A marketing and creative agency geared towards the struggling hospitality industry in East Anglia has been launched.

Hospitability Consulting, which aims to provide a 'one-stop shop' for restaurants and hospitality businesses has been started up by James Kindred, Nick Lane, Glyn Williams, Stephen David and Emma Kindred - but they admit it's a sector facing challenges.

"As the name suggests, hospitability is all about putting the ability back into hospitality, providing practical, bespoke and realistic solutions for chefs and restaurateurs seeking to improve or change," said co-founder Mr Williams.

MORE - New Cranswick chicken factory at Eye has begun recruiting for up to 900 new jobs"The hospitality sector, and in particular pubs and restaurants, is struggling in this recession, not just in attracting and satisfying guests, but also practical issues such as in recruitment finding the right skilled teams and in retention of successful, experienced staff.

"Most significant is the increase in guest awareness of what is good food and service and the power of online recommendation - travel review sites such as TripAdvisor and social media like Facebook can quickly wipe out reputations in no time if issues are left unchecked."

The culinary team is led by senior chef consultant Stephen David who has held executive chef and leadership roles in top regional restaurants and hotels, including The Crown at Woodbridge and The Hoste in Burnham Market.

James and Emma Kindred have expertise in branding, sales, website development and food photography, while Nick Lane, Glyn Williams and Stephen David - who worked together at Somerleyton Estate, Lowestoft - have a background in PR and marketing.

The business is based in Norwich.