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.
The reputable Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2017 took place on Monday evening hosted by Restaurant Magazine at the Hurlingham Club, a very suitable venue for such an auspicious event. Fortunately for me, working at a leading foodservice marketing agency an invitation had kindly been extended to both myself and PR Director Sam Rooke.
The Hospitality Action quiz is one of our favourite industry events – delicious food, great company and a dose of healthy competition – what’s not to love?
We were lucky enough to attend the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Awards on Thursday evening, and what an evening it was. Black tie all round, fantastic food and wine (as you’d expect) and of course a great crowd of chefs and industry fellows alike.
The annual Arena Savoy Lecture is the jewel in the crown of the Arena foodservice networking calendar, with the great and the good of the industry in attendance. This year the line-up included the traditional key note speech, as well as a panel debate on the hot topic of Brexit, entitled Challenges and Opportunities. With representatives from finance – Bob Silk from Barclays Hospitality and Leisure team, law – Sebastian Calnan from EMW Law and crucially operator side – Jason Myers of Busaba Eathai, chaired by Vernon Hunte of the BHA, there was a good balance of viewpoints to inform the discussion. Each voiced their informed views on Brexit and what is certainly a hugely complex and challenging process.
Yes folks, it’s that time of year again when the convenience trade show season kicks off. From Nisa Stoneleigh to the National Convenience Show and P&H’s Pro Retail, the calendar is certainly chock-a-block. Over the coming weeks and months, suppliers big and small will be investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in these shows, from stand builds, staffing, promotional materials, travel, accommodation, PR, marketing and of course that bar bill. With so much outlay, are these shows really cost effective? And what are the best ways to really guarantee sales success and ROI? Trust Jellybean, your retail trade marketing to take you though the top tips…
Having always been a chocoholic, I was very excited when I was given a gift to attend a 1 day chocolate class at Mark Tilling’s Squires Kitchen International School, in Farnham. Naturally I thought Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory here we come! The day began with a quick meet and greet with a few of my fellow students over some tea and biscuits, shortly after Mark introduced himself and gave us a quick overview of his work and what we could expect from the day.
Every year the team at the Recommended Agency’s Register trawl through the thousands of client ratings across a myriad of agencies and services to select the finalists for the annual RAR Awards in association with respected marketing website and magazine THE DRUM.
When it comes to food there is no higher accolade than the approval of the chef. So with this in mind you can understand why William Reed have launched their inaugural Chef’s Choice Awards with the strapline – ‘judged by chefs for chefs’.
It has to be said that to the foodservice outsider it may seem like the Jellybeans lead a charmed life, filled with posh dinners and glamorous venues – and they’d not be far wrong to be honest.
It’s fair to say, that as the leading foodservice agency, eating out is pretty much always top of mind for us, so it was fitting that last Thursday morning saw us heading along to the MCA’s Eating Out ‘Top of Mind’ briefing, where they showcased their decision makers’ survey along with consumer insight, 2017 forecasts and concepts to watch out for. As ever the morning managed to cram in a huge amount of information and insight, but here are my top five take-outs.
For some months now, The Great Hospitality Show has very much part of our day-to-day here at Jellybean Towers – as we are very honoured to do the PR for the show. This week saw all our preparation and planning come to fruition as the show hit the NEC from Monday to Wednesday, attracting hospitality professionals from across the industry. As the Great Hospitality Show PR team manned the press office and social media and my other colleagues hosted press stand visits, caught up with clients and contacts, and even sampled the amazing food at the La Parade, I was seated in my own little booth on mentor duty.
In a turbulent year of world events, political upheaval and an uncertain trading future it’s reassuring to know that the world of B2B marketing remains generally positive, upbeat and in growth. In a recent report from B2B Marketing 25% of agencies see the market as strong and two thirds consider it to be in good shape.
The festive season kicked off last night with the most innovative producers and suppliers coming together at The Caterer’s 2016 Product Excellence Awards.
The world of contract catering is often the unseen side of the industry, working across all sectors from education to hotels, leisure to event catering and of course in the workplace. The average man in the street will generally have no idea that the likes of Compass or Elior or ISS is serving him, but never the less the sector is huge and in recent years it has upped its game to compete with the high street and the rise of food to go, including the street food revolution.
Last Friday evening Jellybean won the 2016 CIPR Gold Award for the Best Corporate and Business Communications Campaign for ‘Wrap Smart’, an integrated campaign developed for our client Wrapmaster. I couldn’t be more proud of the agency, of the team who conceived this strategic and creative idea and of the client who put absolute trust in us to deliver against their tough target. As an integrated foodservice marketing agency dedicated to the foodservice industry this success story really showcases our extensive talent and deep-rooted understanding of the industry we have worked in for nearly 30 years.
The 1st November 2016 saw the movers and shakers in the industry come together for the annual Eat Out Awards and as the leading foodservice marketing agency, Jellybean of course was there to find who are the operators making waves in this amazing industry of ours.
School caterers are often the unsung heroes of our industry, but this was certainly not the case on Monday evening as The Royal Garden Hotel played host to the annual EDUCatering Awards. The evening saw the great and the good of the school meals industry gather to see who would walk away with these coveted awards.
School caterers are often the unsung heroes of our industry, but this was certainly not the case on Monday evening as The Royal Garden Hotel played host to the annual EDUCatering Awards. The evening saw the great and the good of the school meals industry gather to see who would walk away with these coveted awards. With contract caterers – big and small, local authorities, individual schools, food and drink brands, and of course the leading foodservice agency represented, the night honoured every aspect of the sector, from primary to secondary, innovation to marketing, CSR to newcomers, and everything in between. The awards were judged by a panel of 21 industry professionals from the world of school catering with one notable exception – the Innovation Award, which was judged on the night by the audience via their key pads. But this wasn’t the only technological touch to the evening. At each end of the room was a Twitter wall screening tweets using the hashtag #EDUAwards and included a leader board of most influential accounts tweeting, helping to drive the social media amplification of the event (nice one!).
When it comes to fundraising events, blending good food, good wine and good company with a generous smattering of sporting celebs is a clear recipe for success. The annual Hospitality Action Sporting Legends Luncheon took place on Friday 7th of October at the Lancaster London and as a loyal supporter of the charity and the leading foodservice marketing agency we were of course there. Joined by some of our lovely clients we gathered at the drinks reception where the beans could be found propping up the bar whilst scoping out the gathering sporting celebrities.
