5 unexpected brand lessons we can all learn from Jamie Laing, co-founder of Candy Kittens

If you know Jamie Laing, your first thought may well be of a ‘posh lad’ who used to be on Made in Chelsea, heir to the McVities fortune. BUT, have ever heard him speak about his experience co-founding and scaling Candy Kittens? If you have, it’s likely you will have been (like me) impressed, and even a bit swept away by his passion, honest and down to earth personality.

I listened to him recently on a couple of videos, including the High Performance podcast [1&2], and below is a collection of some of the unexpected lessons I took, which serve as a good reminder about why brand is SO important – no matter what industry you are in.

Jamie Laing - the unlikely brand expert

When Jamie talks Candy Kittens (CK), it’s hard to miss his passion for the product.

As he regales the story of how he and his partner Ed founded the business, and the fact that – rather unusually – they had a brand, before they had a product.

He’s also quick to mention their ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal or BHAG’ which sits at the heart of it all and forms the foundation for their brand. Which, for CK, is and has always been very simple – to build the biggest confectionary company in the world, selling the best sweets possible. In essence, they loved the confectionary world but believed it could do better, so they set about going out to prove it.

Sounds straightforward?

He was after all a celebrity in his own right, rubbing shoulders every evening with the world’s rich and famous, so selling a few sweets shouldn’t be too much hard graft, should it? And yet, Jamie knew that this wasn’t enough. Because what he realised very early on, is that having a strong brand was crucial.

He knew that to create a premium product that, in turn, people would pay a premium price for, they would need to do more than just rely on his celebrity status. [4] The fear was, that if they didn’t position themselves correctly, that consumers would believe that the product was just a ‘repackaged’ sweet, no different to others on the market. And who would pay big bucks for that?

He also drew strong comparisons between the love/hate relationship that consumers already held for him, following his time on MIC, believing that this volatile attitude may be a risk to the reception of CK too.

Consistency, consistency, consistency

Contrary to popular belief, CK wasn’t launched as a knee jerk reaction to make a quick buck. In fact, the product was developed over two years to ensure the brand started off on the right foot, fulfilling Jamie’s goal – ‘to create the best sweet possible’.

While there was the potential to cut corners and get it to market quickly, Jamie and Ed took their time to get it right, using only the very best ingredients for a truly quality sweet, which would justify the price.

As the brand grew, Jamie’s BHAG continued to sit at the centre of every they did; informing every decision, even if it at times it appeared to be at their detriment…

While he says saying ‘yes’ to a distribution deal with Primark would have been very easy (especially because, at the time, they had no money in the bank) the pair actually said no, because Primark’s brand proposition didn’t sit neatly with theirs. Though it may have seemed good business sense at the time, making them A LOT of money in the short term, what CK realised very early-on was that decisions they made now, could in fact be at their detriment later down the line.  

And it’s decisions like this – just like many others I’m sure they made – that has avoided very little dilution for them in the market and consequently resulted in the product’s ‘cult’ sweet status.

Doubling down on ‘being the best’

As time has gone on, their quest to make the ‘best’ sweet ever, has seen them look beyond ‘just’ creating the best tasting and best-looking product – perhaps the two things one might think of when assessing a sweet as being ‘the best’.

But of course, that’s not enough for Jamie and Ed…

With a market already saturated in sugar, Jamie knew the brand needed a strong market differentiation to justify the price. The brand’s consistency at being a premium, great tasting product was gaining them credibility, but it wasn’t completely responding to customer demand. And as the demand for vegan, sustainable products continued to grow, so too did CK’s drive to be ‘better’.

After 12 years, the brand now features the very best in recyclable packaging; all pouches are carbon neutral; the sweets are made using only the best production methods AND they still use only premium ingredients with absolutely no ‘nasties’ and now, no animal products either. The company itself also successfully gained BCorp in 2022 and is prides itself of its exceptional work culture.

Living and breathing their brand

What’s clear is that CK has worked hard to live and breathe their brand. They continue to market themselves as a fashionable premium brand, something that may have been impossible had they taken that Primark deal.

In 2015 they launched a series of pop-up shops in premium locations such as London’s Covent Garden which Jamie himself noted was a strategic decision to “position ourselves on the same level as the brands around us.” As well as adding to their already growing credibility, it was a move that also helped them grow their D2C markets and social media following. Clever.

More recently, the brand has launched the CK’s brand platform ‘No Nasties, All Good’, which aims “to educate consumers about animal products in sweets” and “show them that Candy Kittens is the answer.” [3]

With so many consumers seemingly unaware about the animal products in their sweet treats, CK has looked to challenge the confectionery market to ditch the use of gelatine in sweets, showing once again how CK remains true to the brand’s desire to be ‘the best’, giving customers that all important added-value that so many B2C brands forget.

So, what learnings can we take away from this brand story?

1.     Get your market differentiation RIGHT  

2.     Consistency is king  

3.     Own your own story

4.     Know your audience

5. New products aren’t the only way grow your business

Put simply. Jamie set out to do something and he’s doing it.

Jamie’s efforts with Candy Kittens is what a great brand strategy and its execution looks like. The means of getting there may change over time, but the end goal remains the same.

And how do you turbo charge those efforts? With excitement, curiosity and passion - all of which Jamie has in abundance.

Referenced interviews/articles:

[1] The story of Candy Kittens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UppFoC1R24I 

[2] The High-Performance Podcast - https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/jamielaing

[3] Marketing Beat - https://www.marketing-beat.co.uk/2024/02/28/candy-kittens-advertising/

[4] The Drum - https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/11/08/has-jamie-laing-found-his-sweet-spot-marketer