Member Article

New website creating an International Fizz.

For the past 100 years, very little has changed in the way that Fentimans produce their world famous Ginger Beer. In fact, whilst the process of production and delivery has moved with the times, the ethos and passion behind Fentimans has remained consistent.

Fentimans, based in Hexham Northumberland, was founded by a chance business opportunity back in 1905 when Thomas Fentiman, an iron puddler, acquired a recipe for botanically brewed ginger after a fellow tradesman approached him for a loan that was never repaid.

Wanting to make good of this newly acquired recipe, Thomas started botanically brewing the now renowned Ginger Beer and sold it door-to-door. Thomas Fentimans time honoured approach hasn’t changed much, with the knowledge and expertise being passed on from generation to generation of the Fentimans family.

Over 100 years later the company continues to go from strength to strength, becoming a household name and an aspirational brand in the competitive soft drinks market.

Today, still owned by the Great Grandson of Thomas Fentiman, the brand is sold in 65 countries worldwide, achieving a level of success that the founders of the original Fentimans company could never have dreamed of and would have been extremely proud of.

With this huge surge in popularity (they have 62,000 fans on Facebook alone!) they have spent the past 5 months carefully overseeing the design and development of their new website – a project being undertaken by Rothbury based communication agency Lazy Grace.

Ian McAllister of Lazy Grace said “It was of upmost importance that this website was created to reflect the tradition, authenticity and honesty of the Fentimans brand. To achieve the look and feel of the website, we took our initial inspiration from Edwardian period theatre poster designs. With just one look at the new site you’re in no doubt that it can only be Fentimans.”

“The longer you spend on the site, the more you notice – from the subtle blink of an eye to the swaying chandelier. We should be developing a game to see who can spot all of the subtle flourishes that we have included!”

Launching the new website is just part of the latest growth plan for Fentimans who will be using it to connect with not only their UK based audience but International customers too.

Andrew Jackson, Head of Marketing for Fentimans, said “We have built a great working partnership with Lazy Grace during the course of this exciting project. We set out to develop a unique website that allows consumer discovery of the Fentimans brand. The totally bespoke website that has been created achieves this objective in this world of templates and out-of-the-box solutions. Lazy Grace have gone above and beyond what would be expected of an agency partner and are one of the few agencies I have experienced who have the in-house capability to achieve this level of work. As the brand continues to grow in both the UK and International markets, the new website will allow consumers to keep up to date with the Fentimans brand and our latest initiatives.”

With celebrity fans like Ed Sheeran they are making waves in the soft drink and mixer market so if you’re not following them in some shape or form online, you’re missing out!

You can find links to all of their social activity on their new website.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by lazy grace .