A new curated resource called The Creators List — built jointly by Tubefilter, Comscore, Whalar Group, and Gospel Stats — launched during the Cannes Lions festival to give brands, agencies, and media buyers a centralized directory for identifying and connecting with top creators on the ground. For F&B operators and CPG brands investing in influencer-led campaigns, this is worth tracking: it consolidates what has historically been a fragmented, relationship-dependent process into a structured meeting infrastructure at one of the industry's most expensive networking events.
Creator sourcing remains one of the more inefficient line items in a food or beverage brand's marketing budget. Agencies typically maintain proprietary rosters, broker introductions carry fees, and platform-native discovery tools are built for volume rather than fit. A consortium-backed directory that layers Comscore's measurement credibility alongside Whalar's creator network and Gospel Stats' analytics pedigree signals a shift toward more accountable influencer matchmaking — the kind of transparency that procurement teams at mid-market and enterprise F&B brands have been pushing for.
For brands evaluating influencer spend heading into Q3 and Q4 planning cycles, the timing matters. Cannes Lions is where media and creative budgets are negotiated, not just announced. Being present — or being represented in a directory that buyers are actively consulting — can compress the sales cycle for creators pitching food, beverage, and hospitality verticals. It also raises the bar on what brands should expect from creator proposals: third-party verified audience data, clear channel performance benchmarks, and documented reach in relevant DMAs or dayparts.
The deeper signal here is that the influencer layer of brand launch and growth marketing is professionalizing. The same rigor now applied to programmatic and paid media buying is beginning to migrate to creator partnerships — with shared data standards, consortium-backed directories, and performance accountability becoming baseline expectations. F&B operators running sampling campaigns, new product launches, or regional activations should treat this as confirmation that sourcing creators through informal networks is increasingly a competitive disadvantage. Structured directories with measurement backing are where serious buyers are moving. Building that sourcing infrastructure internally — or through a partner with direct access to these platforms — is a practical next step for any brand with more than $50,000 in annual creator spend. Those evaluating brand launch packages and influencer coordination should ask prospective partners directly whether their creator rosters are represented in consortiums like this one.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
