http://foodanddrinktowers.com/index.php/tools/blocks/page_list/rss?bID=4035&cID=61&arHandle=Main http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/foodanddrink-towers-taste-test-review-harry-s-nuts/ food&drink towers taste test review: Harry’s Nuts Harry is a bit nuts…and his nuts taste pretty darn good! By Joanna Taylor I remember going to see Harry Hill at a comedy night in London before he became famous and I thought he was absolutely hilarious, if not a bit odd in his style. Fifteen years on he has had an extremely successful stand-up career based on this odd style, and is widely known for his TV show. He now appears to be using his fame for the greater good by getting involved in the world’s only farmer-owned Fairtrade nut company, Liberation, with Harry’s Nuts. Good for him I say! Liberation works with farmers in India and Africa and seem to be very focused on their fair-trade objectives. My Dad used to live in Malawi where some of the nut farmers are based so I have a personal reason for really liking the meaning behind these products and it’s a great thing both Liberation and Harry Hill are doing. The product packaging is eye catching with the salted cashew nuts in a bright yellow pack and the salted peanuts in a bright green pack. Having Harry’s face on the front of the pack is obviously clever marketing as he’s so recognisable and calling them Harry’s Nuts is a simple touch of genius as it plays on the fact that his comedy style is just that, nuts! But I’m afraid the back of the packaging lets it down. I understand that the point of these products is to have minimal costs so that the nut farmers get the most profit but it seems a shame to me that the photos of those very farmers at the heart of the project are of such bad quality that you can barely make them out. But, on to the taste of the actual product itself, which is pretty darn good. I love nuts but generally tend to go for the unsalted as they’re a bit healthier, however Harry’s Nuts really don’t taste too salty, so therefore don’t feel unhealthy. Some companies pour so much salt in that it’s all you can taste, but Harry has got just the amount just right and the nuts have that perfect crunch combined with a gorgeous roasted flavour and are so more-ish it’s unreal! Add to that the knowledge that by buying this product you’re helping contribute to making lives better in the third world and it’s a winning combination. The product itself is perfect in my opinion, it would have been 5/5 if not for the slight let down with the packaging. Rating: 4/5 About Harry’s Nuts Harry’s Nuts! are Fairtrade salted peanuts and Fairtrade salted cashews, cooked for longer to give them an extra crunchiness and deeper flavour, available from Sainsbury's, Waitrose and other outlets. Harry's Nuts! Crunchy Peanut Butter is available from 200 Sainsbury's stores. TV comedian Harry Hill met smallholder peanut farmers in Malawi and came up with the idea for the products. He and makes no money out of this for himself- he wanted to help the farmers sell their nuts for better prices to a secure market. Harry, a big peanut lover, says: "These Fairtrade salted nuts are an extra tasty version of my favourite snack and there’s no money in it for me (what a mug!)." The peanuts retail from £1.35, the cashews from £1.50 and the peanut butter is £1.99. http://www.chooseliberation.com/harry http://www.Facebook.com/harrysnuts About our food&drink towers' taste tester: Joanna Taylor I'm a lucky lady in that I get to travel a lot with my job and therefore get to experience all sorts of food from all around the world. However, the mundane nature of hotel and plane food drives me a bit bananas so my taste buds often need sparking into life again after I've been away! My taste in food and drink is very varied (although quite frequently involves chocolate in some way!) and I'm always willing to try something new although don't often get the chance with a husband who is a bit of a fan of oven chips and baked beans on toast! .... Tue, 01 May 2012 11:31:00 BST http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/an-interview-with-olly-smith/ An interview with Olly Smith You’ve sipped so many different wines from around the world now – would you say you have a favourite? You don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy great wine. Wine is all about enjoyment and there's a bottle out there to suit every palate and every pocket. The thing I love most about wine is that it brings people together, whether it's alongside food around a table or a convivial sip with an old friend, it's a shared experience to revel in. If I had to pick a favourite wine moment it was during a splendid lunch halfway up the Eiffel Tower in the Jules Verne restaurant with Barbara Broccoli who produces the James Bond films. I was served a glass of fizz and asked to identify it. After a sip and a swirl I declared it be "Champagne Bollinger R.D. 1975". I'm a huge James Bond fan and happened to know that was the bubbly served to James Bond in the exact same restaurant halfway up the Eiffel Tower in 'A View To A Kill'. I was given the empty bottle as a prize and it proudly sits on my desk! Any exclusive tips for how to snazz up a boring Sunday lunch with some fabulous drinks? Be