Around 2.5 billion people worldwide consume street food on a daily basis* and over the past few years the popularity of street food in the UK has grown enormously. This has been fuelled by the often prohibitive rents and rates of high footfall city-centre sites, the increasingly time poor consumer looking for ‘food on the go’ and an ever growing demand for new and exciting world cuisines.
The food industry has just been served with a healthy spoonful of bitter sweet sugar guidance from Public Health England. The new voluntary guidelines will limit the amount of sugar found in products across nine food groups. If you work in food and think this doesn’t apply to you then think again. It’s going to impact on all corners of our industry, from retailers to manufacturers, QSR’s to coffee shops. The word is, if food companies don’t follow the advice, then it could signal full-on regulation in the future and you know what that means…. sugar tax! Yes, just like we’re about to see introduced on soft drinks. So, it’s time to take action on sugar.
Forget Pokémon Go, Snapchat filters and the Mannequin Challenge, there’s a new craze taking over Jellybean Towers in the form of an activity tracker – the Fitbit.
Six of us Beans have already been swayed by the brightly coloured wristbands which promise to track your activity, sleep and food intake.
The annual Arena Savoy Lecture is the jewel in the crown of the Arena foodservice networking calendar, with the great and the good of the industry in attendance. This year the line-up included the traditional key note speech, as well as a panel debate on the hot topic of Brexit, entitled Challenges and Opportunities. With representatives from finance – Bob Silk from Barclays Hospitality and Leisure team, law – Sebastian Calnan from EMW Law and crucially operator side – Jason Myers of Busaba Eathai, chaired by Vernon Hunte of the BHA, there was a good balance of viewpoints to inform the discussion. Each voiced their informed views on Brexit and what is certainly a hugely complex and challenging process.
Yes folks, it’s that time of year again when the convenience trade show season kicks off. From Nisa Stoneleigh to the National Convenience Show and P&H’s Pro Retail, the calendar is certainly chock-a-block. Over the coming weeks and months, suppliers big and small will be investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in these shows, from stand builds, staffing, promotional materials, travel, accommodation, PR, marketing and of course that bar bill. With so much outlay, are these shows really cost effective? And what are the best ways to really guarantee sales success and ROI? Trust Jellybean, your retail trade marketing to take you though the top tips…
As a leading food and drink agency we are well aware of the importance of good food hygiene. In fact we even did a trade press campaign for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health some time ago on the subject. In recent years, however, food hygiene has hit the headlines with the FSA’s ‘Scores on the Doors’ initiative, resulting in high profile legal cases and even restaurant closures following poor ratings. With consumers checking the Scores on the Doors app to see what local eateries are up to scratch it’s very much top of mind for caterers and restaurateurs.
Having always been a chocoholic, I was very excited when I was given a gift to attend a 1 day chocolate class at Mark Tilling’s Squires Kitchen International School, in Farnham. Naturally I thought Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory here we come! The day began with a quick meet and greet with a few of my fellow students over some tea and biscuits, shortly after Mark introduced himself and gave us a quick overview of his work and what we could expect from the day.
Every year the team at the Recommended Agency’s Register trawl through the thousands of client ratings across a myriad of agencies and services to select the finalists for the annual RAR Awards in association with respected marketing website and magazine THE DRUM.
When it comes to food there is no higher accolade than the approval of the chef. So with this in mind you can understand why William Reed have launched their inaugural Chef’s Choice Awards with the strapline – ‘judged by chefs for chefs’.
The lines between retailing, wholesale and foodservice just got even more blurred with the recent controversial announcement of the proposed merger between the UK’s biggest retailer Tesco and one of the UK’s biggest wholesalers Booker. Opinions on the merger differ widely and depending on your view point, this could either be a big opportunity or a big threat.
Our resident retail trade expert and former BBC journalist. Neil is a passionate food and drink marketer who has delivered award-winning integrated campaigns for a heap of leading household brands. Not to mention he’s a hockey player extraordinaire with international honours representing Wales in the Masters European and World Cup competitions.
I was recently invited to a Bruneian Supper Club through a friend of a friend. My instant question was ‘What is a Supper Club?’ It turns out, it’s a bit like a cross between a dinner party and a restaurant; it’s informal fun with friends and friends of friends, combined with amazing food, excellent service and no dishes to do at the end of the evening. Sounds perfect, I’m in.
Following on from the success of Tilda Together 2016, an integrated campaign targeting the education sector, our long-standing client, Tilda, was keen to build on last year’s success and the growing popularity for Brown & White rice, by refreshing the campaign for 2017.
It has to be said that to the foodservice outsider it may seem like the Jellybeans lead a charmed life, filled with posh dinners and glamorous venues – and they’d not be far wrong to be honest.
Ever wondered what it’s like to work with the beans for a week? Well, it’s your lucky day, because I’m here to tell you about the experience I’ve had working at food marketing agency, Jellybean.
The popularity of food-to-go (FTG) has never been greater, showing stronger growth than both the eating out market and food retail market over the last few years. Quick service restaurants and convenience stores across the country are learning to quickly adapt to the growing demands of the consumer. The three pillars of food-to-go – tasty, good value and convenient, no longer cut it for the hard working, tech savvy customer. Now it needs to be fresher, hotter, faster and healthier too.
As the leading foodservice marketing agency, we are lucky enough to go to more than our fair share of ‘swanky do’s’. So when the invitation came to attend one of Arena’s new ‘exclusive gatherings’ we jumped at the chance to dine at The Ritz and hear from their renowned Executive Chef, John Williams MBE. The evening began with prosecco and canapés, as guests mingled with friends and contacts in the foodservice world. The stunning interiors gave the evening a real sense of occasion and the meal itself lived up to the classical ornate surroundings of the Music Room.
There’s nothing wrong with standing back once in a while and taking a bit of pride in your labours. After all, we Jellybeans are a proud people – we take great pride in our work, and, much like cigar-toting soldier of fortune, John “Hannibal” Smith, nothing makes us prouder than seeing a plan come together.
It’s fair to say, that as the leading foodservice agency, eating out is pretty much always top of mind for us, so it was fitting that last Thursday morning saw us heading along to the MCA’s Eating Out ‘Top of Mind’ briefing, where they showcased their decision makers’ survey along with consumer insight, 2017 forecasts and concepts to watch out for. As ever the morning managed to cram in a huge amount of information and insight, but here are my top five take-outs.
