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18th April 2016

Making that dream come true

Food Service Design - La Mere Brazier This last weekend my brothers and I finally made our dad’s long held ambition come true.

Back in the 1970’s, and more than once, my father (now 85) and mother along with friends made several attempts to visit the fabled “La Mère Brazier” restaurant in Lyon. For nearly a century politicians and well-known figures from a wide range of fields have flocked to the tables of this Lyon restaurant that has become an institution.

Opened in 1921 by Eugénie Brazier – the first female chef to have been awarded, in 1933, three Michelin stars twice, it now holds two michelin stars under chef Mathieu Viannay, winner of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France craftsman award in 2004.

Chef made us very welcome as he introduced himself and listened to our story of the four Brazier boys finally visiting Mère Brazier. His task was made more difficult by two being vegetarian, not me I hasten to add! – (how could I when working for the leading foodservice agency!) Neither veggie brother had eaten at such an establishment before, knowing hâute cuisine chefs often don’t cater to their type.

Mathieu rose to the occasion however, by providing a culinary experience that caused my elder vegetarian brother to exclaim at the end of the evening that it was the best meal he had ever eaten… truly magnifique.

Dad and I had the ‘menu dégustation’ and we were delighted by several amuse bouche – one, foie gras coated in beetroot jelly, was an absolute delight.

There followed spider crab with a citrus fruit foam, then scallops with candied lemon, kumquat and spinach, then fillet of haddock with courgette, asparagus, Cul Noir pork with a sorrel bouillon.
My brothers meanwhile were delighted with cheese soufflé with two truffle oils, french onion soup and wild mushroom tartlettes.

Dad and I then had roast pigeon, potato and apple mille-feuille with a Calvados jus. There followed a selection of cheeses, a pre-dessert of madelin soaked in liqueur with a delicious ice cream, finishing with a floating island of rhubarb and milk jam… served along with mini lemon meringue that was just wonderful along with a mini coffee bean chocolate patisserie.

My brothers shared a magnificent chocolate tarte with rice ice cream and a patisserie creation with biscuit crumb and ice cream that sadly nobody can remember what it was, other than absoltely delightful!

A wonderful weekend, made even more special by spending time with my family, playing golf and playing Risk – a family game from our youth.

So sorry my other brother couldn’t be there, but then Australia to Lyon would have been a weekend trip too far.

All credit to Eurostar and TGV for getting us there and back in perfect time – we really couldn’t fault their service either. A weekend to remember for all time and finally dad made it!

So, what did you do at the weekend?

http://lamerebrazier.com

Jellybean Creative is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

14th April 2016

Tea Time

Foodservice PR - Afternoon Tea With my upcoming nuptials fast approaching, my mum decided it was time to take a break from the stress of planning and organised an afternoon tea treat at The Landmark, London.

Set in the Winter Garden, a soaring glass-roofed atrium in the centre of the hotel, the quintessentially English afternoon tea kicked off with an elegant array of sandwiches – classic cucumber, organic egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, free-range corn-fed chicken with tarragon crème fraîche and Lapsang Souchong smoked salmon. Then it was on to the freshly baked raisin and apple scones with Cornish clotted cream and five different jams, followed by a selection of miniature desserts such as raspberry macaroon and spiced carrot cake – all rounded off with Champagne of course!

It was a truly special afternoon and got me thinking me thinking – why do we hold afternoon tea in such high regard?

A British institution since 1840, afternoon tea has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with the organisers of Afternoon Tea Week reporting a 70% increase in bookings since 2013^. It’s said that seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna Maria Stanhope, ‘invented’ afternoon tea to fill the void between lunch at noon and dinner at 8pm. While it gradually became popular with her friends, as well as those outside her social circle, it wasn’t considered a formal event until Queen Victoria introduced a ‘tea reception’ with up to 200 guests between 4pm and 7pm.

Today, it’s considered a special event, often used as part of a celebration with friends and family. One thing’s for sure, it was certainly an extravagant and sophisticated ‘mini-hen’!

For more information about The Landmark’s afternoon tea, visit www.landmarklondon.co.uk

^ http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/blog/the-afternoonteacouk-team/all-about-afternoon-tea/

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

7th April 2016

Arena Savoy Lecture 2016

Foodservice Marketing - The Arena Lecture 2016 As the leading foodservice agency we will always be found at the regular Arena events, keeping abreast of the latest news and gossip and networking with friends and colleagues. This Monday was no exception, as we headed to the Savoy to hear from Ken McMeikan, CEO of Brakes. The Arena speakers are of course always very informative, but to hear from the man at the helm of Brakes in the wake of the Sysco acquisition was certainly something of a draw! The evening began with bubbles and a selection of delicious canapés and then it was through to the River Room for the main event.

Ken McMeikan was introduced by Andy Kemp of Bidvest (which must have been a little strange for them both as direct competitors), who outlined his distinguished career which started in the Royal Navy and progressed through senior roles with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Greggs and then of course onto Brakes where he took up the role of CEO in March 2013. Then it was time for Ken to take to the stage and address the audience. It was a polished and well researched piece, the key take-outs of which are below:

1) Brakes – Their market share is 21% in the UK, 6% in France and 14% in Sweden, serving 200,000 customer sites across Europe. They combined their IT systems and are now completely multi-temp having invested £125m in infrastructure. 2015 was a big year with the purchase of Fresh Direct (the national fresh food wholesaler) and Davigel from Nestle which extended their market share in Spain, Belgium and Luxemburg, and doubled their French market share. Then this year, having been on the brink of floating, they were at the very last minute purchased by US food giant Sysco in a $3.1bn deal which will complete in July and which is likely to signal further growth for Brakes as a pan European player offering further scale and efficiencies to the business.

