Juicy Info

I’ve become a little frightened of late at the amount of stuff that is now ‘made in China’ or other faraway destinations and like many people, I’m interested in buying more local or authentic products from a destination. (Sorry China, nothing personal).

When I was over in Belfast last week I stumbled on an Irish retail brand called Avoca and instantly fell in love. Everything in the store is born and bred Irish, from the cups through to the clothing, the food label and an array of quirky, vintage products. It is perhaps what you would expect from a family-run brand that dates back to 1723 and a clothing mill located in the Valley of Avoca.

But I’ll go further and say this brand is much more than just about heritage. Their mission is ‘to create joy and have fun’ and this comes through clearly in their store concept. From the vibrant colours used in the foodhall, to the tea cup display lined up on the walls and really lovely staff.

Sadly for me their stores remain located mainly in Ireland and N. Ireland – apart from one in the US – but I was excited to see that their website offers a range of products and does a pretty good job of recreating the retail experience for me, backed up by their own Facebook and Twitter feed.

Here’s a couple of shots of the store – Go visit or browse if you can.

Buying good quality, locally reared meat has undoubtedly gained popularity on the shopping list in recent years. A combination of meat scandals, concerns over animal welfare, celebrity endorsements (think Hugh F-W) and a more genuine care for what we put in our bodies is championing demand for quality, good tasting meat. It may be pricier, but there are many who see value in going premium.

Enter…The East London Steak Company delivering the best cuts of steak direct to your door

Now there are not many food products that can achieve the wow factor, even before you’ve eaten them. Innocent has done it quite well, but really I can’t think of many products that interest me on the packaging front, especially in the food/foodservice department.

For me The East London Steak Company is one of them. In terms of an out-of-the-box experience, it is up there with Apple in my mind. Not bad for a slice of steak. Here’s why:

• All the meat is individually wrapped with a printed label that includes the customer name (lovely personalisation) plus useful information such as date it was packaged, used by date etc…
• Each slice of meat has a ‘provenance card‘ telling you exactly when the meat was killed, the farm it came from etc…
• It’s all in recycled paper/cardboard boosting my ethical halo
• It comes in lovely box that feels a bit like unwrapping a present

To me all these elements demonstrate real authenticity, but also the love and care put into getting the meat to my doorstep.

I suppose one of the key takeaways here is just how important food packaging can be to delivering a customer experience. Design is becoming such a more integral part of the product today and its great to see it translating into the foodservice world.

Here are some pics:

Would love to know if you have any examples of food/drink products that wow you in the packaging department? Or even outside the food industry.

We all know that consumer-generated content dominates on the now ubiquitous video channels like YouTube and Vimeo, but marketers are making much more use of video content as well.

Recent research from eMarketer highlights the growth of video content by corporations and marketers and highlights that in some verticals, like retailing, it is no longer a luxury but a necessity to have video content online.

• Forrester reports that over two-thirds of the top 50 US online retailers now have video content, up from less than one-fifth in 2008. But it’s not just the marketing dept doing all the work.

• One-third of Fortune 500 companies are now doing some kind of video blogging. (Sourced from same eMarketer article)

A critical transition seems to be the creation of ‘video content’ as opposed to just ‘video advertising’. For years now we’ve had TV ads and virals on the web, but with the ‘social web’ developing at a pace, marketers are exploring other ways of using video as content to engage, inform and entertain.

One example I quite like is from Strada, the Italian restaurant chain. Strada uses video content to show us how to re-create their recipes at home. Step-by-step tuition is given by its top development chef on how to make a range of  Strada recipes by following the video online.

Not only do these videos connect us more intimately with the brand and its products, but they encourage more time to be spent engaging with the brand.

And you know it works! I now know how to master the art of making the best bruschetta al pomodoro.

An extra benefit is accessibility and shareability. You can download the videos via iTunes to watch on the iPod or iPhone and then share them with your social networks.

Do you have any other examples of video content – as opposed to advertising – that works for you?

Recently, I’ve been trying to adopt more of a River Cottage experience when it comes to eating. For those of you unfamiliar with the phenomena, it was created by the now well-known British foodie, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingshall.

The essence of River Cottage centres on creating really tasty food with fresh, sustainable, seasonal and local food, ideally grown in your back yard. There is undoubtedly a big ethical slant in the RC approach, but its first and foremost about dumping the convenience foods for more homemade food to create a more enjoyable food experience.

Despite grocery budgets still taking a beating, there is an undeniable shift in attitudes towards people wanting to eat better, and taking time to enjoy it properly, even if they can’t afford the organic option.

Of course this is by new means anything new. Most baby boomers and gen X’er was brought up on spending a lot of time around the table, dedicating time to food and the social experience of ‘dining’.

But over the past few decades, changing lifestyles have put an ever greater focus on convenience eating. So it’s good to see the good old times returning to a degree… for me it’s about restoring an element of authenticity to eating. And it really is worth the effort.

Eat Slow Britain is a new book from Alastair Sawday, which encapsulates the essence of enjoying  food when travelling. The book outlines special places to eat, inspirational chefs, organic producers…celebrating the very best of food experiences when on the move and encouraging us to take time to enjoy it.

Oh and if you’re interested…Today I enjoyed the delights of ‘lemony courgettes on toast’ and my tastebuds are still tingling. The recipe was taken from Hugh’s ‘River Cottage Everyday‘ book.