The Content Engine Powering Waitrose’s Consumer Engagement

For the last quarter of a century, Waitrose and Dentsu have worked together as content partners; initially the relationship focused on producing the Food magazine. That content partnership has evolved far beyond the world of print now though, although the magazine continues and was given a new look just last year.

The remit has expanded too with Dentsu being named as Waitrose’s content agency of record in September.

Speaking to Dentsu Creative UK CEO Jess Tamsedge at a Dentsu event this month, Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell reflects on a conversation they had three years ago as they attempted to reimagine the marketing ecosystem where everything has become more consumer centric.

Their starting point was simple: the old walls between channels were coming down. Consumers no longer distinguish between a “magazine moment”, a “TV moment” or a “social partnership moment”. To them, it is all just content. The question, then, was why brands and agencies were still treating those moments as separate - rather than building a more connected experience around the customer.

This led them to set a mandate that would close the gap between content and commerce - produce destination content that people seek out under the brand positioning of ‘Home of food lovers’.

Ansell explains that Waitrose positions itself as the UK’s only truly premium grocer, small in market share but disproportionately influential in shaping food culture. The ‘Home of food lovers’ brand strategy has been adopted across the business acting as a unifier for all 40,000 of its employees and “a centre of gravity” that guides its every decision.

It also defines three things for Waitrose: who it is for; where is should play; and which channels on which to operate. This has also influenced acquisitions and “how it should win”.

It guides store refits to app journeys to partner training. “When we're thinking about how we refit a store or what the journey we're trying to build from our app is… everything we do is look through the lens of ‘Home of food lovers’ for every single person every day across the whole [Waitrose] business,” he says.

He reveals that more than half of app visits aren’t for shopping but for content, reflecting on the deep impact of that particular digital touchpoint.

Tamsedge points out that the platform allows Waitrose to attempt to do things that sit traditionally outside of the brand’s sector. She cites the online cookery school Dentsu Creative instigated as well as its partnerships and sponsorship choices. “You're playing much further out in culture because of that platform and that promise, whilst obviously being very conscientious about retail media and revenue, because you're in other places.”

The business case for emotion

As a commercial enterprise, its employee-ownership model shapes the way decisions are made across the business. Because staff are also co-owners, conversations between leadership and branch teams happen less as top-down instruction and more as peer-to-peer discussion. That shared stake in the outcome, the company argues, creates the conditions for braver decisions than many traditional retailers might be willing to make.

This structure, claims Ansell, allows Waitrose to invest in long‑term issues such as transforming the global food system, which it sees as facing a critical 30–40‑year horizon. Through its highly engaged customer base and engaging content, the business can tell this story compellingly, creating both social impact and competitive advantage. Some initiatives defy traditional business‑case logic but are pursued because they are simply the right thing to do.

“In a way that is almost like enlightened self-fulfilment,” he says. “We can create a degree of competitive advantage around that, that we wouldn't be able to do if we didn't have such an engaged customer base that was engaged in our brand, around a shared passion for food and a content machine that was able to unpack and tell those stories, so it's quite hard to business case something like that.”

He adds that it’s something they do because it’s “the right thing” for the world and for people that also motivates customers.

And that perspective runs through Waitrose’ adoption of artificial intelligence, said Tamsedge as it designs its LLMs and algorithms to create differentiation and ensure that it fuels a relevant digital experience for customers. That may be through its chatbots or its product wallet.

Meanwhile, ESG is also at the heart of the customer experience, a thread that has run throughout Ansell’s career, even before joining owner John Lewis & Partners. But the aim is to convey its stance through the use of engaging, fact-based stories rather than lecturing or preaching at customers.

An example comes from Waitrose’s move to introduce higher welfare standards for its chickens, which has garnered over 100 million social views.

“The job isn't to try and engage people in things that they're not interested in. Ultimately, people have got choice around what they do and don't engage in. What we can do though, is make the right decisions and then engage customers in a way that gets them motivated and excited around the problem, but also give them an easy solution,” Ansell outlines. “They know that when they walk through it, they can trust us to do the right thing.”

A defined content strategy and brand ecosystem

The Waitrose and Dentsu Creative teams now work together on a strategy that aims to treat food as a weekly cultural moment, using a connected content ecosystem to tell richer, long‑form stories led by chefs and creators. This narrative‑first approach brings audiences on a journey rather than interrupting their passions, aiming to be something people actively choose to spend time with rather than something forced into their feeds.

Tamsedge raises the sponsorship of Disney+ series ‘Rivals’ which has offered the opportunity to produce playful, nostalgic food moments such as pineapple hedgehogs and allowing the brand to place passion at the centre of its content and creative choices.

Bringing together food, nostalgia and entertainment has allowed Waitrose to produce big, talkable content-spanning ideas, such as an 80s store featuring old school product rangers. That has resulted in PR, social and commercial impact, based around the cultural touchstone and interest of 'Rivals'.

The same approach shaped campaigns like space‑themed ‘The Gastronaught’ ad from Wonderhood Studios, tapping into wider cultural trends to tell entertaining stories that people actively seek out. Whether through long‑form films or playful product activations, the aim is always to be relevant, joyful, and worth spending time with.

Ansell also reflects on the brand’s hit Christmas ad featuring Kiera Knightley, which generated repeat viewing despite being around four minutes long. “The idea that customers seek it out and watch it more than once is crazy when you think about it, but what you're trying to do is entertain and become relevant at the same time.”

Elsewhere, Waitrose is also targeting entertainment channels that drive conversation alongside storytelling such as the Dish podcast featuring Nick Grimshaw and Michelin star chef Angela Hartnett hosting weekly dinner parties. It is developing owned platforms that balance creative control with genuine audience appeal.

The agentic retail era

Operating in the relentlessly competitive grocery retail field means that Ansell is always looking for new competitive advantages over Waitrose’s rivals. The AI era has become a major component of his thinking as everyone’s choices differ in how they choose to interact with a brand. That is beginning to extent to personalised agents making decisions for consumers and interacting with retailers ion their behalf instead.

Despite that he wants the brand to remain focused on owning its one‑to‑one customer relationship, particularly through its app. “The truth is that we don't have a right for our customers' attention, so we have to earn that right, which is incredibly hard and also ensure that we take accountability for owning the relationship with our customers.”

This direct connection reduces reliance on third‑party platforms, but it also means that Waitrose must continually prove its value, making the customer relationship simple, relevant, and worth maintaining to win through.

He sees this as a basic truth of retailing that was true a century ago but being conducted in a “more modern” way. “Everything's different and nothing's different at the same time.”