Building the business case for better food.

We are progressive commercial partners for the food industry, using our direct experience to turn ambition into strategy, innovation into product, and good intentions into lasting business growth.

Build with us
Who we work with

Building better

Most food businesses already want to do better. What they lack is the expertise, insight or resource to make it real.

CLC Partners is a boutique consultancy that creates, launches and lands change with you.

We have worked inside, alongside and in partnership with some of the most significant names in British and international food. We are operators first, not observers, so our advice is grounded in how the industry actually works.

We work with retail and foodservice operators, brands, manufacturers, and founders to shape the thinking, design the solution and make it stick.

Previous work examples

Brand founding
2x build from kitchen table to big retail and major foodservice
Foodservice operator
Industry-first innovation programme from brief to launch
M&A support
Foodservice expertise across multiple acquisitions
Retailer
Category buying and proposition with P&Ls up to £520m revenue
DTC
Product and commercial scale-up with CAGR of 88% over three years
International retail
Specialist ranging and implementation

Our services

For brands & manufacturers

Create & Launch

  • Future-focused category, mission and division strategy
  • Product and portfolio innovation
  • Commercial positioning and strategy
  • Partner ecosystem development
  • Founder mentorship
For retailers & large food businesses

Drive Change

  • In-house strategic capability
  • Health and sustainability acceleration teams
  • Innovation programme design
  • Cross-functional alignment
  • Supplier and portfolio transition support
Industry-wide

Connect & Challenge

Our sister business, The Meals Collective, creates brands focused on furthering the industry. Where possible, we make connections that move the whole category forward, not just one business.

Experience that spans the industry

From founder-led start-ups to national retailers, airlines and wholesalers, this is where our experience was earned.

DTC & eCommerce
GoustoOcado
Major grocery & retail
Co-opCarrefour
International & aviation
Qatar AirwaysFood & Drink Wales
Wholesale & foodservice
BidfoodElior
M&A advisory
CADEN Strategy Partners
Brand
Multiple brands

Selected work

Challenger brand / Scaling

From kitchen table to national retailer in 18 months

A founder-led food brand needed commercial structure to match its product ambition. We built the channel strategy, led the retail negotiations and embedded the operational capability to sustain growth.

Brand / Confidential
Retail / Category strategy

Rebuilding a category proposition around health and sustainability

A major grocery retailer needed to evolve its positioning in a rapidly changing category. We led the insight programme, defined the strategic framework and designed the supplier transition roadmap.

Retailer / Confidential
Foodservice / Innovation programme

Open Doors: Changing how an industry engages challenger brands

We turned Bidfood’s desire to better engage smaller, progressive suppliers into reality by developing, implementing and managing the first accelerator in foodservice.

Bidfood
Coming soon

Acquisition support for a challenger brand exit

Commercial due diligence and strategic narrative support for a founder preparing for their first acquisition process.

Founder / TBC

Our core team

Andrew Allen

Andrew Allen

Founder & challenger brand specialist LinkedIn

Andrew is a multi-award-winning food and drink founder. He has scaled two brands from kitchen table to national, multichannel success, and advised and managed many more.

Since moving into consultancy, he has specialised in challenger brands and foodservice. His work spans industry-first accelerator schemes, acquisition support, innovation programmes and strategic brand advisory.

Olly Pinder

Olly Pinder

Retail, eCommerce & growth strategy LinkedIn

Olly has 15 years of experience spanning retail, eCommerce and food innovation. He has worked with Gousto, Ocado, Co-op and Qatar Airways, building a strong track record of driving growth, scaling businesses and leading strategic transformation.

Today, he advises brands and retailers on new growth opportunities through insight-led strategy, product innovation and a clear understanding of modern consumer and commercial needs.

Behind the core team sits a network of specialist associates we bring in when a project needs extra depth. Want to be one of them?

Get in touch

Our sister business

The Meals Collective creates brands focused on furthering the industry. We connect, we challenge, and where the market needs something new, we build it.

Build with us.

Whether you’re a brand with ambition, a larger operator embracing change, or a founder needing support, we’ve been in your shoes, and we’re here for you.

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