We recently attended the HIM Future of Convenience 2019 event and spent a fascinating day immersed in the exciting and ever-changing world of convenience retail. We heard from an array of speakers from retailers, suppliers and industry experts.
Today marks the official launch of an exciting new jellybean’ platform and service for challenger brands wanting to take-off in the food and drink market. JellyPad has been created especially for innovative and disruptive brands and offers a suite of essential food PR & marketing services from our expert team who have a wealth of experience and a proven track-record in launching and growing new food and drink brands.
January has a canny reputation for making us all feel a bit doom and gloom. Christmas is all but a distant memory, jeans are twenty inches too tight and temperatures are twenty degrees too low. At such a time, positive mental attitude is key; if we look for things to bring us joy, we’re going to find them, right? Equally, if we look for an excuse to feel miserable, let me tell you, we’re going to feel miserable. This January, I have been determined to feel the joy. Let me tell you about an initiative I have encouraged my fellow beans to join me in supporting, this month…
Hot off the press, the B2B Agency Benchmarking Report for 2019 has been issued and I am delighted to announce that Jellybean is ranked 57th overall (so top 60) for all UK B2B agencies and is in 33rd place in the top Integrated B2B agencies in the UK. Drilling deeper we are in the top 25 agencies with less than 50 employees. How proud I am of the hardworking and dedicated team at jellybeanwho make this business what it is.
Edinburgh, the home of Haggis, Whisky (no, not the office dog) and the Loch Ness Monster. What better way to spend the lead up to Christmas than enjoying all the sights and foodie delights Edinburgh has to offer by fully immersing ourselves in everything festive. Hannah Burchell of Hospitality Marketing Agency jellybeanreports back from north of the wall…
As Great Britain faces the challenges surrounding business and economic planning and the impacts of the political and social unknown, jellybeancan be sure of one project that is close to our hearts which definitely knows where it is heading. We are now 6 months into our Safe Schools Project in the Gambella region in Ethiopa and I’m delighted to report that Plan International has made some important progress, often against the odds.
Veganuary is here, with every man and his dog jumping on the vegan bang wagon, it’s hard to avoid this upgrade to the standard ‘New Year, New You’ start to 2019.
The Jellybean Safe Schools project in the Gambella region of Ethiopia is progressing and we are look forward to construction commencing early in 2019. I am delighted that our contribution will be helping people like Sarah* whose harrowing story is shared below. Initiatives like this not only help refugee children get into school but also help their parents get an education too through the Community Learning Hubs which provide numeracy and literacy support, life skills training, and peace-building initiatives.
Thanks to MCA Insight and HIM for the fantastic and informative Food Strategy Forum last week. The new afternoon session allowed us to enjoy a fabulous lunch at the Soho Hotel before settling in to listen to the MCA team taking us through their 2018 summary insights into the Out of Home market performance and Foodservice Delivery.
For four days in December you can find pretty much any celeb chef worth their salt in Padstow, Cornwall. Often referred to as ‘Padstein’ due to Rick Stein’s prevalence, for the four days of the Padstow Christmas Festival the rest of them also get to have their share of the limelight. As a regular visitor to this foodie haunt of the South West, this was the first time we had ventured down for the Christmas Festival. The weather wasn’t quite what we had ordered, but despite the high winds and torrential rain that buffered the marquees, the festival lived up to the hype with an incredible line-up of chefs and local suppliers in attendance, not to mention the fireworks, live music, Santa fun run and cycle, lantern procession, Christmas market and the Just Add Beer Cook Book from Sharps Brewery in aid of one of our favourite charities Hospitality Action.
As a leading food and drink agency we are regular attendees at Arena networking events. This December their Christmas event was long-awaited, as it marked not only the unofficial start to Christmas (in my humble opinion), but also the very first function to be held at the Mandarin Oriental since its fire and refurbishment. As well as the draw of the opulent surroundings of the Mandarin Oriental, the running order of the day boasted a presentation from Peter Backman and a talk from Chef Patron of Lympstone Manor, Michael Caines MBE.
Just as many brands are getting to grips with engaging millennials, Generation Z is emerging. Who are they? GZ are people who were born from 1995 onwards (13- 23 year old) – and they are starting to make their presence known as they enter the workforce and begin to earn their own income.
Not all Christmas sandwiches are created equal and here to separate the wheat from the chaff are Jellybean’s Group Account Director for retail trade and food and drink marketing, Neil Brenson and Foodservice PR Director, Nick Clancy with their dual verdicts. In all, eight sandwiches have been put through their paces, sourced from Eat, Pret, M&S, Boots, Sainsbury’s, Costa, Gregg’s and Waitrose.
The tickets sold out weeks ago, but on Monday jellybeanheaded to the beautiful Chino Latino, Park Plaza for a ‘Michelin starred evening with Raymond Blanc OBE and his Protégés’.
The FSM Awards recognises the very best of the contract catering world across its diverse sectors, from workplace to education catering, across everything from management to chef skills, innovation to CSR. The glittering night was compered by Mark Durden-Smith who it seemed had trawled through everyone’s LinkedIn and company websites to find out some of the most embarrassing facts about them (all of which was taken in good humour – thankfully).
For over 31 years jellybeanhas preached the mantra of a fully integrated approach to communications, where we deploy complementary elements from each discipline to maximum effect for our clients. And to ensure we stay ahead in a fast paced, highly competitive industry, we continue to invest in training and development of our people, all of whom have a deep-rooted passion for food and drink and an in-depth understanding of the market. I am often asked what sets jellybeanapart from other agencies and I still maintain it is our integrated approach, but above and beyond that it is our people, individuals who are encouraged to be individuals, people who really know their stuff, care deeply about what they do and whose clients love to work with. These values and the deliverables they bring to our clients business are highly valued, which is why we have some brands that have worked with us for over 25 years.
Every year MCA Insight holds its marketing in food service conference allowing food service marketing people to gather and hear from industry leading lights, as well as network and exchange learnings and ideas.
As we lurch awkwardly towards 2019, forcing it to immediately evacuate itself in fear and repulsion, we examine just some of the über trends that definitely won’t make the headlines in the coming food and drink year.
Last night we were lucky enough to be invited to Festival 30, the 30th birthday celebrations of The Russell Partnership – industry leading foodservice consultants and long-time client of Jellybean.
Every year during August Edinburgh transforms itself into one of the most exciting places on earth to be if you like live comedy. Every space that can accomodate an act, from the tiniest alleyway to the largest auditorium is taken over by comics, poets, magicians and performance artist young and old, established and unknown – all of them united by the ambition to hone their material over the next 30 days.
