Turning Yorkshire puddings into headlines: How we helped Maki & Ramen hit target

If you run a restaurant in Leeds (or anywhere in the UK), you’ll know how competitive the hospitality scene is right now. Great food and strong reviews matter - but if you want to increase footfall, drive bookings and hit sales targets consistently, you also need smart, strategic restaurant PR.

Here’s how we helped Maki & Ramen Leeds boost awareness, secure national media coverage and start hitting targets week on week - all through one bold, well-timed campaign.

The Brief: Boost Reach and Drive Revenue

In summer 2025, Maki & Ramen Leeds appointed Aubergine as their Leeds-based food and hospitality PR agency. The objective was clear:

• Increase brand awareness in Leeds

• Generate regional and national press coverage

• Strengthen social media reach

• Support month-on-month sales growth

Like many independent restaurants and multi-site operators, they didn’t just want “noise”. They wanted measurable results.

The Strategy: Creative Restaurant PR That Cuts Through

Leeds has a thriving food scene. Standing out requires more than a standard press release - it takes a campaign with a genuine hook.

Within two weeks of being commissioned, we developed a quick-turnaround restaurant PR and social media strategy built around Yorkshire Day.

Working alongside Executive Chef Sophie Wang, we created a limited-edition mash-up menu blending Japanese flavours with Yorkshire favourites:

• Yorkshire Tea Iced Matcha

• Sunday Roast Ramen (complete with a Yorkshire pudding for dipping)

• Builder’s Brew Crème Brûlée

Iced Yorkshire Tea Matcha - created by Maki & Ramen with Aubergine PR

It was playful, unexpected and highly visual -perfect for media coverage and social sharing.

As former broadcast journalists, we approach food and drink PR differently. We think in headlines. We design campaigns with producers, editors and content creators in mind from day one. Find out more about what we created in this blog.

The Results: 30 Pieces of Coverage and 3.2 Million Reach

The Yorkshire Day campaign secured coverage across regional and national media, including:

• A live studio appearance on BBC Radio Leeds

• A viral Instagram video and blog feature from The Hoot Leeds

• Print and online coverage in The Yorkshire Post

• Wider digital pick-up including MSN

In total, the campaign generated:

• 30 pieces of media coverage

• 3.2 million combined reach

More importantly, the Leeds site began hitting its sales targets.

As our co-founder Emma Gardner puts it: “When it comes to standing out in Leeds’ bustling food scene, sometimes it takes a bold, playful PR idea to really capture the media’s attention. I’m really proud that with our journalistic ‘nose for news’ we managed to come up with something really unique that turned journalists’ heads — and ultimately, translated into an increase in people visiting Maki & Ramen.”

For us, that perfectly sums up what effective restaurant PR in Leeds should do: spark conversation, secure meaningful media coverage and, most importantly, drive real customers through the door.

If you’re looking for restaurant PR that drives results and bookings - get in touch. We’d love to chat!

Aubergine grows team following hat-trick of new business wins

We are thrilled to announce our first full time employee following a record-breaking hat-trick of new business wins!

Since January, we’ve secured £50,000 in new contracts with sustainability-focused clients Round Our Way, Be The Future and Foodsteps, helping us further to carve a niche in this space. 

We hired University of Sheffield graduate Isobel King on a permanent basis to help with account support, journalist liaison, social media and copywriting. Isobel joins our roster of 10 freelancers who support us with media relations, content, events and social media services.

Isobel, who received distinction in her Masters for International Public and Political Communication, has previous experience of digital PR, working as a Digital Communications Assistant for the Campaigns and Alumni Relations department at the University of Sheffield. 

Isobel said: “I’m so excited to join the dynamic team at Aubergine - it’s clear to see the agency is really going places and I’m really thrilled to be a part of their growth journey.”

Aubergine director and co-founder Emma Gardner said: “Our projected turnover is now set to triple in 2023, we couldn’t be more thrilled to add Isobel to our team. 

“Despite challenging economic times, it’s crucial brands and businesses use their communications to educate the public on their offering - so there’s never been a more important time to invest in PR.”

We’ve been working on a data-driven project for a new not for profit Round Our Way, to highlight the impact climate change is having on British families.

