Last night we joined over 800 people from across the grocery and convenience retail industry at the Grosvenor House to celebrate and reward retail excellence.
As a leading foodservice agency, the food-to-go market, which is predicted to grow to £23.5bn by 2022* has been top of mind at jellybean for some time (as you can see from our previous blogs: here, here, and here), so it was with great interest I sat down to hear about this unabating trend from a global perspective when I visited Lunch!
When Hospitality Action’s Lunch Box Day rolled around on Friday 22nd September, we couldn’t wait to support one of our long-term charity partners and swap our packed lunches for a jellybeangroup lunch. The foodservice pr flew into action and were soon helping promote this worth event on all our social channels.
The Arena Face2Face with Alastair Stewart is a key date in the hospitality diary and has seen some of the most influential figures in the industry put through their paces by one of ITV’s most highly regarded newsreaders. This year it was the turn of Matthew Brabin, CEO of ISS UK & Ireland. Held at The Berkeley; a stunning new venue for Arena; the proceedings began with the obligatory bubbles (along with samples from sponsors Costa Coffee and Britvic) and networking, followed by a delicious three course menu from the team at The Berkeley. Then it was onto the main event, the ‘Face2Face’ interview.
Last week, I had the pleasure of going to the Universal Cookery & Food Festival. The show is unique in the fact that it is held in a different location each year – a location chosen on its ‘cheffy’ merits, with this year’s being held in Padstow on the Cornish coast, famous for its sensational seafood which came through in the central themes of the show.
As you may have noticed we recently turned 30 and what better way to celebrate than with gin! As you’d expect from a foodservice marketing agency, we had to mark it with a marketing!
Thanks to our friends at The Gin Kitchen, jellybeantook the first batch of Dancing Dragontail Gin.
Convenience retailers rely on, trust and act on the advice of other retailers. Ask any convenience retailer and they will tell you the same. As a marketer specialising in convenience retail trade and category communications for leading food and drinks brands, reaching and influencing convenience retailers is what myself and the jellybeanteam do day in and day out. Now I could write a few thousand words here in this blog and take up a lot of your valuable time labouring the point about the rise of influencer marketing, the power of peer to peer endorsement and the role of ambassadors, but I won’t. The simple fact is… and I’ll say it again… convenience retailers, rely on, trust and act on the advice of other retailers. So, it stands to reason that food and drink brands should be really collaborating with convenience retailers and making damn sure they get retailers to be the champions of their brands.
In an unexpected part of London that I have never ventured to before, stands Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall. Recently opened and proclaimed as the biggest oriental foodhall in London, it boasts 30 kiosks offering a variety of different delights from every corner of Asia. As the leading foodservice pr agency, we felt obliged to check it out and report back on what is has to offer.
Tuesday night saw the great and the good of the sports and leisure catering world gather at Bafta to see who would be walking away with…no, not a Bafta, but one of the highly coveted Sports and Leisure Catering Awards. As the leading foodservice agency we were of course in attendance to hear from editor of SLC Magazine, Joe Bill and enjoy the comic musings of TV’s Mark Durden-Smith, as well as a surprise interview with Roy Westwood from Levy Restaurants (who run the catering at the O2). With sponsors set-up around the reception room, guests mingled whilst trying everything from pastries to pizza, washed down with some cold brew coffee cocktails – delicious!
Let me preface this blog by saying that I love dairy products, and specifically I love cheese. Creamy pasta with oozing cheese, pizza with a perfect melting mozzarella, and the ultimate in indulgence, the cheese board – I can’t get enough of the stuff.
Yesterday evening I was delighted to attend Arena’s latest event which strayed from the norm, being based in the informal setting of Mercato Metropolitano. Andrea Rasca, the founder opened up the event explaining his vision and hopes of creating a sustainable ‘shopping mall’ with a strong community feel.
What was your favourite subject at school?
I really enjoyed art.
What was your best subject at school?
English.
What was your first ever job?
Working for a local bakery in Bookham – I got to take home a lot of doughnuts.
What was your worst ever job?
Packaging charity Christmas cards in the middle of summer…
What was the first music single you bought?
It was probably Spice Girls or East 17. My music taste has definitely improved since then!
Most entrepreneurial thing you have ever done?
I like to bake and word of mouth has led to me making quite a few of my friend’s wedding cakes. It’s always such a pleasure to be involved in their special day.
What is the funniest thing you have done to a work colleague?
Oh I can’t think of anything, I’m not much of a prankster!
What is your motto in life?
Everything happens for a reason.
If you were allowed one dream perk what would it be?
Oo it would be a house that magically cleans itself.
What’s your favourite movie and why?
Empire Records! It’s just a fun story about working in a record store and has a great soundtrack.
If you could pick a celebrity to join the agency who would it be and why?
My favourite cake maker Peggy Porcshen, she is so talented. If she joined the agency I would be able to get so many great baking tips and hopefully she’d bring in some delicious cakes too.
What luxury would you have on your desert island?
A huge jar of peanut butter.
What animal best reflects your personality and why?
A bunny rabbit – full of energy bouncing around the place, but if startled I do a good impression of a rabbit caught in the headlights.
If you could be anybody dead or alive who would that be?
Clare Bowen, she plays Scarlett on Nashville. I would love to be able to sing like her, such an incredible voice.