bold! Rather than select the usual bottle from the shelves on your weekly shop, or buying wines on offer, select a wine that offers genuinely great value as well as amazing quality. English fizz has been rising in quality and picking up stacks of awards the world over, often beating prestigious names from the Champagne region. Kick off with bubbly I'd say - for a bargain drop Prosecco from Italy is outstanding and you can customize it very easily into cocktails. Add a bit of peach purée for a Bellini or create your own cordials - chopped rhubarb with equal quantities of sugar and water heated in a pan will give you a beautiful pink-red cordial to keep in the fridge and added into Prosecco is yummy. With the main course, always match the wine to the biggest flavour on the plate - a bit of steamed fish is very mild but fish in a spicy curry sauce is a totally different wine match. And with your cheese course, experiment with white wines. Sauvignon Blanc is amazing with goat's cheese, for example. If you think about all the textures and flavours of different cheeses, simply picking one bottle of red is likely to swamp the more delicate flavours. How did you get into wine tasting? I was a student in Edinburgh and walked past the local Oddbins where there was a free wine tasting going on! I must have been 20 and tasted a simple white wine called Terret made by the Lurton Brothers and it was so zingy, crisp and affordable at just over £3 that I was instantly inspired to find out more. A year later I was writing for film and TV with names like Pingu, Charlie and Lola and even a single day working with Wallace & Gromit (which was ace!) and then I won a competition called Wine Idol... but that's another story! What is the best part of your job? Meeting people from all over the world who love sharing wine and food - whether in person or with across social media. I have a Facebook Page where anyone can dive in and ask me a question or share a recipe and my Twitter is @jollyolly. I love Britain, I'm a huge fan of our islands and I'm also thrilled that the new technology has put the whole world closer in touch. I've made friends from Chile to Chichester! As the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is coming up, what drinks would you expect to see at the Garden Party? English fizz! And probably a dose of Dubonnet in honour of the Queen Mother. The drinks should all come from somewhere in Britain - we've got amazing gin, whisky, fruit juices, mixers, beers, ciders as well as talented distillers, winemakers and brewers across the British Isles. And how about home brew? I bet someone in the Royal family brews a top drop under the kitchen sink at Buckingham Palace. Can I serve the drinks please? What would you serve the Queen if she came to yours for dinner? I'd keep it simple. I imagine Her Majesty is often being offered top level fancy food so I'd cook up a fish pie or lasagne with salad and large it on the wine choices. I'd crack open the very best vino in the house and savour every last drop. I'm getting excited about this now, when's she coming? My dog Barney would be chuffed to bits to meet the Corgis. .... Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:07:00 BST http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/foodanddrink-towers-visits-the-bbc-good-food-show-spring-in-blue/ food&drink towers visits the BBC Good Food Show Spring in Bluewater 12 – 15 April 2012 Having attended the BBC Good Food Shows in Birmingham and London over the past few years, I was verging on the delirious hearing that it was coming to my home county of Kent. After a 20-minute drive I arrived to find plenty of parking and headed straight to the ‘supertheatre’ to watch Gennaro Contaldo and Thomasina Miers cook up some delicious-smelling Italian and Mexican food. It smelt amazing, but sadly we didn’t get to sample any. Sweetcorn fritters and fried lemon and orange salad were stand out recipes for me. Thomasina Miers did fabulously considering she had been up most of the night with a sick 10 month old! As a regular at Wahaca it was fabulous to see her cooking live. Jolly Olly Smith, the wonderful wine buff, did a fabulous job keeping us entertained and managed to maintain a light-hearted conversation flowing between the three of them on stage. After being entertained, I headed straight to the show and was pleased to meet plenty of local, Kent producers including KentsKitchen, which wowed the crowds with freshly made curry using their meal kits. Produced in Sevenoaks, it is marketed as ‘restaurant food in 20 minutes’. The packaging stands out – transparent packs show a trio of ingredients in a tower – and covers a range of delicious meals including tagine, chow mein stir fry, firecracker sweet and sour, cottage pie, gado gado and beef redang. The gado gado kit includes infused garlic oil, gado gado curry paste and curry spices. The ingredients are handpicked and mixed for you, so you just need to add your choice of meat/vegetables. KentsKitchen is preparing to launch Posh Noodles including Spicy Szechuan, Miso Prawn & Wild Garlic, Teriyaki, Beef Pho and Pad Thai. Sold online at http://www.kentskitchen.co.uk, the company is seeking retail distribution in the UK. The Kent Cider Company (http://kentcider.co.uk) was