We’ve also been appointed to deliver a clever community stunt and press office for Be The Future, who are unleashing the power of families and educators to rewrite our climate story.

Foodsteps instantly produces data insights from across the entire life cycle of a food product. We’re launching the company’s latest industry report accompanied by thought leadership and press office.

Our PR and social media credentials in the sustainability space include successful campaigns for Filippo Berio, Hope For the Future, Organic September, WWF and London Food Tech Week.

Aubergine strengthens FemTech PR credentials

We are over the moon to be appointed by two FemTech businesses that produce sustainable feminine health care products!

Aubergine is responsible for generating media coverage for eco pregnancy test brand Hoopsy and &SISTERS, which makes plastic-free period products.

12.5 million home pregnancy tests are completed in the UK each year, causing a shocking amount of plastic waste to be sent to landfill. This, coupled with her struggle to conceive age 45 and single, inspired Lara Solomon to create Hoopsy - which manufactures pregnancy tests made from 99% paper. 

Founder Lara said: “I was inspired by the journalistic approach Aubergine took for amplifying my product, and I’ve already been delighted with the results so far. The brand has already been featured in several national news titles such as Grazia, Women’s Health, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Trendhunter.”

&SISTERS was created by mother and daughter duo, Lucy and Claire Lettice, who have worked to create conscious period products that are safer for women’s bodies and for the environment. 

Aubergine is working on &SISTERS’ newsjacking press office and thought leadership, focusing on key issues such as period poverty and women’s health.

Over a woman’s lifetime, over 11,000 mainstream disposable period products end up in landfill, taking between 500 to 800 years to biodegrade. The &SISTERS organic period products compost in just 18 months, so making the switch to a more sustainable option has a hugely positive impact.

Director and co-founder of Aubergine, Verity Clarke, said: “With Food Tech already firmly under our belts as a specialty, we’ve always wanted to carve out a niche in the FemTech space too. We’re delighted and proud to be working with both Hoopsy and &SISTERS as they’re both pioneering the way for sustainable feminine health care products.”

Aubergine serves up tasty Filippo Berio win

We’re excited to reveal we’ve been appointed as the PR and social media agency for world-leading olive oil brand Filippo Berio.

Aubergine has been tasked with the full gamut of PR for the brand; launching the brand’s latest sustainability report to the media, as well as managing its busy press office, organising press and influencer trips and delivering support to their in-house social media team.

Emma Gardner and Verity Clark, co-founders of Aubergine, at a Filippo Berio charity event in Otley.

Verity Clarke, one of our co-founders and directors, went on a full immersion tour of the Filippo Berio Villa and olive oil factory in Tuscany in May. Co-founder Emma Gardner also joined Verity at a recent charity event hosted by Filippo Berio at Buon Apps restaurant in Otley (pictured), which raised nearly £2,000 for a community defibrillator.

Verity commented: “Filippo Berio olive oil is a household name, so to win this as a boutique agency is big news for us. I absolutely loved getting under the skin of the brand in beautiful Tuscany - it was a delight to get to know the wonderful marketing team and learn about how their products are made. It was also very insightful to get a behind the scenes look of their incredible sustainability drive. We’ll be revealing more about this to the media about this very soon.”

Lisa Mullins, marketing manager, Filippo Berio said: “What attracted us to Aubergine was the experience of its founders and the fact that, being a boutique agency, they will work directly on our brand. Verity and Emma both come from a journalism background which means that their approach is very journalist-led. Its already clear to us how much they value the brand and how hard they will work to get us results - we’re very excited to see what the future holds.”

Aubergine is a virtual agency founded by former BBC and Channel 4 News journalist Emma Gardner and experienced PR practitioner, Verity Clarke.

We work with a crack team of specialist freelancers to deliver work for its raft of food, drink, health and tech clients. Aubergine has substantial PR and social media credentials in the food and drink space including successful campaigns for Glorious Soups, Chuckling Goat, Fitbakes, Amity Brew Co, Hilltop, The Duppy Share, One Year No Beer and Vitamin Angels UK.

We have also launched successful PR campaigns in the sustainability space for WWF, Hope for the Future and London Food Tech Week.