2) Eating Out – Over the past 30 years the market has seen excellent growth at around a 3.5% compound annual growth rate with continued growth forecast. The growth in eating out is being driven by population growth which is predicted to increase by over 4.5m over the next decade, whilst a record 12.5m women are in work, creating 60% of duel income households with less time to cook. Also the influx of tourism which peaked in January 2016 with a record 2.5m visitors to the UK – over 6% more than in 2015. Indeed in 2015 it was estimated that there are 1million more adults eating out and that more people are eating out more often than ever before, but interestingly spending less as eating out becomes a lower ticket meal occasion, with generation Y key to this growth in eating out. And when eating out, 38% of adults say that food quality is the most important factor when choosing an outlet. Sadly, there is still an incredible failure rate for food businesses as 2014 saw 22,000 new business open but a staggering 20,000 close representing a high churn rate. It is of course still a positive growth, but more is needed to help businesses thrive in this sector as foodservice offers real promise for growth over and above retail.

3) Growth Trends – Well unsurprisingly Ken identified fresh produce as a growth trend (having bought Fresh Direct) which links in with the consumer demand for high quality. Also, fast casual and food on the go, along with locally sourced products and the demand for provenance which they are focusing on via their 25 regional distribution hubs. In Scotland alone they currently buy £75m worth of Scottish sourced products and intend to grow this to £120m by 2020.

4) Closing the Gap – Ken believed that when he started with Brakes that foodservice was 10-15 years behind retail but believes the gap is closing and will continue to lessen as foodservice companies make the most of advances in technology including ecommerce, data analytics around tracking orders and the rise of internet penetration which is forecast to hit 7.6billion in 2020.

5) Three Risks – He also identified three key risks to the industry: cost challenges, skills shortage and obesity. The first is of course top of mind with the National Living Wage taking the over-twenty-fives onto £7.20 per hour with a view to rise to £9 per hour by 2020. It is estimated that this may result in the loss of 60,000 jobs across the hospitality sector. These unintended consequences are something he believes could have been avoided with greater government consultation with businesses and may very well result in hikes in prices. The skills gap has long been talked about and with 51% of catering colleges seeing a downturn in enrolment and 11,000 chefs needed by 2020 (according to the recent People 1st report) and 870,000 staff needed to simply replace those leaving the industry there is likely to be a substantial experience gap on the horizon. It could be that the industries potential growth could be limited by lack of people and relevant skills, therefore we need to attract good people into the industry by making a career in foodservice more enticing, which it should be as few industries offer such an opportunity for creativity and entrepreneurialism. Finally health and nutrition is key both to our nation and our sector with 400,000 deaths in the EU attributed to excess weight. Six out of ten of us are overweight and over 30% of children are overweight or obese. The sugar tax has of course hit the headlines and personal accountability must play some part, but Ken argues the industry must do its part and help to reduce hidden sugar in food much like they have done with salt and trans fats. Companies must take a proactive role and help us overcome the obesity crisis.

6) Meals & More – Ken believes passionately that businesses should help the less fortunate. It is true that ‘hunger is born of poverty and inequality not food scarcity’, as global food production is 1.5 times enough to feed us and globally the statistics on the amount of food wasted is terrifying at around a third. In the UK 1 in 4 children will only have a hot meal in school which highlights the importance of the free school meals programme. However, in school holidays children are going hungry which is one of the reasons Brakes has launched its charity initiative, ‘Meals & More’ offering regional clubs to feed children after school and in the holidays. In September 2014 it had raised £370,000 through 31 suppliers to help feed hungry children who for whatever reason were not getting the right food to help them thrive. If you’re interested in supporting this initiative you can find out more here: www.makelunch.org.uk/blog/meals-more

7) What I love – When it comes to foodservice there’s a lot to love, but Ken picked out these key points: the most amazing people, a heritage of food innovation leading retail, changing consumers experience’ with food from around the world and helping to build the high street brands of tomorrow. All in all a dynamic and exciting industry.

8) Four Predictions – The UK eating out of home market will grow to be more like the US, accounting for over 50% of all food consumed (in 2014 it accounted for 42%). Casual dining will continue to grow and help to make our high streets more attractive. Under 30s / Gen Y will be hugely important to market success and technology will be key to reaching them. Finally, (and perhaps this is a hint at the future of Brakes?) Ken sees more consolidation in the market ahead as bigger players buy up smaller ones to generate growth.

Ken then went on to face some challenging questions from the floor where we saw his personality and quick thinking come to the fore. His opinions? Well on Brexit, unsurprisingly for the CEO of a pan-European company he’d prefer to avoid uncertainty and stay in (as the thought of renegotiating all those trading agreements isn’t an attractive one) – but with no crystal ball it’s too close to call. On leadership, the way ahead is to listen to colleagues and customers and develop a plan for leaders and future leaders around the outputs (as they have). On procurement vs. quality, purchasing well is key as customers want the best price without compromising on service, quality and innovation (easy said!). On the future of foodservice, he sees technology playing a greater role in the kitchen with gains in efficiency from using pre-prepared food and even robots for basic tasks. And finally on the Sysco purchase, he feels Brakes would have suited floating well and have offered an opportunity for investors to buy into a growth sector but the Sysco synergies and cultural match is a good one and he sees a bright future with increased scale and opportunity ahead.

Having digested Ken’s food for thought it was time to enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by the team at the Savoy and finished off with an impressive cheese board from sponsors Futura Foods. Well done to Lorraine and the team at Arena on another outstanding event and to Ken on an informative talk at a very interesting time!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

7th April 2016

A Birthday Treat

Foodservice PR Agency - Brooklands Hotel and Spa visited by Katie Hinksman Last week marked my Mum’s Birthday so it felt only right to have a girly day out (a bit of a treat for myself too!). Having booked Brooklands Hotel and Spa for the afternoon and evening, we set off around midday. Ensuring we wouldn’t be hungry before our relaxing afternoon, we decided to make a pit-stop at Fego’s Caffe in Cobham, en route. Our lunch was healthy and delicious as my Mum opted for the Mediterranean Brunch (grilled halloumi, avocado, peppers, tomato concasse, spinach and mushrooms on toasted poppy & rye sourdough, topped with a poached egg and rocket, drizzled with pesto) and I decided on the Sweet Chilli Chicken Salad which was equally as tasty! I would highly recommend popping in for breakfast or lunch if you are ever in the area but be sure to book if there are more than two of you as it’s usually very busy.

