Culture is such a broad term in many senses, but it is a very precious space.
For Andrew Berry, building a successful creative business starts with something that can’t be
bought: understanding people.
Long before Andrew Berry became the co-founder and Managing Director of The Bread, he was
fascinated by people—their perspectives, their creativity and the different ways they expressed
themselves. That curiosity would eventually become more than a personal interest. It became
the foundation for a career built around understanding the relationship between people, brands
and culture.
For Berry, expression is a language. It is how people communicate who they are, what they
value and where they find joy. The work of The Bread begins by understanding that language
and finding the intersection between it and the brands the company works with. Rather than
asking simply where a brand can appear, the more important question is where it has a genuine
reason to participate.
How do we add to the space? How do we uplift it?
Culture can be a powerful space for brands, but Berry believes it is also a precious one. There
is a difference between contributing to a cultural space and simply borrowing its relevance.
“Culture is such a broad term in many senses, but it is a very precious space,” he says. The
approach at The Bread is therefore centred around earning the right to participate.
Berry describes a common mistake brands make: identifying something they consider cool and
immediately deciding they need to be part of it, without first understanding whether they can
contribute meaningfully. For The Bread, the process begins with asking whether the brand
actually belongs in that space—and, more importantly, whether it can add something to it.
“How do we add to the space? How do we uplift it? How do we shine a light on what people are
already doing?”
Those questions speak to a broader philosophy about the role of creative businesses working
between commerce and culture. The goal isn’t simply to put a logo somewhere culturally
relevant. It is to create something that has value beyond the brand itself.
Berry acknowledges that no one gets that balance right every time. What matters is the intention
behind the work and the willingness to hold yourself accountable to it. After more than a decade
of building The Bread and working alongside different brands, creatives and communities, Berry
says his own definition of what is interesting or “cool” has expanded dramatically.
Exposure to different perspectives has challenged the narrower definitions he may have had
when he was younger. Meeting different people and understanding their journeys has opened
up a much wider appreciation for the many ways people experience and express beauty.
If you can’t add to culture and you can’t add to a creative space, you shouldn’t be there.
As a father of two young daughters, Berry has found himself seeing the world through another
perspective. His children’s curiosity and ability to find beauty in things he might otherwise
overlook have reinforced something he has learned through years of working with people: there
is rarely only one way to see the world.
For a founder whose business is built around understanding culture, that openness may be one
of his most valuable assets. Ultimately, building bridges between brands and people isn’t about
finding the quickest route into a cultural space. It is about listening first, It is about understanding
the people already there and it is about making sure that when you enter the room, you have
something meaningful to contribute. For Andrew Berry and The Bread, that is where the work
begins.
