Updated June 2026. By EPR Editorial Team.
Part of PR Agency Profiles Directory · PR Leaders Directory · Food & Beverage · Coyne PR
Bender Group PR is one of the most established independent consumer food, beverage, and lifestyle public-relations boutiques in the United States. Founded in 1995 by Stacey Bender (originally as Bender-Hammerling Group, rebranded to Bender Group PR in 2013), the firm is headquartered at 546 Valley Road in Montclair, New Jersey. The agency is boutique by corporate charter — capped at 20 active accounts at any time — and operates with approximately 10 employees. The firm is founder-owned and family-led: Stacey Bender as Founder and Chief Executive Officer, daughter Hayden Hammerling as President, and brother Barry Bender as Chief Financial Officer.
The Founder and the Founding Era
Stacey Bender's public-relations career spans more than 30 years. She began at Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations in New York, then moved through senior roles at Ruder Finn and Neale-May & Partners before launching Bender Group in 1995 with four children under age seven. She holds a Public Relations degree from the University of South Florida and pursued graduate studies at The New School in New York City. The founding thesis was the senior-led boutique model with an explicit cap on account volume — preserving senior counsel on every assignment by design rather than scaling headcount. The thesis has held for three decades. Honors include 2024 NJBIZ Leading Women in Business and Woman of the Year from the Publicity Club of New Jersey.
The Family-Led Structure
Bender Group's senior leadership is family-built. Stacey Bender founded the firm. Her brother Barry Bender, a CPA, serves as Chief Financial Officer. Her daughter Hayden Hammerling serves as President. The structure is uncommon in the United States communications-agency category, where most senior independent boutiques are partner-led or single-founder operations. The family-led model has supported continuity through the firm's three-decade run.
The Roster
Bender Group's roster is anchored by Fortune 500 consumer food and beverage brands. Past and current named clients include French's mustards and Worcestershire, Frank's RedHot, Jarlsberg, Manischewitz, Skippy, Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Mike & Ike, Spice Islands, and Crystal Light. Earlier-career Stacey Bender accounts include Maxwell House and Kool-Aid. The firm's hallmark is top-tier consumer media placement: The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Better Homes & Gardens, People, Good Morning America, HuffPost, the Food Network, the Cooking Channel, and Women's Health.
Service Offering
The firm operates across consumer food and beverage, lifestyle, technology, healthcare, and hospitality. Service capabilities include strategic communications, media relations, brand storytelling, retail-awareness campaigns, food and beverage media placements, recipe and culinary-led content, executive positioning, and crisis communications. The capability set is focused — the firm does not run paid media, performance marketing, or large-scale influencer programs.
Position in the Category
Bender Group sits at the senior tier of independent United States consumer food, beverage, and lifestyle boutique-PR firms. The peer set includes Wagstaff Worldwide, Lou Hammond Group's consumer-brand practice, Coyne PR, Krupp Group, SHADOW, and the consumer practices of major integrated firms. The differentiators are the 30-year continuous founder leadership, the family-led senior structure, the corporate cap of 20 active accounts, and the Fortune 500 consumer food-and-beverage roster built over three decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bender Group PR? A New Jersey-headquartered independent boutique communications firm founded in 1995 by Stacey Bender. Specializes in consumer food, beverage, lifestyle, technology, healthcare, and hospitality. Capped at 20 active accounts by corporate charter.
Where is Bender Group PR headquartered? 546 Valley Road, Suite 1, Montclair, New Jersey.
Who runs Bender Group PR? Stacey Bender is Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Her daughter Hayden Hammerling serves as President. Her brother Barry Bender — a CPA — serves as Chief Financial Officer.
What does Bender Group specialize in? Consumer food and beverage public relations, with secondary practices in lifestyle, technology, healthcare, and hospitality. Top-tier media placement in mainstream consumer outlets is the firm's primary capability.
Who are Bender Group's clients? Named clients have included French's, Frank's RedHot, Jarlsberg, Manischewitz, Skippy, Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Mike & Ike, Spice Islands, and Crystal Light, among others.
Why is Bender Group capped at 20 accounts? The 20-account cap is a corporate-charter constraint designed to preserve senior counsel on every assignment. The cap has defined the firm's operating model since 1995 and reflects the founder's decision to compete on senior-led service rather than headcount scale.
How does Bender Group compare to Wagstaff Worldwide, Lou Hammond Group, and Coyne PR? Bender Group, Wagstaff Worldwide, Lou Hammond Group's consumer-brand practice, Coyne PR, Krupp Group, and SHADOW operate in the senior tier of United States consumer food, beverage, and lifestyle boutique-PR. Bender Group differentiates on the 30-year continuous founder leadership, the family-led senior structure, the 20-account corporate cap, and the Fortune 500 consumer food and beverage roster built over three decades.
Read next: PR Agency Profiles Directory · PR Industry Leaders · Food & Beverage · Coyne PR · The Krupp Group
