Hot Pickle Serve up New Era of Food & Drink Innovation with "Hot Pickle Innovation Lab" Launch

Sep. 19, 2025

Award-winning experiential agency, Hot Pickle unveils Hot Pickle Innovation Lab, a bold new innovation division dedicated to tackling some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities shaping the future of food culture.

A long time coming…

The Hot Pickle Innovation Lab has been quietly developing over the past decade, delivering major insights and innovation projects for world-leading brands including Hello Fresh, Diageo, General Mills and Unilever.

Reflecting on Hot Pickle’s impact, Nadia Djeroro, Strategy & Innovation Director at Unilever, said:

“The best agency I have on my roster. A can-do mentality, real experts, infectiously passionate, knowledgeable. Humble. Accountable. Lovely human beings.”

 

Now, with the food industry in a period of unprecedented change – from new High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) legislation and growing concerns around ultra-processed foods (UPFs), to an emerging shift towards regenerative agriculture and the rising use of GLP-1s (such as Ozempic) – the Hot Pickle Innovation Lab will bring deep industry knowledge with fresh thinking, rapid ideation & prototyping, alongside unique in-market testing to help brands adapt and thrive.

Joining Hot Pickle’s founder, Rupert Pick, to lead the division – which will sit alongside the agency’s Brand Homes & Flagships and Integrated Experience arms – are two senior industry figures:

Ollie Lloyd joins as Head of Innovation. Formerly of Unilever, ?What If! and Hearst, Ollie co-founded the UK’s leading gourmet food platform, Great British Chefs, and is the voice behind The Food Talk Show podcast.

Louise Forster-Smith becomes Innovation Director. A long-time collaborator and former Consultant for Hot Pickle and Soil Association Certification, she brings a wealth of experience in consumer research, product development and innovation strategy.

Rupert Pick said:

“It’s an incredibly exciting time for F&B brands. The launch of our new division is all about tapping into the fringes of food culture to help even the biggest brands disrupt and think/act like a challenger brand. Between the three of us – Ollie, Lou and I – the expertise and passion we share for food and drink is colossal. We can’t wait to distil our shared knowledge to make magic happen.”

 

The Hot Pickle Innovation Lab will combine rich food & drink expertise, strategic foresight & futures thinking with hands-on creative execution – from concept creation to real-world testing – enabling brands in the grocery, foodservice and hospitality space to move faster, smarter, and be more disruptive.