You only have to see my Jellybean team photo to know that I love peanut butter! As my favourite food it seemed only fitting to look into the history of this scrumptious nutty spread and what makes it so delicious.
The humble biscuit, it’s crumbly, sweet and sugary.
Tea and biscuits have for a long time been the power couple behind solving a multitude of problems, partners in a crime, they’re an irresistible duo. Originating from a flat storable version of bread, dating back to Roman times, cooked once, removed from the oven and cooked again, this is how the biscuit was given its Latin name ‘bis cotus’; meaning twice baked.
When I told one of my friends that I was going to Rome her first response was that I had to go to Eataly! When she described the food market full of all the delights Eataly has to offer, I knew I needed to add it to my list of places to visit. Working in food and drink marketing means you’re never truly off duty even when you’re on holiday.
What continues to fascinate and excite me about the convenience sector is just how resilient and entrepreneurial independent retailers are. In the face of tough competition, with bigger supermarkets all around them, as well as increased cost pressures that impact their margins, they continue to innovate and thrive. As the leading Convenience Retail Marketing agency, Jellybean is working with Chicago Town Pizza to demonstrate this opportunity,
Two of my favourite things came together this bank holiday weekend – the coast and food! The Foodies Festival is the UK’s biggest food festival and celebrates food from across the globe in a tour around the UK including Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Oxford, as well as one of my favourite places, Brighton. Your leading foodservice marketing agency reports back with the skinny on the all that took place!
Last month I travelled across the globe to the culinary mecca that is Vietnam, home to thousands of independent street vendors, bars and restaurants. I started off my trip in the bustling and vibrant capital of Hanoi. Hanoi is known for its busy streets of cars, mopeds and motorbikes (which can sometimes be spotted carrying a family of four!). You soon get used to the bustling streets and the process of crossing the road (you just walk, and the traffic will weave around you). As with all our adventures, we take our findings back to Leatherhead and use it to inform what we do as a food service agency.
I am delighted to report that Jellybean’s School initiative with Plan International progresses apace. The construction materials and contractors have been secured, and construction was scheduled to begin this month – we look forward to a further update soon.But let’s be honest no one wants to look at photos of a building site, so I thought I would share with you some inspiring images from a neighbouring project in the Gambella region in Ethiopa so you can see the vision rather than the current reality.
Rome brought together two of my favourite things – history and gelato! In six days, we got to see all the famous sights from the Colosseum and Roman Forum to the Trevi Fountain and the breathtaking Sistine Chapel. What made our historical visits complete was taking it all in with a couple scoops of gelato. All in a day’s work for someone from a foodservice pr agency.
Despite the pun, surprisingly our social media campaign this Easter wasn’t Easter egg based, but rather hot cross bun themed. As a specialist food and drink agency, we get more than a little egg-cited about Easter and all its foodie treats. This year we were impressed to see a number of food brands inspired to create hot cross bun themed products and saw fit to offer a hamper of these delights as the prize in our Easter competition. The hamper included: hot cross bun truffles, hot cross bun biscuits, hot cross bun chocolate and a range of actual hot cross buns, along with a nice bottle of red to help wash down your Easter Sunday Roast. It would seem this seasonal hamper didn’t just appeal to us, it had quite the draw on social media, as we offered up a chance to win it by simply retweeting and @ mentioning a friend on Twitter, or commenting and tagging a friend on Instagram. Along with a short and sweet homegrown video to promote the competition (which to date has clocked up over 4,000 views across Twitter and Instagram), all it took was our talented social media team and a ‘Twittersphere’ and ‘Instasphere’ hungry for some hot cross bun action!
I have always loved cooking. I find the whole process relaxing and very rewarding. But throw a new baby into the mix and suddenly our fridge was looking rather sparse and the idea of heading down to the supermarket with an ever-so screamy little one was too anxiety-inducing to handle.
Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company delivering natural innovative solutions that address global challenges by advancing food, health and productivity. We have been working with their Food Cultures & Enzymes (FC&E) division which develops and produces cultures and enzymes for the food industry.
Today marks the official launch of an exciting new Jellybean Creative Solutions’ platform and service for challenger brands wanting to take-off in the food and drink market. JellyPad has been created especially for innovative and disruptive brands and offers a suite of essential food PR & marketing services from our expert team who have a wealth of experience and a proven track-record in launching and growing new food and drink brands.
January has a canny reputation for making us all feel a bit doom and gloom. Christmas is all but a distant memory, jeans are twenty inches too tight and temperatures are twenty degrees too low. At such a time, positive mental attitude is key; if we look for things to bring us joy, we’re going to find them, right? Equally, if we look for an excuse to feel miserable, let me tell you, we’re going to feel miserable. This January, I have been determined to feel the joy. Let me tell you about an initiative I have encouraged my fellow beans to join me in supporting, this month…
Hot off the press, the B2B Agency Benchmarking Report for 2019 has been issued and I am delighted to announce that Jellybean is ranked 57th overall (so top 60) for all UK B2B agencies and is in 33rd place in the top Integrated B2B agencies in the UK. Drilling deeper we are in the top 25 agencies with less than 50 employees. How proud I am of the hardworking and dedicated team at Jellybean who make this business what it is.
Edinburgh, the home of Haggis, Whisky (no, not the office dog) and the Loch Ness Monster. What better way to spend the lead up to Christmas than enjoying all the sights and foodie delights Edinburgh has to offer by fully immersing ourselves in everything festive. Hannah Burchell of Hospitality Marketing Agency Jellybean reports back from north of the wall…
As Great Britain faces the challenges surrounding business and economic planning and the impacts of the political and social unknown, Jellybean can be sure of one project that is close to our hearts which definitely knows where it is heading. We are now 6 months into our Safe Schools Project in the Gambella region in Ethiopa and I’m delighted to report that Plan International has made some important progress, often against the odds.
The Jellybean Safe Schools project in the Gambella region of Ethiopia is progressing and we are look forward to construction commencing early in 2019. I am delighted that our contribution will be helping people like Sarah* whose harrowing story is shared below. Initiatives like this not only help refugee children get into school but also help their parents get an education too through the Community Learning Hubs which provide numeracy and literacy support, life skills training, and peace-building initiatives.
Together with fellow bean Nick, it was our absolute pleasure to spend half a day with the residents and staff at Hartfield House Care Home. Newly opened in Leatherhead, we were welcomed at the shiny new home by a bright and bubbly team and a wonderful group of residents. “The entertainers are here”, one of the staff members announced. At first, panic and nerves waved through me but then I remembered the significance of what Nick and I were doing; giving up our time to put smiles on these gorgeous residents’ faces and bring some extra joy to the already chirpy care home – the nerves soon vanished.
For Jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving I joined the team at Celia Cross Greyhound Trust to help with all the great work they do and fully immerse myself in a doggy-filled day. Based just outside of Guildford, in acres of beautiful land, Celia’s was founded in 1977 and has been a registered charity since 1993. Celia’s Trust rescues and rehabilitates retired racing greyhounds and lurchers that have either been abounded or ill-treated; passionate about what they do, it offers a place of love and nurture, helping to lead (no pun intended!) to their forever homes.
For my charity morning, I decided to work at the Princess Alice Hospice charity shop. This charity is dedicated to making end of life care the best it can possibly be and supporting families through this difficult time.
