Whistler will make its official UK debut at Glee 2026, 8-10 September at the NEC Birmingham, introducing garden retailers to a new premium wild bird care proposition from Hall 20, stand H56.

Built around the concept of Avian Intelligence and a simple ambition to feed British birds better, Whistler has been created to bring fresh thinking to a category traditionally driven by familiar formats and conventional presentation. Products are developed in collaboration with avian experts, informed by the needs of Britain’s varied birdlife and supported by a wider commitment to research, conservation and bird wellbeing.

But for Whistler, Glee is about more than simply launching six new products. It marks the beginning of a longer-term journey in the UK, with ambitions to build a broader bird care proposition, support retailers with stronger category thinking and create more reasons for consumers to trade up.

The debut collection has deliberately been kept focused, spanning seed, suet and feeding hardware:

• Signature Seed Blend 2kg
• Signature Seed Blend 12.55kg
• Signature Suet Balls 6-pack
• Signature Suet Balls 50-tub
• Signature Seed Feeder
• Signature Suet Ball Feeder

The range gives retailers an accessible entry point into Whistler across key bird care categories, combining recognisable consumer needs with a distinctly Whistler approach to nutrition, design and presentation. Crucially, it also creates a platform that can be built upon over time.

Future development is expected to expand into additional feeding solutions, species-specific nutrition and seasonal products, further developing Whistler’s ambition to feed British birds better while giving stockists the opportunity to grow the brand’s presence as consumer awareness and demand develop.

A product story built on quality

The Signature Seed Blend combines premium grains, cereals, fats and oil-rich seeds, including black sunflower seed, millet, red dari and kibbled maize, alongside energy-rich suet pellets that contain three nutritious flavours.

Behind the blend sits a rigorous multi-stage quality process, incorporating raw material sampling and screening, gravity cleaning, contamination and magnet checks, continuous dust extraction and oil polishing before packing. The result is a cleaner, more consistent mix designed to reduce dust and waste while maintaining freshness, palatability and energy value.

Whistler’s Signature Suet Balls use traceable, human-grade beef tallow for consistent quality alongside rapeseed, maize and kibbled peanuts to deliver high-energy, nutritionally rich feeding throughout the year.

Completing the launch are two contemporary steel feeders, finished in Whistler’s distinctive dark blue and featuring Avian Guard, an antimicrobial coating designed to help inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and microbes on the feeder surface.

Why should garden retailers care?

Whistler believes the business opportunity lies in helping retailers extract greater value from wild bird care.

While consumers are increasingly accustomed to trading up in categories such as pet food, growing media, garden furniture and outdoor cooking, bird care has often remained more functional and price-led. Whistler sees an opportunity to change that by combining stronger product stories with better presentation, clear consumer benefits and a more coordinated retail proposition.

That thinking extends beyond the product itself. The brand has developed retail display solutions including pallet wraps, promotional FSDUs and feeder tree stands, all designed to help retailers create a more coherent bird care destination and improve visibility at the point of sale.

The launch range has also been built around a 48% standard retail margin, with introductory promotional mechanics designed to encourage trial, support rate of sale and give retailers commercial confidence in bringing a new name into the category.

Whistler’s Paul Barker said: “Glee is the perfect place to introduce Whistler to UK garden retailers because this is very much the start of the journey for us. Our ambition is ultimately very simple: to feed British birds better, but to achieve that we also need to give retailers and consumers a genuinely compelling proposition.

“We know buyers do not need another range that simply mirrors what is already available. There has to be a clear reason to make space for a new brand, and a clear reason for consumers to trade up. That means getting the product right, but it also means getting the retail proposition right. Strong margins, better merchandising, clear product benefits and a pipeline of innovation all have to work together.

“These first six products are the foundation. Our ambition is to build Whistler into a much broader bird care brand and, importantly, to do that alongside garden retailers.”

Built for what comes next

Whistler’s longer-term UK plans will extend beyond NPD. Retailer education, seasonal feeding, merchandising, consumer insight and continued investment in avian research are all expected to play a role as the brand develops.

For garden retailers, that means the Glee launch should be seen less as a finished range and more as the first look at a new category proposition with room to grow.