Leaving with satisfied stomachs, we headed to Brooklands Hotel and Spa which was just ten minutes down the road. On arrival, we were greeted with a warm welcome and given our schedule for the afternoon/evening…exciting! Once in our robes, we made full use of the spa facilities whilst overlooking the Mercedes Benz race track which was quite something. After a few hours of pure relaxation including two treatments and a sleep in the meditation room, it was time for our afternoon tea and we were definitely ready for a sweet treat! Our afternoon tea included finger sandwiches, a selection of four sweet cakes, chocolate & blackcurrant milkshakes and homemade chocolate scones all of which we thoroughly enjoyed but only managed to finish half of what was in front of us!

All in all it was a great day of indulgence and I would definitely return, so for more information on Fego’s Caffe in Cobham, check out their website. And, if you are ever in need of an indulgent treat then Brooklands Hotel & Spa is the perfect day out.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

6th April 2016

A Foodie Up North – Day One

Foodservice Marketing - A Foodie Up North This long awaited weekend just gone, was a perfect blend of friends, food, cocktails, beer and more food! On our 7th annual city break, six girlfriends and I took the super speedy Virgin train to Manchester, to spend time catching up, having laughs, drinks, and eating in some fabulous places.

No sooner had we jumped off the train and dumped our bags in the apartment, we headed out the door to Almost Famous in the Northern Quarter which was very handily five doors down from us. Now one of four restaurants, all based in the North, Almost Famous certainly appears to be making a mark in the casual dining arena. With a quick check on the website, we established the rules:

“WE DON’T TAKE RESERVATIONS—IT’S BURGERS. CHILL OUT AND TURN UP.”

You could be forgiven for missing it, just an A-Board on the High Street, with a doorway revealing some seriously steep stairs, but as it’s ‘One to Watch’ according to insight experts Horizons’ 2015 report, my eagle eye noticed the sign and in we went.

There is nothing classic about the menu in Almost Famous. The ultimate in great comfort food with a twist. Fries come topped with Bacon Rain, marmite butter or even popping candy. Burger fillings go from the sublime (shoestring onions, ‘Bacon Bacon Mayo’ and frazzles) to the ridiculous (Cheerios and Strawberry Pop Tarts). As my adventurous side doesn’t stretch to pop tarts, I selected the Johnny Mac – the perfect burger in my mind, topped with a Mac‘n’Cheese Ball.

Foodservice Marketing - A Foodie Up North - Cocktails and Menu With burgers remaining the No.1 item on casual dining menus* it’s little wonder that the twisted up menu @AlmostFamousNQ is a hit. Take a look at the menu, and if ever you are in Manchester, Liverpool or Leeds, rock up and test your taste buds!

*Source: Horizons Menu Trends Report. February 2016

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Cass Clanachan

5th April 2016

Cost Sector Catering Awards 2016

Foodservice Marketing Agency - The Cost Sector Catering Awards 2016 The Cost Sector Catering Awards at the Hilton London Metropole took place last week, celebrating the fantastic work and achievements of many an unsung hero in the catering industry over the last year. The evening began with an inspiring speech from Springboard UK’s Anne Pierce, followed by a fantastic short video showcasing the charity’s incredible work in the hospitality and leisure industry. As your leading foodservice marketing agency, we were in attendance to bring you the highlights of a glittering night.

The awards were hosted by comedienne Kerry Godliman so the evening got off to a very entertaining start. Eighteen awards were given out on the night to very worthy winners including Petty Officer Logistician Daryl Hall, Royal Navy for the Armed Forces Award and Owen Sidaway, National Offender Management Services for the Public Sector Award.

In addition, two very special Lifetime Achievement Awards were given out on the night. The Contract Caterer Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Hobart Cooking Solutions went to Sean Valentine from Bartlett Mitchell, and the Public Sector Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Hobart UK Warewashing was awarded to Ministry of Defence’s head of food, Nigel Shepherd. Congratulations to all the winners.

Our friends at The Craft Guild of Chefs were deservingly recognised too, with an Industry Contribution Award, and Myles Bremner, director of the School Food Plan, receiving an award for Special Contribution to the industry.

Over 700 guests from all corners of the catering industry enjoyed a delicious gluten-free three course menu, and a little wine was had too! To top it all, the generosity of the guests on the night resulted in over £6,000 being raised for Springboard UK – a great night all round!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Cass Clanachan

1st April 2016

Trump to Blow a Hole in Beer Market with £250,000 Kickstarter Campaign

Donald's Trumps He may be viewed as unwelcome in the UK by some, but if one Somerset micro brewer has his way, Donald Trump is set to make his presence felt through a controversial new high strength, methane-infused bitter.

Jed Pendleton, owner of Boon Breweries in Yeovil, is using popular crowd funding site, Kickstarter, in an attempt to raise £250,000 to fund a line of limited edition ‘Donald’s Trumps’ beer.

The new brew is set to contain the methane of the flaxen-haired megalomaniac billionaire – an unintentional by-product given off through the sheer intensity of his rousing public speaking – the resultant gas having been stealthily collected by an ‘anonymous aide’.

Contrary to modern brewing practices, methane is the key to a new fermentation process, created by Pendleton and it is hoped – with the addition of Trump’s gas – that the new bitter will be the most carbonated, high-strength ever bottled.