Convenience is going through an unprecedented level of change and competition is tougher than perhaps ever before. This really does go to show just how important and relevant convenience has become and will continue to be in all of our lives.
Keeping up to speed with this ever-changing market is no easy feat. At jellybeanour food and drink clients rely on us to help them understand, interpret and navigate this complex market so that together we can fully maximise their trade marketing and sales potential.
So what better time and place to share some convenience retail truths that give us and our food and drink clients reasons to be cheerful and further confidence to continue to focus and invest in this highly entrepreneurial, buoyant and people-centric channel.
Here are our top 10 Convenience Retail Truths (inspired by the ACS Local Shop Report 2017):
1. Sales in convenience have risen by £500m in the past year alone to £38bn – which makes this sector of the economy comparable in scale to other large UK sectors like recruitment, defence, oil and gas 2. Convenience sales make up over one fifth of the total grocery market 3. By the end of 2017, sales in convenience are predicted to reach £40bn 4. Convenience store retailers have invested over £858m in the last year on improving their stores, extending their range of services available to customers and making their businesses more efficient 5. Independent convenience retailers run 74% of convenience stores in the UK. Not only are they putting their hand in their pocket to invest in their stores they are also putting in long hours, with 20% working more than 70 hours a week and 19% not taking any holiday 6. The average sales of an unaffiliated independent store is £339,685 per year and they rely on working in partnership with food and drink brands to survive and thrive 7. The average shopper visits their convenience store 3.47 times per week and their average spend is £6.28. Proximity of store, friendly & helpful staff, supporting local and long opening hours are the top four key drivers for visiting local stores 8. Food and drink products are essential to convenience shopper missions – top-up (32%), food to go (15%) and meal occasions (8%) are key reasons to visit convenience and retailers want help from suppliers to get them right 9. Chilled Foods (17.2%), Alcohol (14.3%), Canned & Packaged Grocery (7.3%) are three of the biggest categories driving sales in Symbol and Multiple convenience stores – but other categories are also critically important to ensure shopper needs are met. These include: Fruit & Veg (6.4%), Soft Drinks (5.9%), Savoury Snacks (3%) and Frozen Food (2.1%) 10. Convenience stores are offering a greater number of services which gives shoppers more reasons to shop – mobile phone top-up (83%), Lottery (79%), Post Office (21%) and even local grocery delivery (16%) show how stores are changing with the times and listening to what shoppers want
To discuss how jellybeancan help you maximise the potential of your trade marketing and grow sales in convenience then please get in touch with our Group Account Director Neil Brenson on 01372 220 814 or email neil@jellybeancreative.co.uk
You can download a full copy of the ACS Local Shop Report 2017 here.
jellybean is a leading convenience retail marketing agency. We help top brands with convenience marketing, strategy and design. If you feel we could help you with your brand then drop us a line today.
Technology influences every aspect of our lives from managing your home’s central heating to Alexa reminding us to put toilet roll on our shopping list. In more recent years’ it has made its way into the hospitality industry with ‘pay at table’ mobile payment and never having to queue at a busy bar again thanks to Weatherspoon’s app launch.
Foodie holidays don’t come much better than Padstow. With everything from pasties to Michelin stars, seafood to scones this corner of Cornwall has it all. Often Nick-named PadStein due to Rick Stein’s high profile presence with restaurants, a bar, deli and gift shop, it’s not all about Mr Stein however, as chefs including Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw, amongst others, have made their mark on this picturesque corner of the South West. Take a virtual trip to the Cornish coast with our latest jellybeanvlog, but be prepared to feel hungry!
Norway, which has been ranked highest in standard of living, life expectancy and education for the 13th consecutive year, has its perks and quirks and BIT is certainly one of them. The café first opened up in Oslo – the capital city – and is unique to Norway.
“Here is the selection of teas we have, and for the Princesses, we have hot chocolate, apple or orange juice”.
My 7-year-old niece Lucy beamed as the waiter referred to her and her 5 year-old sister as princesses and sat politely as he circled the table laying the pristine white napkins on our laps. We were at The Castle in Taunton, Somerset, for a very special afternoon tea in honour of my pregnant sister-in-law who is due at the end of September. With no one in our group ever having gone out for proper afternoon tea we didn’t fully know what to expect.
The New Forest is blessed with some of finest artisan producers and eateries in the country. The coastal market town of Lymington is home to many of them. As a leading food and drink marketing agency we went to check out some of the best places to eat and drink in this thriving foodie scene. From established fish restaurants serving locally caught crab and lobster, to a new Nordic deli serving Viking platters and a jewellery shop cafe fusion which caters for food intolerances; our team of intrepid roving reporters complied this video of our five foodie favs. And of course being Beans we had plenty of fun and lots to eat and drink along the way. Make sure you watch right to the end to see some of us in action as we visited restaurants and interviewed chefs and managers on our foodie safari. Enjoy.
In the wake of the Prudential RideLondon cycle event last week – 100 miles in and out of the capital via the Surrey Hills – I’m offering up a hellish post-watershed alternative to the children’s nursery rhyme ‘head, shoulders knees and toes’ entitled ‘head, shoulders knees and arse’. For that is the exact order of body parts hit by visitations of acute pain during the seven-hour challenge.