also at the show alongside a host of other alcoholic drinks companies including Toffoc (http://www.toffoc.com), a favourite of mine from North Wales, The Bubbly Champagne Company and Rubis Chocolate Wine, which was absolutely delicious (www.rubiswine.co.uk). Garlic, chillies (habanero, scotch bonnet) and cheeses featured heavily in the show, and sampling highlights were Snowdonia Cheese’s chocolate chip cheese, pickled onion cheese and their Black Bomber, which is a delicious feature in our local pub’s ploughman’s and I couldn’t resist having a bite (www.snowdoniacheese.co.uk)! Chan Cham sauces (www.chancham.com) were delicious and stood out for me versus other spicy sauces on show, particularly the scotch bonnet and black pepper cooking sauce. The Garlic Farm’s Vampire’s Revenge (www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk) was my favourite of the wide range on offer with a deliciously sweet flavour from the plums and a kick from the habanero chilli, as well as, of course, a potent garlic note. It was really delicious. It was surprisingly quiet, compared to other shows, and chatting to many of the exhibitors Sunday was one of the busiest of the four days. I’m hoping that the Show returns to Kent next year, but whether some of the smaller producers will be interested in returning will depend on the leads gathered and worked on over the next few weeks. Fingers crossed! If you exhibited at the show and would like us to support you with PR and media communications, please get in touch. We can offer PR packages from just £150 to help push your brand following the Show. helen@foodanddrinktowers.co.uk .... Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:00:00 BST http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/meet-the-german-mister-free/ Meet the German Mister Free Mister Free is touted by functional and natural soft drinks entrepreneur, Chris Landmaan, as Germany’s “first sugar free AND natural” soft drink, which is hard to believe when you see the gorgeous red color – surely that can’t be natural? Landmaan reassures me that the sweetness comes from Stevia and that it is completely natural. The icing on the healthy cake is that it has only four calories per bottle. Mister Free was produced with bars and restaurants in mind and is registered for sale across Europe, but Landmaan plans to focus on brand development in his domestic country first. Nutritional values per 100ml: Calories: 1.9g Protein: 0.19g Carbohydrates: 0.8g Fat: 0.02g Currently one variant is available, fruits of the forest with a hint of coconut, and it is lightly fizzy by the addition of carbonated water. The ingredients list comprises carbonated water, stevia, elderberry juice, orange juice, lemon juice, ‘fruits of the forest’ and coconut. Landmaan recommended sampling with a wedge of lemon stuck into the top of the bottle (reminiscent of Corona beer), with cold sparkling water and with alcohol, as a party drink. I tried it with a wedge of lemon, which was refreshing, and opted for mixing it with Cava: I was impressed. The flavour is ‘European’: you can imagine drinking it at a beach bar in Spain, France or Germany. The addition of Cava turned it into a drink you’d quaff at a summer garden party with friends – not just in Europe but anywhere! Landmaan says: “Before launching the brand I never expected that the taste would be so polarising. We have some people who dislike it and a lot of people who drink several bottles every day”. For more information you can email Chris Landmaan at chris@misterfree.net. .... Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:40:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/top-10-pr-tips-for-foodanddrink-firms-from-palm-pr/ PALM PR Palm PR is a luxury lifestyle consultancy, specialising in the food, drink and travel sector. The agency is renowned for its diverse and creative work in the hospitality field, from launching the quirky Taiwanese bubble tea café Bubbleology in Soho and Harvey Nichols, to working with iconic establishments like the Red Fort Indian restaurant, The Varsity hotel and spa in Cambridge and big brands like First Restaurant Group and and GIG, one of Britain's largest catering firms. Palm PR orchestrates high profile, strategic campaigns to suit our client's individual needs, generating wide reaching press coverage in a diverse mix of media. Palm PR always ensures that our work matches creativity with business objectives to convert our campaigns directly in to increasing revenue. At Palm PR clients work directly with senior members of the team at every stage in the campaign, and a smart, non-fluffy approach ensures the best possible results. For more information go to www.palm-pr.com EMILY KEOGH Emily Keogh studied at Cambridge University before embarking on her PR career at respected international agency Ogilvy. She went on to manage consumer PR accounts at Mischief, working on brands such as esure, LOVEFiLM and Laterooms.com. However, Emily's true passion lay with luxury lifestyle and the food and drink sector, and she launched Palm PR two years ago to focus on those areas. With eight years PR experience, Emily leads an agency that focuses on driving creative press campaigns that achieve real results for their clients. Many small