Said Jed Pendleton: “Yes, it goes against everything ever written about beer and, yes, it’s unconventional, but I don’t care – modern day micro brewing is about getting yourself noticed and doing something edgy and fresh.

“We see Donald Trump in the news every single day, saying something stupid, offending people, not really understanding the world around him, but at no point has anyone stopped to say ‘what if we could harness his farts for a new beer’. Questions need to be asked about why that is.”

Donald Trump - Donald's Trumps - New High Strength Methane Infused Beer Unbeknownst to the perma-tanned magnate and TV star-turned-tub-thumping-tyrant, Pendleton has been in talks with one of Trump’s closest US aides, codenamed ‘Deep Guff’ who initially noticed the ‘eerie’ release during an early Alabama caucus and has been collecting the gas via Tupperware ever since ‘for insurance purposes’.

The aide is, according to Pendleton, in receipt of 10 metric tonnes of gas and willing to ‘talk serious business’.

“Apparently he ‘off-gasses’ like one of those futuristic mattresses or a traction engine at a steam fair – he’s always at it! Now is the time to collect his gusts and profit from him before he gets the nuclear codes and blasts us all to Bethlehem.” Added Jed.

Pendleton is looking to raise £250,000 via Kickstarter – £150,000 for the brewing and bottling process, £50,000 for a specially constructed, hermetically sealed gas transportation unit and £50,000 in air fares.

If successful, ‘Donald’s Trumps’ would be brewed, bottled and available to the on-trade in time for November’s Presidential elections, with stakeholders promised a four pack of the new beer as recompense for donations.

To find out more about Boon Brewery and donate to their Kickstarter project, click here: www.kickstarter.com/boonbrew

Nick Clancy

31st March 2016

Vauxhall’s Best Kept Secret

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Boqueria Tapas If there’s one thing my Dad and I can agree on it’s our love of good food. He’s a Microsoft user and loves sport, while I’m a Mac user who would always choose a bit of light retail therapy over watching a ball get kicked around. But we always agree on the importance of high quality, scrumptious food and we strive to find the best independent restaurants in our local area to share with each other. As I’m now working at a foodservice marketing agency, this seemed like a good way to combine work and pleasure.

When my 22nd birthday rolled around, my Dad and I decided to try out Boqueria restaurant in Vauxhall. Named after Barcelona’s most acclaimed Food Market and serving the most wonderful tapas, this is perhaps Vauxhall’s best kept secret.

As a self-proclaimed cheese connoisseur, I knew I had to have the Selección de quesos – a mix of yummy Manchego, Goat’s cheese and Cabrales with a sprinkling of nuts and grapes. This was followed by a number of delicious sharing plates including: Croquetas de Jamón y pollo (Croquettes with Iberian ham and chicken), Chorizo ibérico (Iberian chorizo) and Pan con ali-oli (Bread with ali-oli sauce).

The star of the show was definitely the Cochinillo asado – suckling pig with sweet potato crisps, apple sauce & lemon sorbet. This is a must-try for anyone visiting the Boqueria Restaurant, with the lemon sorbet being a perfect pallet cleanser mid-meal.

If you are a tapas-loving foodie or a supporter of local independent restaurants like my Dad and I, Boqueria is a breath of fresh air. Tucked away in the outskirts of Vauxhall and far away from the cry of the city, it provides a truly sensational experience.

Website: www.boqueriatapas.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/BoqueriaTapas
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BoqueriaTapas

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

31st March 2016

Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea

Foodservice Digital Agency - The Mad Hatters Tea Party Last weekend my boyfriend took me to London for a special birthday treat weekend to celebrate my 23rd birthday. After a lovely stay at The Mondrian Hotel (delicious food, amazing cocktails and fab staff) we made our way to the Sanderson Hotel for afternoon tea… mad hatter style.

From the minute we arrived it felt as if we had been transported straight into Alice’s fairy tale world. The surprises were never ending – from sugar served in a musical jewellery box to ice cream in flowerpots with chocolate soil, there were so many little touches that made the whole experience special.

Whilst sipping champagne and mocktails, we were given a choice of weird and wonderful teas – English breakfast and chamomile were nowhere to be seen. Ash picked an orange and chocolate blend, and I went for green tea infused with mango and passion fruit – all named after Alice in Wonderland characters and served in huge teapots.

For our first course we were given a plate of savoury delights including mini croque monsieurs, cucumber sandwiches (with bright green bread!), a salmon, quail egg and caviar scotch egg and a crab and herb éclair which were all delicious.

Then it was onto the sweet – three tiers of beautifully decorated mini cakes and sweet treats. The attention to detail was incredible and they really did look too good to eat! A few of my favourites were ‘The White Rabbit’s pocket watch macaroon’, ‘Alice’s drink me potion’ and ‘The Queen of Hearts Oreo cookie soldier’ although they all tasted amazing.

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love cake and so I was in my absolute element. To my delight (although probably not so good for my waistline) I was even given an extra piece of cake as it was my birthday.

It’s safe to say we both loved our Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea experience. If you’re looking for a quirky afternoon tea experience for a special occasion, I would highly recommend it.

