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 Jellybean our 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 Jellybean can 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 Creative 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 Jellybean vlog, 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.
As the leading foodservice agency, we had the pleasure of attending the 2017 Eating Out Market Data Briefing at the prestigious M by Montcalm in Shoreditch. These MCA events provide a wealth of insightful information about the foodservice industry, such as market forecasts, menu analysis, consumer activity and current trends. It’s a great way to stay on top of what’s going on in the market – which is why Jellybean is always there.
In less than a minute, discover the industry’s most influential factors and examples of restaurants that are really hitting the mark when it comes to these foodservice mega trends.
This Sunday (30th) a team of four Jellybeans; Nick, Laura, Sam and Neil, will take part in the Prudential Ride London cycle – 100 miles around the streets of London and leafy roads of Surrey, finishing at The Mall in London some seven hours later. Every penny raised of our £4,000 target will go towards furthering the work of DEBRA as Jellybean continues its proud patronage of the charity. It’s true what they say – truly we are the foodservice marketing agency with the big heart.
When it comes to the eating out market there is a huge amount of research around consumer drivers and what motivates different demographics. Every aspect is analysed, from pre-visit online research, to the impact of special diets and the type of cuisine and format consumers are looking for.
Soaring temperatures can mean soaring sales for convenience stores. Key categories like soft drinks, ice cream, BBQ food and booze see huge spikes in sales as shoppers spend lots of time in the sunshine. However during long spells of hot weather there’s a danger that demand can out strip supply and that can be a big problem.
At Jellybean, we’re always on top of the latest goings on in the world of food and drink marketing, indeed we thrive on knowing what’s happening in the foodservice industry. To see all the latest food trends in action, a few of us Beans decided to get out there and experience for ourselves exactly what’s going on. Well… any excuse for some good food!
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in July, I found myself heading to Hoxton based pizzeria, Radio Alice, to take part in a pizza masterclass. Taking its name from a pirate radio station in 1970s Italy, Radio Alice promises pizzas done a little differently and by the end of the session I was hoping to find out why.
The Cateys is, and will always be, the Oscars of the hospitality industry. On the 4th July this year, anyone who is anyone in our industry could be found in the Great Ballroom at the Grosvenor House Hotel and this year they numbered at an impressive 1,250. Nominees, suppliers, sponsors, restaurateurs, hoteliers, contract caterers, food marketing, chefs (including Tom Kerridge, Jason Atherton, Tom Aitkens and many more) and even the odd marketer (some odder than others!) from the world of foodservice and hospitality were in attendance, catching-up with industry friends and contacts. This year the great and the good gathered once again to see who would walk away with the iconic awards and were greeted by stunning table displays from The Pig. The boutique hotel group which started off in the New Forest, not only made the Great Ballroom look amazing, bringing their rustic contemporary styling to bear on this traditional setting, but also; in conjunction with the Grosvenor’s team; pulled together a show-stopping menu for the night.
With Wimbledon upon us, everyone is getting into the spirit of the tournament. Hopes of Andy Murray retaining his title are strong and with many preparing to glue ourselves to our screens our minds have, of course, turned to food. When thinking of the quintessential food for Wimbledon, everyone thinks of strawberries and cream, an important snack for court-side viewing. It’s the lot in life of those of us who work at a food and drink agency, to often see the event catering in action as much as we do the back and forth of the ball! It is so popular, in fact, that 140,000 portions of strawberries were sold at the tournament in 2016, not to mention those eaten by viewers at home.
For over 30 years Jellybean has held its position as an award winning and leading food and drink agency, and as the founder I am delighted to announce the appointment of Susan Bolam to Managing Director from June 2017. Having set the company up in 1987 I have been closely involved in its growth and evolution across the last 3 decades and still feel passionately about this industry and company and so will continue to be involved in the business albeit in a much less visible way as CEO.
Although conferences, seminars, briefings and alike are all crucial to help keep us up to date with the latest in the food and drink market – be it foodservice, convenience or retail – as with many things, you can’t beat some real life experience. Often in the world of foodservice marketing we can become obsessed with trends and statistics, but we really need to be out there living and breathing the market to properly understand some of the dynamics and trends at play.