businesses admit to having only a vague understanding of what PR can do to promote and build their company. Used strategically, PR can do so much more than just deal with media enquiries and issue press releases. With the growth of social media, PR can also provide a cohesive 'voice' for your brand, monitoring consumer interaction, dealing with negative feedback and communicating directly with customers. Furthermore, PR can be a tool to directly boost sales, and not only to build brand identity. It is important to pick the right agency for your specific business needs. This means looking carefully into their past successes and experiences to ensure it fits with your company's goals. One good tip is to ensure your PR has a good grasp of the media and how to engage journalists - successful agencies will often employ ex-journalists who can provide insight in to what creates a relevant campaign. At Palm PR, we find that the clients who see the best results from our PR campaigns treat us a true extension of their team. It has to be a two way, constant dialogue to ensure that the exposure your agency is driving for you is on track with your business objectives as they change and develop. PR TIPS 1. The first step is to be clear about your brand's USPs. These are the things that only your business does and what differentiates you in the marketplace. These will become the press hooks that capture the attention of the media. If you're not clear on your USPs, invest time to think about the things that you do best and create some key points around that 2. Define what you want to achieve from PR. Are you looking to reach out to your current customer base to keep them informed of what your business is doing or are you wanting to target new audiences? Make sure the publications you are targeting and the type of articles you are trying to get published are dove-tailing and working towards securing those aims. Are you looking to drive footfall? Increase awareness? Drive up the brand value? 3. Build relationships with journalists. If there are certain publications that you need to feature in regularly then make face to face contact with the journalists that create the publication so that they understand your business and can put a face to the brand 4. Be targeted. Research your key publications thoroughly to learn what they like to feature and see how it relates to your business 5. PR isn't advertising. The press won't repeat your releases verbatim, so don't worry if the finished article doesn't exactly resemble the wording you were hoping for. If you have a good relationship with the press then you can work with them to ensure that the final feature is in keeping with the messaging you were hoping to communicate 6. Be honest in all your press materials. If you make unrealistic claims (or worse, lie), the press will see through it and will not favourably interpret the spin you are placing on your business 7. When communicating with journalists make sure you have all the materials needed for their features. Have images ready and all the relevant information laid out clearly in one document. The easier you make their life, the more likely they are to run your story 8. Make your written communications as clear as possible. Keep sentences short and to the point to ensure that your key messages are conveyed effectively. 9. Don't forget about social media! The role of social media is getting more and more important for every business. Think about the tone of voice you want to achieve and plan interesting content that will not sound 'salesy' but will capture your audience's attention so that they engage with your brand in a positive way. 10. Finally, don't forget to monitor the media once you have released a story. One easy way of doing this is signing up to Google Alerts for online content, but you should be reading and engaging with your target media so that you can keep track of the stories they are writing and be aware of any coverage that you manage to achieve from the minute it is published..... Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:21:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/you-are-cordially-invited-to-review/ YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO REVIEW... When I heard that a range of handmade fruit and flower cordials was to be my first product review for Food and Drink Towers I was, if I'm honest, a little disappointed. The initial invitation to be a product tester had me positively salivating with the anticipation of receiving mystery parcels stuffed with chocolates, biscuits, wine, cheese and other tempting treats. But cordial? Oh well, at least the kids can give it a try! Well how wrong could I be? A million miles away from the plastic bottles of concentrated saccharine kiddy juice I have experienced on the supermarket shelves, Norfolk Cordials have been carefully created with grown ups in mind. Beautifully packaged and deliciously flavoured, the collection of five luxury tipples that turned up on my doorstep are more suited to a dinner party than a toddler's birthday bash. Each flavour comes in a glass bottle more reminiscent of a wine bottle than a juice carton. Given my sweet tooth, I plumped straight for a taste of the Raspberry cordial. Sweet as the ripest