For more information about the Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea, visit their website.
Twitter – @SandersonLDN
Instagram – sandersonlondon

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice digital agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

23rd March 2016

Horizon's Annual Briefing 2016 Ten Top Take Outs

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Horizons 2016 As the leading foodservice marketing agency we were lucky enough to be invited along to the ‘invitation only’ Annual Horizons Briefing, at the world’s largest firm of lawyers, Dentons. As ever the great and the good of the foodservice world gathered to hear what Horizons FS had to say on the state of the ‘out of home’ nation. The day kicked off as usual with a confidential talk from a leading economist on the wider macro setting which of course influences the foodservice market. Then it was on to the specifics of the out of home market. There was as ever a huge amount of information to digest from Peter and his team, not to mention the pearls of wisdom from M Restaurants, GBK and Dentons, as part of the panel discussion and Q&A session, but here are my top ten takeouts from the day…

1) The foodservice market (based on food and beverage sales) rose to around £47.9bil in 2015 and is growing at around 2%, taking us back to similar levels seen in 2008 – an expanding market at a slower rate of growth. But there are, as Horizons put it ‘stones in the road’ to bear in mind such as the slowdown in the economy, consumers becoming more cautious, Brexit, national living wage, rising rents and business rates and even England’s future football performance! However, the long term forecast is positive with 2020 set to see the market hit £56.1bn

2) QSR, Hotels and Pubs (and education) are doing well with strong growth, whilst staff catering, healthcare and services are in decline. Food and drink sales in QSR, restaurants and hotels are forecast to grow in 2016. As for overall winners and losers, on the winning side are pizza and pasta restaurants, pub restaurants, coffee shops, sandwich shops and of all things, holiday camps (!), whilst the losers (lowest performers) are tenanted and leased pubs, airlines, off shore, fish & chips / kebab shops and traditional cafes.

3) The smaller casual dining chains are driving innovation in the market with ones to watch like Creams, Turtle Bay and Filmore & Union.

4) Discounting and vouchers are still around but operators are far more savvy, using more sophisticated techniques to drive brand loyalty via online marketing or brand apps and clever vouchering to drive traffic in downtime or to upsell around occasions.

5) After some dips, eating out penetration is back to 72% where it was back in June 2012. Burgers remain no.1 on menus, whilst healthier food to go is also on the rise demonstrating how consumers want to be good but only sometimes!

6) New twists on old favourites are coming through on menus, such as Lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, arctic roll, toasties and even popping candy. Whilst Wagyu beef, cholla buns and chilli jam fillings along with wellbeing superfoods and gluten free options seem to be cropping up more and more.

7) The trend seems to be for acquisition, whether it’s Sysco buying up Brakes or larger high street brands to buy up the smaller ones. However, bucking the trend and still independent are ‘bubbling under brands’ like Shoryu Ramen, Almost Famous Burgers, Tootoomoo, Snowflake Luxury Gelato and M Restaurants.

8) As far as operator trends go, coffee shops, Mexican fast casual, Italian casual dining, sandwich bars, healthy quick service and juice bars seem to be doing well. London is still key but other large conurbations offer eating out ‘hot spots’.

9) The restaurant market could learn a thing or two from the airlines when it comes to things like being able to choose your table prior to dining and re-marketing online to traffic that has visited their site and then shops around online. Whilst with the rise of the likes of Deliveroo, restaurants need to make dining-in attractive to drive bookings by offering a real experience, differentiating it from the delivered option whilst still benefiting from the incremental sales ‘delivery’ can offer.

10) Finally a word of wisdom on menu innovation from a very experienced operator – simply put…try stuff and see if it sells – sounds fair enough to me!

So in summary for 2016, as Peter Backman puts it, ‘There are lots of opportunities, but also plenty to stumble on!’
#HrznsAB

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

21st March 2016

Easter and the Egg

foodservice pr agency - easter and the egg Here’s something we all know: Us Brits love chocolate. In world league tables of per capita consumption, the UK takes joint fourth place behind Switzerland, Germany and Austria. On average, each person in Britain eats approximately 9.5kg of chocolate per year, and Easter sees consumption of the sweet stuff rocket. Figures show across the UK, approximately 80 million chocolate eggs are sold, with Easter chocolate sales making up 10% of our annual chocolate spend.

The origin of the Easter egg is often lost in the chocolate frenzy, but Easter is as we know a Christian festival which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Eggs have traditionally been used to illustrate new life, just as Jesus began his new life on Easter Sunday after his resurrection. Others however, believe the new life celebrated refers to the coming of the new season, Spring.

So, now we’re on the same page regarding why we have chocolate eggs at Easter – the egg symbolises new life, whether that is a religious belief or whether it is to mark the birth of Spring and they’re chocolate because, well…chocolate makes money!

In fact the Easter Egg market is the number one gifting occasion worldwide and the second most popular time of the year for eating chocolate. The UK market is worth in excess of £220 million with shell eggs representing the oldest and largest sector.

Did you know the first chocolate Easter egg was produced by Fry’s in 1873? Now, 143 years later Cadbury dominates the market with more than a 50% share! So this begs the question, what’s your favourite Easter egg? Tweet us and let us know. Happy Egg-eating.

Sources:
www.eauk.org/culture/statistics/easter-facts-and-statistics.cfm
www.cadburyworld.co.uk/schoolandgroups/~/media/CadburyWorld/en/Files/Pdf/factsheet-easterbrands

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

18th March 2016

Why Wagyu?

Foodservice PR - Wagyu Burger Working for one of foodservice’s leading agencies means that I’ve been lucky enough to sample a range of amazing new cuisines and food trends over the years. One opportunity that hadn’t crossed my path until now was Wagyu, which appeared on my local’s menu, The Bell in Godstone – well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area – as their new premium burger.

Well this raised my curiosity, I was aware of all the buzz around Wagyu being the beef equivalent of champagne and caviar, but why was Wagyu so darn expensive? With a table booked to sample this ultimate burger, I set upon doing some research and this is what I discovered.

1. Wagyu is a Japanese beef cattle breed, ‘Wa’ means Japanese and ‘gyu’ means cow.
2. There are just four breeds that are considered Wagyu in Japan, though export now means it can be found in America, Australia and Britain.
3. Wagyu is the world’s highest grade of beef and the most expensive.
4. Wagyu’s high fat marbling is what makes for its unique taste and a velvety texture, prime beef contains 6-8% versus Wagyu’s 20-25% marbled fat, which melts like butter when cooked.
5. It’s Wagyu’s superior genetics and painstaking care that lead to the meat’s higher marbling, they are not fed grass but given a special diet of corn, soybean, barley, wheat bran and aren’t slaughtered until 3 years old.
6. The mono-unsaturated to saturated fat ratio is higher in Wagyu than in any other beef making it healthier.

