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World Food

15th May 2023

EUROVISION DELIGHTS

Here at jellybean, we couldn’t agree more with the Director of Culture at Liverpool City Council Claire McColgan’s sentiments about Liverpool’s successful and truly impressive hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. She said: “Over the last two weeks in Liverpool we have shown the UK and the rest of the world that if you invest in culture properly, if you have the right people with the right attitude, magic can – and will – happen.” Hear, hear Claire. As a specialist food and drink agency, we love any opportunity to celebrate culture, music, and diversity, especially when it’s in our home country and especially when we can combine it with great food and drink. Eurovision is the perfect blend of these.

Neil Brenson

Awards & Events

10th May 2023

The 2023 UK Food & Drink Shows

As April drew to a close, the UK Food & Drink Shows, comprising National Convenience Show, Farm Shop & Deli Show, Food & Drink Expo and Foodex Manufacturing Solutions returned to the NEC, Birmingham. As the leading integrated foodservice and retail PR & marketing agency, jellybean was in attendance, not only to see the latest product innovations and hear from the luminaries lined up to speak at the shows’ stellar seminar programme, but also in a professional capacity, supporting the brilliant William Reed events team with the show press office.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

Industry News, Insight

27th April 2023

Arena Savoy Lecture

The annual Arena Savoy Lecture is a highlight of the foodservice calendar and as the leading foodservice agency we dusted off our gladrags and headed up to town to join the great and the good of the industry.

Susan Wickes

Jellybean News

26th April 2023

Jellybean Goes Green: Our Eco-Friendly Week of Fun and Action

At jellybean, we didn’t let Earth Day (April 22^nd) and Jellybean Day (also April 22^nd!) pass without a celebration. We organised an entire week filled with eco-friendly activities, and not only did we have fun we also took the time to recognise our eco accomplishments as an agency.

But we didn’t stop there! As part of our commitment to the environment, we raised funds for EarthDay.org, an organisation that drives meaningful action for our planet through various programs and campaigns.

To encourage everyone to do their bit for the environment, we asked our beans to take part in initiatives aligned with the 5 topics of Earth Day – Meat-Free, Plastic, Conservation, Art & Fashion, and Climate Change. We believe that even small actions can have a big impact, and we hope that our efforts will inspire others to join in as well.

Alvina Tysall

Awards & Events, Interesting Stuff

20th April 2023

Back to the joys of ExCeL

This year’s events and exhibitions schedule is already well underway, and it was with excitement I boarded the Elizabeth Line to Custom House for ExCeL, to visit the 27^th National & Organic Products Europe exhibition (NOPEX, April 16/17).

Guest Blogger

Insight

17th April 2023

Key Takeout’s: Eating Out Market Trends

I had the pleasure of attending the Food Innovation Solutions webinar the other week. Here are my key takeouts from the presentation featuring internal research conducted by thefoodpeople and Good Sense Research:

Abi Fraser

Awards & Events

14th April 2023

Public Sector Catering Awards 2023

The Public Sector Catering Awards (preciously the Cost Sector Catering Awards) celebrated it’s 30^th year last night at the Hilton London Metropole. The awards are the gold standard for public sector catering, which is often the unsung hero of the foodservice world. Be it catering in education, hospital catering, care home catering and even catering for the military and the prison service, public sector catering is the oft-unseen force that keeps Britain running.

Susan Wickes

Interesting Stuff, Jellybean News

11th April 2023

Bring your sandwich A game.

We are thrilled to announce our latest collaboration with world ingredients brand Cooks&Co: the Worldie Sandwich Competition. As an agency that values creativity and food, we couldn’t be more excited to lead the development and management of this culinary competition.

Neil Brenson

Insight, Interesting Stuff

8th April 2023

Type Trends for 2023

Typography. You just click the drop-down and choose something you like the look of. Simple. Serif if it’s formal, sans-serif if it isn’t. Job. Done. Well no. Typography is almost certainly the most under-appreciated element of visual design. Done well it’s amost invisible. Change the typeface on Apple, on Easyjet, on Nike or on Converse, and the entire brand is lost. It’s the tone of voice, it’s the personality, it’s the rhythm and meter of the message and it’s been that way since the earliest letterforms began organising communication, writing histories and spreading news around our world. So what should be looking out for in 2023. Read on good traveller, read on.

Andy Wickes

Charitable Work

31st March 2023

Plan International – Chance to Grow Fundraiser

For more than three decades, jellybean has been proud to support Plan International, a global children’s charity where each employee over that period has had a child sponsored for them in their name – 100 in total.