fruit but with a hint of tanginess that prevents it from being sickly, the flavour was actually far more delicate than I might have expected but perfectly balanced. The Red Gooseberry and Wild Elderflower was a slightly cloudy blush coloured cordial with a gently sour note that actually made my taste buds tingle a little. The Strawberry and Lime cordial was refreshing and zingy and a firm favourite for my husband, and the Wild Elderflower was full of flavour without being harsh. By far the most successful combination for me, was the Rhubarb, Orange and Ginger cordial. A more complex flavour that can really only be fully appreciated by an adult pallet, each ingredient stands out, and the ginger gives the cordial a lively kick. Priced at £4 - £5 per 250ml bottle and £10 - £12.99 for a pack of five miniature 50ml bottles, I would say this is more likely to be a gift purchase or occasional treat than a weekly shopping basket essential. Norfolk Cordials deliver on quality, flavour and presentation, but what really sets the range apart for me is that every sip is refreshing, and does not leave any unpleasant after taste or sticky coating in your mouth as so many cordials, juices, and naturally flavoured beverages do. Shhh don't tell the kids, this cordial's just too good for them... I wonder what it would taste like mixed with a little Prosecco?! To find out more or for details of stockists log on to www.norfolkcordial.com Biog. An experienced writer and foodie, Vanessa Matthews lives in Cornwall with her husband and four children. She has dined at some of the best restaurants across the UK and Europe but its the fine produce of Cornwall that inspires her the most. Vanessa can often be found out and about sampling the temptingly tasty dishes on offer in the county to report on in her food pages for www.roseland-online.co.uk Follow her on twitter.com/VanessaMatthews .... Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/cellini-s-provides-a-fresh-take-on-italian-fare-for-kentish-food/ Cellini's provides a fresh take on Italian fare for Kentish foodies.... Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:33:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/foodanddrink-towers-taste-test-review-teapigs/ food&drink towers taste test review: teapigs Josie discovers she’s a bit of a teapig! When my teapigs parcel arrived I was over the moon. I had two different products to try: matcha green tea and a range of the teapig teabag flavours. Matcha I've never really been a fan of green tea, although I can't deny the supposed health benefits of matcha appeal to me. The matcha from teapigs came in a pure, organic powder form presented in a cute little box with a measuring spoon and shot glass. I read the accompanying literature and decided that, although my green-tea drinking experiences in the past haven’t always been pleasurable, I couldn’t wait to try this super-duper health drink. The instructions demonstrate three possible ways of serving matcha; as a shot, as a traditional cuppa or as a latte. The latte idea didn’t appeal to me much (green tea with frothy milk), so I made a traditional cup of matcha tea. As suggested, I used a small electric whisk to mix the powder with the water to help it dissolve into a solution. There is the potential to make a bit of a mess at this point (I did!) and I would say it doesn't dissolve as you might think. It seems a bit of a labour-intensive process to go to just for a cup of tea, regardless of all the benefits matcha is thought to provide. Whether I made the shot with hot or cold water, or the cup of hot tea, there were still small clumps of powder in the drink after considerable whisking action. When I knocked back the shot version, in particular, these clumps remained in the bottom of the glass or stuck to the sides and when I sipped on the larger volume from the teacup, every now and then I tasted this powder. Perhaps it's just a case of being more patient and further mixing. Personally, I preferred the shot way to drink the matcha tea; a quick down-in-one medicinal approach, but then green tea has never been something I've loved. In fact, the way teapigs make it so easy to have a shot is perfect for anyone who feels like me when it comes to green tea. Matcha rating 4/5 Everyday and herbal teabags from teapigs I also sampled teapigs everyday and herbal tea bags, including Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green Tea, Peppermint, Chamomile and a Crème Caramel Rooibos (yes please!). I was excited about trying the Crème Caramel Rooibos. When I opened the packet, just as described, the bag had caramel pieces in it, snuggled in amongst the red-looking rooibos tealeaves. However, it was more caramel ‘piece’ than ‘pieces’ and I was a little disappointed there wasn't more to make me feel like I was being really indulgent in drinking this unique flavour. I perhaps was a little hasty with my thoughts, even with just the one piece of caramel, the contents of the bag infused with the hot water to create a sweet and rather delicious cuppa. I felt naughty, like this drink was too dessert-like to be good for me, but I came to the conclusion that a cup of natural tea can't make even my health-conscious mind feel guilty. I drink peppermint tea by the