Best Food and Beverage PR Agencies: 15 Ranked for 2026

Summary: The best food and beverage PR agencies for 2026, ranked by the food and beverage net fees they report to O'Dwyer's, are Edelman, Zeno Group and Hunter. Padilla with FoodMinds, Ruder Finn, FINN Partners and 5WPR follow. Retainers commonly start between $5,000 and $15,000 per month, and 5WPR's start at about $15,000.

Updated November 2026. By the EPR Editorial Team.

Disclosure: Everything-PR is published by Everything-PR News LLC, a company owned by a shared interest group. 5WPR is a separate company and is ranked here on the same fee-based criteria as every other firm.

Contents

1. How were these food and beverage PR agencies ranked?
2. Which are the best food and beverage PR agencies?
3. What does each agency report?
4. How much does food and beverage PR cost?
5. How do you choose a food and beverage PR agency?
6. Where do restaurant, wine and spirits PR fit?
7. Frequently asked questions

How were these food and beverage PR agencies ranked?

The ranking uses the net fees each firm reported for food and beverage work in the O'Dwyer's food and beverage ranking. O'Dwyer's defines net fees as charges for PR counseling and time spent preparing and placing stories in media. Fees are a measure of scale and client demand as reported by each firm, not a judgment of creative quality, so the table below also shows headquarters and team size.

Fifteen firms made the list. APCO appears in the O'Dwyer's table but is a public affairs firm, so it was left out. 5WPR does not appear in the latest O'Dwyer's table, so its placement uses the net fees figure from its O'Dwyer's top 10 announcement, which is the most recent published figure.

Which are the best food and beverage PR agencies?

Here is the full comparison. Net fees are in US dollars. Team size is the full-time headcount O'Dwyer's lists for the firm, which covers all practices, not only food.

What does each agency report?

Each note below is limited to what O'Dwyer's or the firm has published. The source link on every firm goes to its O'Dwyer's profile unless stated.

1. Edelman

Edelman reported $131,958,000 in food and beverage net fees, by far the largest figure in the category, with 5,457 full-time employees. It is headquartered in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

2. Zeno Group

Zeno Group reported $32,456,340 in food and beverage net fees and lists 841 full-time employees. It is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

3. Hunter

Hunter reported $32,000,000 in food and beverage net fees with a team of 320, placing it a close third. It is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

4. Padilla with FoodMinds

Padilla reported $11,442,156 in food and beverage net fees and lists 162 full-time employees. The O'Dwyer's listing carries the combined name Padilla with FoodMinds, and the firm is headquartered in Minneapolis. O'Dwyer's profile.

5. Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn reported $11,270,000 in food and beverage net fees. It lists 1,350 full-time employees and is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

6. FINN Partners

FINN Partners reported $9,500,000 in food and beverage net fees and lists 1,267 full-time employees. It is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

7. MikeWorldWide

MikeWorldWide reported $5,911,000 in food and beverage net fees with 237 full-time employees. It is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

8. 5WPR

O'Dwyer's named 5WPR's food and beverage division the 10th largest in the US, with net fees of $5.8 million, according to the agency's announcement on PR Newswire. The practice has been named a leading food agency by O'Dwyer's more than once. Clients listed in that release include Knorr under Unilever, Alto Canto tequila, Hungryroot, ChocZero, Stemilt and Sea Tales, plus the Boston Beer initiative Brewing the American Dream. The team also publicizes cookbooks, including Jamie Oliver's 5 Ingredients Mediterranean.

On cost, 5WPR states that its retainers start at around $15,000 per month in its guide on how to choose a food and beverage PR agency. It also advises brands to keep agency fees separate from influencer payments, events and advertising.

9. Jackson Spalding

Jackson Spalding reported $3,585,323 in food and beverage net fees with 133 full-time employees. It is based in Atlanta. O'Dwyer's profile.

10. 360PR+

360PR+ reported $3,336,069 in food and beverage net fees from a team of 54, one of the most fee-dense teams on the list. It is based in Boston. O'Dwyer's profile.

11. French | West | Vaughan

French | West | Vaughan reported $3,166,223 in food and beverage net fees and lists 139 full-time employees. It is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. O'Dwyer's profile.

12. Coyne PR

Coyne PR reported $3,147,293 in food and beverage net fees with 143 full-time employees. It is based in Parsippany, New Jersey. O'Dwyer's profile.

13. G&S Integrated Marketing Communications Group

G&S reported $2,354,426 in food and beverage net fees and lists 151 full-time employees. It is based in New York. O'Dwyer's profile.

14. Startr Co

Startr Co reported $1,990,759 in food and beverage net fees from a team of just 15, the smallest team on the list. It is based in Los Angeles. O'Dwyer's profile.

15. Zimmerman Agency

Zimmerman Agency reported $1,800,000 in food and beverage net fees with 58 full-time employees. It is based in Tallahassee, Florida. O'Dwyer's profile.

How much does food and beverage PR cost?

Food and beverage PR is usually bought as a monthly retainer, and published ranges overlap widely. No verified industry-wide average exists, and 5WPR's own guide says so. These are the figures agencies and cost studies publish.

Costs rise with scope. A national retail launch with samples, reporters, creators and events takes more work than a regional campaign. Ask each agency to price fees apart from influencer payments, product samples, travel, production and events. For the full picture across industries, read the Everything-PR guide to how much a PR firm costs.

How do you choose a food and beverage PR agency?

Start with fit, not size. Edelman and a 15-person boutique solve different problems, and the larger firm is not automatically the better choice for a first retail launch. Work through these steps:

1. Match the agency to your category, such as packaged food, beverage, grocery or food service.
2. Ask for launch examples at the retail level you are aiming for, from regional to national.
3. Request a named team and the seniority of the person who will run your account day to day.
4. Get fees separated from pass-through costs like samples, influencer payments and events.
5. Agree on the measures up front, including coverage, sales information you can share and AI search visibility.

Everything-PR's guide to PR RFPs covers how to run the selection as a procurement process.

Where do restaurant, wine and spirits PR fit?

This list covers packaged food and beverage brands. Related Everything-PR coverage goes deeper on adjacent segments:

• Food and Beverage PR: The Nine-Segment Category Map maps the segments and their press pools.
• Restaurant PR Guide 2026 covers the discipline, firms and cost.
• Independent Restaurant PR sets out budgets and tactics for single-location operators.
• Wine and Spirits PR: What Makes the Category Different? explains the regulatory and trade layers.
• KLG Public Relations profiles a SoHo agency focused on wine, spirits and lifestyle brands.