LONDON — Italian restaurant chain Zizzi has hired Espresso, which was set up last year, as its new UK PR agency of record, after a four-way competitive pitch.

The firm’s previous agency was The Academy, which had been working with Zizzi since 2015 but stepped back after winning the retained consumer account for competitor PizzaExpress.

Espresso's remit includes managing the UK press office work, owning and growing the restaurant chain’s influencer programme and implementing creative brand campaigns. Espresso’s first campaign will be announcing of Zizzi’s new retail line in Tesco.

Zizzi marketing director Rachel Hendry said: “We have a really exciting year ahead and are delighted to be working with Espresso. We loved their creative ideas, enthusiasm and fresh approach and are looking forward to seeing their pitch come to life.”

Espresso was founded in 2021 by Lisa Fox and Stacey Jaffe, who first worked together at Frank. Fox said: “To be hired by Zizzi as their retained PR agency is a fantastic win for us. We look forward to applying our bespoke approach to PR and influencer marketing to help this much-loved and iconic brand meet its commercial and communications objectives in both the short and long term.”