Sharing my findings with my fiancée that we were actually being healthy by eating this burger, we headed to the pub. The burgers proved a taste sensation! Topped with smoked cheddar, crispy onions, relish and gherkins with a side of sweet potato fries Wagyu’s ‘melt in the mouth texture’ and flavour was delicious and well worth the £16 price tag given the care that goes into this delicacy.

If you’ve sampled Wagyu I’d love to hear your thoughts on the world’s most expensive beef, as for me I’m already planning when I get back to my local to sample another!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Gemma Felstead

18th March 2016

Digital Food and Drink Conference

Foodservice Digital Agency - Digital Food and Drink Conference As you would expect from the leading foodservice digital agency, much of our time is spent ensuring we are abreast of the latest trends in our industry. And so it was that I found myself bound for this year’s Digital Food and Drink Conference held at America Square in London.

With a truly impressive selection of speakers I was looking forward to the thrust and parry of debate as retailer and brand alike took to the stage to put forward their presentations and debate how each can help one and other deliver success in the digital space.

For those of you not lucky enough to have attended, here are my top 10 take outs from the day’s speakers. Ready? Right, here goes.

1) Kate Douglas from Twitter talked about their exciting new products – namely Amplify, Moments and Niche. Want to keep up to speed on social? Go and read up on those.
2) ASDA noted that ‘incentivised’ emails outperformed Supplier Branded emails by a factor of 30%. Looks like money off or a giveaway still reigns supreme.
3) Steve Millard of Burton’s Biscuits revealed that the value of online sales in food is set to double by 2020 – those not exploiting digital are missing out – big time.
4) A straw poll of attendees showed zero plans for adoption of iBeacon technology – the need for an app, bluetooth enabled, lack of signal in store all seems too high a barrier.
5) Jamie Nascimento from Orangina spoke of his ‘comma, not full stop’ approach – always think of the next step you wish a consumer to make to continue their marketing journey.
6) Gordon Morrin of Kerry Foods shared the success of Sausage and Chip – his Christmas campaign, and how emotional marketing drove great results for Richmond sausages.
7) Jamie from Orangina talked of ‘thumb-stopping’ video – quick, video edits from a longer cut without audio that encourage mobile users to stop in their scrolling and take note.
8) Dan Jeffreys from Bettys / Taylors of Harrogate showed the room his case study for how a viral video of their £250.00 Easter Egg drove online chatter and ultimately sales uplift. Seems like a good stunt, well executed is still a very powerful way of getting virtual tongues wagging.
9) Nick Bamber of Asda and Joe Comiskey of Unilever spoke of the power of customer reviews online, and how they even power shopper behaviour in store as well as via the e-commerce experience.
10) On average we unlock our phones 150 times a day, Twitter sends 6000 tweets per second, 1 in 5 of us follow a food brand on Twitter, we tweet more about #meat than #chocolate, and Greek food is fastest growing food trend on Twitter. Enough stats for one day? Thought so.

So an all-round great event, and a fascinating collection of speakers from the world of foodservice digital. Thanks to Global Insight Conferences for a great event and for providing a platform for us digital foodies to congregate and thrash out the hot topics. Events as thoughtfully curated as this are hard to come by in my experience. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice digital agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Andy Wickes

14th March 2016

The Beautiful Bournemouth

Foodservice Marketing - The Beautiful Bournemouth I recently had the pleasure of having a couple of days away in Bournemouth and although we could’ve done with the temperature a few degrees hotter, the rain stayed away, so all round a pretty decent break in the UK.

We started off with a little wonder in the centre and (in an excited tone) we got to meet Che from the X Factor whilst he was out shopping – an amazing start, I think you’ll agree.

We then went on to experience the Bournemouth balloon, an anchored helium balloon that goes 150m up in the air. It probably wasn’t the best time to do this as it was windy and a little cloudy, but I’m so glad we did, the views were stunning – they say that on a clear day you can see for at least 20 miles.

Then onto my favourite bit…the food. We found a nice little independent café where we had lunch; we had freshly made hummus and flat bread, the perfect lunch-time snack.

Later on it was time to decide on where to go for dinner. We’d already decided on tapas as we wanted to pretend we were somewhere a bit more exotic, so we went in search for a nice authentic place. After doing a bit of research we decided on a restaurant called Lolas which had a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on trip advisor and great reviews. Now I can honestly say that it was the best tapas that I’ve ever had (including when I went to Spain). We started off by ordering a jug of sangria whilst we looked over the extensive menu and although we were tempted to order everything on there, a few of the dishes that we eventually ordered were calamari, patatas allioli, chicken croquettes and tasty prawns in olive oil, garlic and cayenne pepper, but ‘what was my favourite?’ I hear you ask, well it was a dish called Chorizo al Infierno, pan-fried chorizo slices cooked in a red Rioja wine, the flavours complemented each other perfectly making this dish absolutely delicious. All in all a fantastic restaurant that I would recommend to anyone, it certainly made our trip that bit more special and made us feel like we were in Spain.

I’d love to visit Bournemouth again but I think I’ll do the sensible thing and wait until summer next time!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

11th March 2016

Award Winning Work – FPA Marketing Award 2016

Foodservice Agency - FPA Awards As the leading foodservice agency we pride ourselves on creating strategically-led, highly creative, integrated campaigns for clients. Frankly it’s our job, and what’s kept us in business for nearly twenty nine years, working for some of the leading out-of-home brands. But it has to be said that it’s always nice to get a bit of recognition for a job well done and last night at the FPA Awards we got just that.