Gemma Felstead

Insight

30th March 2023

Lumina Food Strategy Forum

Earlier this month I headed into a rather rainy London for the first Lumina Food Strategy Forum of the year. With a new venue – the Everyman Broadgate – Lumina’s quarterly forums provide a fantastic insight into how the out-of-home market and consumer behaviours have changed over the previous quarter.

Gemma Felstead

Awards & Events

29th March 2023

The Contract Catering Awards 2023

Monday night may not traditionally be ‘party night’, but this Monday was the exception, as it saw the 11^th annual Contract Catering Awards held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London’s Tower Bridge. The night attracted the great and the good of the contract catering world to celebrate the best in the business, from healthcare to CSR, education to innovation, and everything in between. The night kicked-off with bubbles and networking, and then it was onto the main event – the excellent meal and the awards themselves, as the excited nominees (including my local cobbler’s nephew – long story!) would finally find out who would be walking away victorious.

Susan Wickes

Insight

17th March 2023

The Foodservice Summit 2023

The inaugural Foodservice Summit, brought about by the wonderful team behind Bread & Jam Fest, was held at the beginning of March in an effort to help foodie start-ups crack open the often misunderstood world of away from home and showcase the many opportunities that the foodservice market can offer brands. As a leading foodservice agency we were of course there and were in fact proud to be a sponsor of this exciting new addition to the foodservice calendar.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

Awards & Events

16th March 2023

A jellybean night out at The National Burger Awards

Burgers? Brooklyn Lager? SOLD. H2O once again pulled out all the stops for 2023’s National Burger Awards, paying homage to the heroes behind the grill with a gauntlet style showdown followed by an awards ceremony to honour the best burgers in the UK. The competition was fierce with over 200 entries, that were eventually whittled down to sixteen of our country’s leading burger restaurants, pubs and street food trucks.

Liv Martin

Insight

13th March 2023

The Food to Go Market 2023

The MCA Food to Go Conference is always a must attend event and this year was no exception. As a leading food and drink agency we make it our business to stay on top of the latest trends, so we were there to hear from a stella line-up of experts from market insight to operators. The day was, as ever, jam-packed, but here are our top take-outs…

Susan Wickes

Uncategorised

10th March 2023

Design Trends for 2023

Well it’s better (slightly late) than never. Art Director Luca and myself have taken a look at the most reported (and evidenced) design trends for 2023.

The findings of which proved rather sobering for me (Andy) at least, as it turns out that the design vernacular of my childhood (90’s / rave) have now returned – nothing makes you feel so old as the confirmation that your not-so-long-ago childhood is now a fit subject for nostalgia.

Andy Wickes

Interesting Stuff, Jellybean News, Plant-Based

7th March 2023

My Favourite Vegan Dishes

To start the new year on a high and to tackle my first resolution, I challenged myself to Veganuary. Alongside 700,000 others, I signed up to go vegan for January 2023, in hopes of improving my diet and doing my part for the animals and environment.
The month was a great success, and as February rolled around, I was filled with a real sense of achievement. Going forward, I’m committed to incorporating more plant-based foods into my lifestyle and making substitutes where and when I can – “Veganuary is more than just a pledge”!
Here are the dishes I’ll be continuing to enjoy throughout the rest of 2023…

Abi Fraser

Charitable Work

24th February 2023

Fairtrade Fortnight 2023 – help save the planet (and our most-loved foods)

Both consumers and brands have the power to create real change, and by examining our own buying choices, we can help to make our world a fairer and more ethical place. This Fairtrade Fortnight (27th February – 12th March) is about spreading a simple message – making the small switch to Fairtrade supports producers in protecting the future of some of our most-loved food and the planet.

Alvina Tysall

Insight

17th February 2023

Government Plans for Public Sector Catering Met with Outrage

News that the Government plans to centralise regional buying and distribution agreements across food and catering supplies to appoint one single ‘super supplier’ for schools, hospitals, care homes, local authorities and developed administrations, has sent shockwaves through the foodservice industry. The plan which seems to be at best ill-advised (if advised at all) and at worse, a step towards a monopoly has been met with criticism across the board, as industry experts, suppliers and wholesalers air their concerns at the lack of consultation.

Susan Wickes

Jellybean News

6th February 2023

Six Nations 2023: A Culinary Clash of Rugby Titans

The 2023 Six Nations Championship got off to a thrilling start at the weekend, with Scotland delivering a stunning performance to defeat England in the Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham, while Ireland dominated Wales in Cardiff on the opening day. Italy’s bravery and determination almost saw them clinch a famous Six Nations win against reigning champions France, but just missed out by a narrow margin.

Neil Brenson