Jul 06

PRESS RELEASE – JULY 6, 2014

THE HOT PLATE, TORONTO TEST KITCHEN AND CREATIVE AGENCY, TAKES BIGGER BITE OUT OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

 

TORONTO, ON – July 6, 2014 – What started out as a stand-alone test kitchen for recipe creation and photography less than two years ago has transformed into a leading, full service creative agency. Based in Toronto, The Hot Plate specializes in offering North American food and beverage companies a one-stop shop for all of their content development and communication needs.

Leading the charge at The Hot Plate is Amanda Riva, the company’s owner and CEO. Thanks to her entrepreneurial spirit and appetite for growth, the company is advancing at an exponential rate and is revolutionizing the ‘full service’ concept.

“My goal in launching The Hot Plate’s agency was to create a one-stop shop for food and beverage brands that offers an affordable and efficient solution for content creation and communication,” said Riva. “I found that the traditional way that content was being offered to brands wasn’t meeting the needs of modern marketing budgets. What the industry needs is more predictability, transparency and flexibility.”

It was this kind of thinking that inspired the idea for a true full service shop and why The Hot Plate productizes all of its services – it took a traditional, retainer-based industry and modernized it to offer a simple, flexible and affordable service model. This model offers its clients everything they need when it comes to consumer engagement. From recipes, food styling, photography and video production to communicating that content and engaging with consumers through social media and PR, The Hot Plate has it all. And so far, this highly disruptive model is exceeding expectations.

“What’s been so exciting for us is that in just two years, we’ve gone from a team of one to a full-time team of 24,” said Riva about The Hot Plate. “Our growth has been driven by a 98 per cent retention rate from our existing customers and winning 15-18 new unique customers per month.” Although The Hot Plate is based in Toronto, it is servicing brands across North America, with an even split between Canadian and U.S. customers.

Helping to fuel The Hot Plate’s growth is the addition of Public Relations to the company’s roster of services. “Adding PR to the mix and integrating it with our social media services allows us to fully communicate all of the incredible content our customers have and is the next step in our ongoing effort to truly epitomize a one-stop shop for our clients.”

 

About The Hot Plate

As a leading full service test kitchen and creative agency, The Hot Plate specializes in offering food and beverage companies a one-stop shop for their content development and communication needs. The Hot Plate identifies and evaluates consumer, market, and digital trends to ensure the highest quality service for clients while creating innovative content that will spark thoughtful action from consumers across North America. For more information about The Hot Plate test kitchen and agency, visit www.thehotplate.com. For recipe inspiration, visit The Hot Plate community.