When Wrap Film Systems came to us last year to help them convert chefs and caterers to their Wrapmaster dispensing system for cling film, foil, parchment and more, we put our best heads on the brief and the ‘Wrap Smart’ campaign was conceived. This integrated campaign across digital, social, design, print, video and PR drove trial and conversion, along with chef engagement and brand awareness. Not only did it go down a storm with Wrap Film Systems themselves, but it also had great feedback from distributor partners and national accounts. However, most importantly, it drove sales – delivering an impressive 15% uplift for the brand during the campaign! Little wonder the esteemed panel of judges from the FPA Awards saw fit to select it as the winner of the marketing award last night.

Paul Feery, Marketing Director Wrap Film Systems had this to say about the award winning campaign “We’ve really enjoyed working with Jellybean Creative on what has been a very successful foodservice campaign. As a member of the FPA we really value this award especially as we were up against some great work from other entrants. We look forward to building on the success of the Wrap Smart campaign as we continue to work with Jellybean and hopefully create more award-winning campaigns.”

Congratulations must go to all the nominees and winners from the night and of course to the team at FPA on arranging another fabulous event. As the celebrations went on into the wee small hours there’s sure to be a few sore heads today. As there is one thing you can say for the foodservice packaging industry – they work hard but they can party even harder.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

8th March 2016

Hotelympia 2016

Hotelympia - Foodservice Marketing Agency As the UK’s largest foodservice and hospitality event, Hotelympia has always been the exhibition to visit for anyone looking for the latest developments in the foodservice industry not to mention unrivalled networking.

The PR team here at Jellybean has been trusted with running the show’s press office for the last four consecutive events, as well as that of its sister show, Hospitality, in alternate years. What’s more, with many of our clients involved in the show, including Tilda, McCormick, Hobart, Ferrero and Essential Cuisine, Hotelympia showcases Jellybean’s handiwork in a variety of forms, from stand design and on-site management to press liaison and literature design.

And 2016 was no exception. Over the four days of the show, the ExCeL London played host to 26,000 visitors all hungry to see what the 1,000 strong food and drink, technology, catering equipment, interiors and waste management companies had to offer. Running the press office for a show of such a scale is no mean feat, but one which, in between writing press releases and tweeting updates, undoubtedly has its perks; meeting and greeting famous speakers, sampling stand goodies and listening in on top-tips from chefs, to name a few!

Strolling around the show the wealth of talent on display was second to none, from The Staff Canteen Live – Skillery, which saw a line-up of chefs with no less than 24 Michelin stars between them presenting live on-stage demos, to the incredible entries on display for the International Salon Culinaire. The Innovation Awards showcased the best of what’s to come in hospitality, whilst The Stage provided a platform for debate for some of the industry’s most pressing issues, including: the chef shortage with Jellybean client Martin-Christian Kent of People 1st, the proposed taxation on sugar, and the national living wage.

The stands themselves were equally impressive. On the show floor, Artis’ wonderland stand wowed passers-by, long queues formed for a taste of Carpigiani’s freshly made gelato, Hobart impressed with its range of catering equipment and Essential Cuisine made a stir with the launch of its new Asian Range. And things only got better after Nutella on toast at Ferrero’s breakfast bar (delicious!).

It was all-systems-go on all fronts and though jam-packed, it was a fantastic, eye-opening experience for a first-time visitor like myself and one which left me with little doubt as to why it is the industry’s most distinguished exhibition. Bring on 2018!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

2nd March 2016

The Big Event 2016

The Big Event 2016 - Foodservice Agency Hotelympia is always a busy time for us at Jellybean, whether it’s preparing clients to exhibit at the show, or running the PR, show press office and social media for Fresh Montgomery, you can guarantee there will be a buzz in the office (and possibly the odd nervous breakdown). But as the leading foodservice agency we try to take it all in our stride and somehow make time for the social side of the show as well, especially The Big Event!

This gala dinner – in aid of Springboard and its good work helping the young and underprivileged into careers in hospitality and promoting the sector as an attractive career choice – is one of the highlights of the Hotelympia calendar. Attracting exhibitors and visitors alike, this year the ‘do’ was themed around the date of the event –1^st of March…St. David’s Day. From the cheer of ‘Oggy Oggy Oggy’ to kick off the evening to the dulcet tones of the London Welsh Rugby Club Choir, followed by the hip thrusts of Tom Jones (AKA Ian Anthony) and the belting high notes from Shirley Bassey (AKA Paula Randell) the entertainment came straight from the valleys! The food, thankfully ( no offence to the Welsh) was not traditional Welsh fare, but instead a sophisticated menu featuring what else but Welsh Lamb. All prepared by the team at Compass under Nick Vardis, the meal was a triumph (and even included a little help from our client Vegetarian Express). But as with all of these events it’s the company that makes it and we were lucky enough to host a table (which was kindly given to us by Springboard for creating their new Team Velo Challenge Website) and were joined by some of our lovely clients exhibiting or speaking at the show including: Hobart, Essential Cuisine, Ferrero and People 1^st.

As the champagne flowed along with the conversation, the night seemed to speed past in a blur of good food, good company and quite a few bids on the charity auction, not to mention a hotly contested ‘Shirley or Tom’ (a new take on heads or tails) and some impressive ‘Dad dancing’ to the RPJ Band. Possibly the most poignant part of the evening however was hearing from two Springboard beneficiaries. With a difficult background Rocky has made-good and now works for Bartlett Mitchell, and having come through the Future Chef programme Ruth is now working at the Ritz no less! Inspiring stories which really demonstrated how Springboard makes a difference to people’s lives. After a fabulous evening all too soon it was time to do a Cinderella and depart for our carriages.

I suspect if you happen to be walking around the show on Wednesday you’ll see a few sore heads but be gentle, it was all in a good cause! To find our more about the great work Springboard do and how you can get involved visit http://springboard.uk.net/

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

2nd March 2016

The Asian food trend that’s taking over my life

Foodservice Design - The Asian food trend that's taking over my life Did you know that Asian food is the UK’s fastest growing cuisine? With a market value of £3bn!* The rate of growth in popularity for this style of food is insane, but I can totally see why, because since I started experimenting with Asian ingredients (specifically Pan-Asian) I literally can’t stop.

