’ occasion this autumn. The two-phase national campaign runs through the end of November, starting with heavy awareness-building and sampling activities aimed at students across UK colleges and universities.

Phase two focuses on an on-pack promotion offering shoppers the chance to win a bundle of prizes — including gift cards, an air fryer, and a screen projector — to complete the “ultimate big night in experience.” According to Ross Davison, head of convenience at Kepak, the campaign is designed to drive home the message that Rustlers is the ideal “unfiltered indulgence ‘go to’ fakeaway,” especially as 73% of its shoppers agree that eating out is prohibitively expensive.

Asahi Super Dry launches global ‘Seek What Is Unique’ rebrand
Japanese beer brand Asahi Super Dry has unveiled a new global campaign, ‘Seek What Is Unique,’ designed to target consumers who crave discovery and interesting beer experiences. The campaign highlights the brand’s signature “Karakuchi” (dry) taste and is accompanied by a globally unified design refresh.

The launch began in Australia with a film shot in Tokyo, featuring friends discovering a unique musical act — a singing puffer fish. To cement its presence, the campaign is utilising high-impact tactics like 3D-enabled billboards and a 360 immersive cube in Sydney, alongside major sponsorship of the Australian Open. The brand aims to become a “modern Japanese icon” by celebrating the unique culture of modern Japan and the spirit of originality.

Grana Padano PDO brings ‘Happiness from Europe’ to Hong Kong
Co-funded by the European Union, the “Happiness from Europe” campaign is launching a three-year initiative in Hong Kong to introduce Grana Padano PDO, one of Europe’s most iconic cheeses, to local consumers.

A key highlight of the campaign was the sponsorship of a culinary competition organised by the Hong Kong Chefs Association. The contest invited chefs to push culinary boundaries and showcase the richness and versatility of the three varieties of Grana Padano PDO (aged 9, 16, and 22 months) in modern dishes. This approach aims to educate Hong Kong food lovers about the cheese’s history, production authenticity (guaranteed by its PDO status), and many uses in everyday and gourmet dining.

Lay’s reimagines global icon
Lay’s is undergoing its largest brand redesign in nearly a century to celebrate its farm-to-bag heritage and commitment to quality. The campaign is specifically designed to address the surprising fact that 42% of consumers don’t realise Lay’s chips are made with real, farm-grown potatoes.

The new visual identity, created by PepsiCo’s Design & Innovation team, features a warmer sun logo (the ‘Lay’s Rays’) and enhanced photography to emphasise the natural, high-quality ingredients. This focus on provenance highlights that Lay’s uses only 10 specific potato varieties, which are often sourced from over 100 family-owned North American farms and can go from farm to bag in as little as 48 hours during harvest.

Beyond aesthetics, the update includes major ingredient changes in the US. By the end of 2025, all core Lay’s products will be made with no artificial flavours or colours. Furthermore, the brand is expanding its better-for-you options: Lay’s Baked chips will now be made with olive oil (50% less fat), and Lay’s Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Original Sea Salt will feature avocado oil (40% less fat). This dual approach of honouring heritage and offering modern health choices aims to set the stage for the brand’s next 100 years.