Leading food and drink comms agency grows team and adds dedicated travel, hospitality, and leisure division

Following some exciting new account wins, award-winning food and drink PR and Communications agency, Sharp, has bolstered its team with three new hires and expanded its service offering to launch a dedicated travel, hospitality, and leisure division.

Founded in 2010, the Kent based agency has built a stellar reputation within the food and drink world and represents clients including Fever-Tree, Guild of Fine Food, and Produced in Kent plus a range of food and drink brands like Womersley Foods, Borough Broth, and Sauce Shop – both new partnerships for Sharp.

Having recently added prestigious Kentish hospitality brand The Rocksalt Group and 2AA Rosette country restaurant, boutique hotel, and wedding venue The Ferry House on the Isle of Sheppey to its client roster, Sharp has brought in travel industry specialist Beth Harvey as a Senior Account Director to lead the growth of its new travel, hospitality, and leisure division. The agency also represents Kent Life Heritage Park and Folkestone Harbour.

Bringing more than 15 years travel PR experience and contacts to the team, Beth’s PR career began working for brands including Wightlink Ferries, Hayes & Jarvis, and Virgin Holidays. This was followed by senior roles at leading PR agencies Hills Balfour in London and KBC PR & Marketing in Sussex. With a background working primarily for tour operators, hotels, and international tourist boards, over the last five years, clients have included Cosmos, Travelbag, Loews Hotels, and 17 North American destinations ranging from The Florida Keys & Key West and Alberta to Virginia and Utah. Closer to home, she has also consulted for UK SME’s Romney Marsh Shepherds Huts, Burleigh Court, and Wine Tours of Kent.

Adding further dynamism and experience to the Sharp team are two more hires:

Account Manager Abbie McCarthy joins Sharp from London PR and communications agency, Nexus, to work across the Guild of Fine Food, Sauce Shop, and Seggiano accounts. In her previous position, she worked on campaigns for brands including Glebe Farm, Bertinet Bakery, Bella Italia, and Meatless Farm. Abbie’s professional journey includes roles in PR and marketing at renowned charities such as Leeds Castle and The Aspinall Foundation. She transitioned into the health and wellness sector and later honed her expertise in the realm of food and drink.

Account Executive Megan Cooper graduated from Kingston University in 2022 with a First-Class Honours degree in ‘Creative and Cultural Industries: Design Marketing’. The winner of a prestigious ‘D&AD New Blood Wooden Pencil’, an award given to ‘the best of the year in advertising, design, craft, culture and impact’, Megan started her communications career while at university working as a Social Media Content Creator for Kingston University Careers and Employability Service. After graduating, she became a copywriter at a London-based ad agency before successfully obtaining one of only six internships at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, where she honed her skills in account management and strategy, working with brands such as Tesco Food, Ribena, and Audi.

Sharp’s Head of Clients and Content, Clare Pope comments: “Following our recent rebrand, our focus is now on deepening our expertise by expanding into new sectors with the launch of our dedicated travel, hospitality, and leisure division.

“Food and travel are an obvious pairing with many natural crossovers and so it only makes sense for us to upskill our team to allow us to provide our widely respected PR, social media, and brand building services to a broader range of clients across sectors which complement each other.”

Source: Sharp

  Abbie McCarthy, Agency, Agency Hire, Beth Harvey, Megan Cooper, PR, Sharp