It all came about when a few of my clients started manufacturing Pan-Asian ingredients and I began to research and find out more about this fascinating, absolutely delicious cuisine. I’ve always been a fan of a noodle broth but now I’m experimenting daily with more unusual (for me) ingredients. Edamame beans, miso, Sriracha, udon, rice wine vinegar, Gochujang, the list goes on.

And limes. I’m sure everyone agrees that limes literally make everything taste like a million dollars (but much less papery).

Next on my list to tackle – KIMCHI.

If you work as a caterer in the hospitality market I would massively encourage you to try Essential Cuisine’s new Asian range. So good. I never want my sample pots to end! Check them out here:

Photography by Essential Cuisine.

Source: Zest Quest Asia 2015

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and foodservice design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

2nd March 2016

How fast is your website?

Foodservice Design Agency - Speed Test As the leading Foodservice agency, we are always looking at how we can improve the user experience and usability of all our clients’ websites.

We all know that the design, functionality, layout and content is key to making a website great but are you overlooking one of the most important factors of usability and user experience, how fast your site and pages load.

Is page speed important?

The simple answer is yes, optimizing your page speed is more important now than ever before. Fast loading sites perform better on every front, better user experience, more engagement, higher conversions and even higher search rankings. Trust us, you would be surprised how much slow page speed can affect your search rankings. All search engines like Google want to provide their users with a great user experience and a fast site will improve the overall experience, site quality and increase the user’s satisfaction.

How fast is fast enough?

In our experience, and with lots of research, we find on average most users expect a site to load within 4 seconds or less. Some good guidelines to follow when checking your site’s page speed are: if your page loads in under 1 second, that is excellent; under 3 seconds, that is perfect; 3 to 7 seconds, this is average but you could have room for improvement; over 7 seconds, this is not great and you could be losing users and conversions.

Are you thinking about mobile users?

If not then you should be. With mobile internet usage expecting to overtake desktop usage, it’s never been more important to think about faster site loading times. Most mobile users will be using a slower connection and in most cases be out and about trying to access information fast.

Just imagine you’re in a hurry, trying to find a telephone number or an address for a hotel or restaurant and every page on their website is taking forever to load. How frustrating and annoying to the user would this be. They may even give up and look at a competitor’s site that is quicker to load and access this information.

Conclusion…

Remember, everybody deserves a fast web experience. Improving your site speed should always be a serious factor in your overall site optimisation. In turn, this will boost your user’s confidence and trust in your site.

If you want to find out more about how we can help you increase your site’s speed and performance, give us a call!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and foodservice design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Steve Skilton

1st March 2016

The Hotelympia 10k Run for Springboard

Foodservice Web Design - The Hotelympia 10k Run for Springboard When I was asked to run the Hotelympia 10k for Springboard I originally declined but I’m so glad the guys managed to convince me!

Although I’m a very sporty person and used to play football twice a week, I just couldn’t imagine myself running that sort of distance – it seemed too daunting. As I thought about it though, I decided that it would be something to help focus my training, and a great aim for a great cause. I loved the fact that we were running as a group – the Runner Beans – and this was what pushed me into committing to the run.

So that’s when the training began! I say training, Nick and I basically ran two 10k to Box Hill and back (great run, although pretty hilly), but I think that actually really help prepare me for the run. The first time absolutely killed me – I couldn’t walk the next day and maybe in hindsight I should have started out with a 5k and worked my way up but I don’t like to do things by halves.

The second training session seemed so much easier, maybe because there it was still light outside and I could see where I was running, or maybe my legs just got used to it, but we seemed to fly round. I think it’s definitely as much a mental challenge as it is physical and knowing what to expect and how your body will feel actually gets you through.

So then the big day arrived, Sunday 28^th February. Up at 7.30am, banana in hand, we headed to the ExCel in London. It was a very bitter day with a chilly wind, so we had to wrap up warm. As we were picking up our race numbers (and our free running t-shirts – thanks guys!) we were checking out the other runners, some of which looked pretty pro to me, like they do this on a weekly basis. I’m normally a very competitive person but looking at the calibre around me I didn’t think I could come any where near the front of the pack. “But it’s the taking part that counts” I chanted to myself.

11am was nearing and we were all huddled up outside, eager to get going as it was freezing outside by the Docklands. As it hit 11 we began, walking at first as there were too many people to start running straight away, but once past the official start line we were off! We started out at quite a fast pace, with all of us following fellow Jellybean Nick. You couldn’t ask for a nicer route, running around the Docklands and ExCel – lovely and flat!

The first two laps were the easiest; I was just trying to keep a steady pace and used people around me as markers. It was really nice to see everyone around the track cheering us all on, it really kept me going and push through the pain so thank you to everyone that was there standing in the cold for us! The third and fourth lap is where the pain really started to kick in. You could see the front runners starting to lap you which just seemed insane. I lost Nick as he pushed on, with Clare and Laura also pushing past me but I was determined to keep a good pace until the last kilometre. As soon as I got to that point I sprinted like I was chasing down a through ball on the football pitch. I wasn’t going to give it up, I wanted to make sure I pushed myself as much as I could.

When you’re running that distance you think to yourself why did I agree to this, but I’m so happy we all ended up doing the race together. It’s such a big sense of achievement and I would definitely do another one in the future to beat my time (which was 53 mins and 35 secs)! The medal will definitely hang with pride in my house.

It was a pleasure to run for such a great cause and if you would like to find out more, visit them at www.springboard.uk.net. Not only that it was a great start to Hotelympia 2016, you can go visit the show at the ExCel now or online at www.hotelympia.com.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Luca Cicero