Most branded podcasts die on arrival.
Too scripted. Too pushy. Too ad-y.
But when they’re done right, they don’t just survive — they thrive.
They entertain. They connect.
And quietly, smartly… they do the job.
Let’s talk about Dish by Waitrose & Partners
On paper, it’s a podcast about food.
In reality, it’s one of the most compelling examples of long-form brand storytelling out there.
Hosted by Nick Grimshaw and chef Angela Hartnett, Dish brings on A-list guests: Dua Lipa, Tom Holland, Florence Pugh, Natalie Portman and invites them to dinner. Literally.
They cook a recipe (subtly pulled from the Waitrose site), pair it with wine, and just talk.
There’s no aggressive brand pitch. No shoehorned product plug.
Just laughter, good vibes, and the unmistakable clink of wine glasses over a great meal.
Waitrose is in the room but never in your face.
The only “ad”? A bag of groceries gifted to each guest and the joyful sound of food being enjoyed.
And yet, it works. Here’s why:
🍽️ Entertainment first. Brand second. (But still there.)
You’d listen to Dish even if it wasn’t made by a supermarket.
That’s the key.
It’s not content about the brand.
It’s content by the brand with real standalone value.
The show doesn’t scream “We’re Waitrose!”
It whispers it through tone, taste, and quality.
And in doing so, it earns your attention.
🤝 It’s built on guest-value exchange
When celebrity guests say yes to a supermarket podcast, you know something’s working.
Dish has flipped the branded content playbook.
It’s now a PR win for the guest, not just a marketing play for the brand.
That means Waitrose gets access to A-list names they’d never reach through traditional ads.
No billboard could buy what a podcast like this unlocks.
🧠 It’s a platform, not a promo
Dish doesn’t just exist in one feed.
It’s a multi-platform machine:
- Top-ranking podcast
- Full-length YouTube episodes
- Bite-sized TikToks (2.3M+ likes)
- Recipes linked across web and socials
This isn’t a one-off audio project.
It’s a content ecosystem.
And it turns every episode into long-tail value.
🛒 It’s quietly built for the funnel
There’s no “BUY NOW” button.
Just a seamless path from story to store:
- A recipe shared in conversation?
You’ll find it on the Waitrose site. - A wine pairing that sounds delicious?
Available next to the podcast player.
Conversion is baked into the content not bolted onto the end.
The big takeaway?
Dish works because it doesn’t try to act like media.
It is media.
That’s the future for branded content.
If your podcast, YouTube channel, or series only works because it’s branded, you’ve missed the point.
Create something people would watch, read or listen to regardless of your logo — then let the brand thread run quietly in the background.
That’s how you build attention and trust over time.
Theory of YouTube 