bucket-load so I was naturally very curious about how the teapigs variety faired against what I'm used to. My conclusion: pretty good. It tasted fresh, full of flavour and natural, nothing artificial and no nasty lingering aftertaste in my mouth. The Earl Grey was delicate and the English Breakfast was great for those who like a more robust black tea. They both tasted much as I’d hope and expect, and although I can’t get too excited about them, especially having tried the other exotic flavours (and being more of a herbal then black tea-lover), they were super and didn’t let teapigs down. The Chamomile was suitably soothing and gentle, again with a nice flavour and I wasn’t overly keen on the Green Tea, but by now you’d expect me to say that. Overall, teapigs offer a fantastic range of traditional and exotic loose leaf and bagged teas, as well as their organic matcha powder. What I also like about them is their brand image, their quirky brand personality and the look of the tea both in and out of the packaging. They are the sort of teas you'd bring to the table for guests, with the bag left in the cup for them to see. Presented in muslin bags with plenty of room for the leaves to swirl around and do their thing, the bags not only look smart but do their job well too. I’ve always wondered what exactly a ‘teapig’ is but I think I’ve now decided I might be one. Rating: Teabags 4/5 About our food&drink towers taste test reviewer: Josie Price I'm a keen foodie. Currently studying part-time at the London School of Hospitality for a degree in Professional Cookery, my whole life revolves around food. In particular, I love to try new foods and take great delight in challenging and educating my taste buds! I'm obviously also a keen cook and spend much of my spare time cooking from scratch and baking - with an emphasis on trying my hand at dishes and products that are perhaps a little bit different to the norm. .... Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:52:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/it-s-a-mystery/ It’s a Mystery… Branding is a mystery for many small and start-up producers, so we’ve asked award-winning agency, Mystery, to provide some top tips just for food&drink towers… By Dan Einzig, Mystery’s founder (www.mystery.co.uk) Many small business-owners I talk to already understand that branding is essential to their business, but a surprisingly high number of them don't really know why. They recognise the link between successful businesses and strong branding and aspire to build a brand that emulates similar success for themselves. They understand that branding is not just a logo or how their business is perceived externally, but too few realise that successful brands have this branding at the heart of the business. So much so that in many ways you could almost substitute the word brand for business. Branding is a way of defining your business, both to yourself and your team and also to your external audiences. It could be called the business’s 'identity', but only on the understanding that the identity embodies the core of what the business is and its values, not just what it looks and sounds like. Customers of all sorts of businesses are so savvy today that they can see through most attempts by companies to gloss, spin or charm their way to sales. The benefits that a strategically defined brand can bring are the same as when people fall in love with each other. When customers connect emotively - because they share the same values and beliefs of a brand - it obviously leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. It also leads to loyalty, advocacy and can even protect your price in times when competitors rely on promotional discounts to drive sales. Just like with people when the relationship is strong, they often decide to start a family. Once customers are emotively connected with your brand it gives you the ideal platform from which to extend your offering or range. Here are ten tips on how to successfully implement branding for your business. 1. Start by defining your brand – review the product or service your business offers, pinpoint the space in the market it occupies and research the emotive and rational needs and concerns of your customers. Your brand character should promote your business, connect with your customer base and differentiate you in the market. 2. When building your brand, think of it like a person. Every one of us is an individual whose character is made up of stories, beliefs, values and purposes that define who we are and who we connect with. Our personality determines how we behave in different situations, how we dress and what we say. Of course for people it's intuitive and it's rare that you even consider what your own character is, but when you're building a brand it's vital to have that understanding. 3. Consider what is driving your business. What does it believe in, what is its purpose and who are its brand heroes. These things can help establish your emotive brand positioning and inform the identity and character for brand communications. 4. One of your branding goals should be to build long term relationships with your customers. Don’t dress up your offering and raise expectations that result in broken promises, create trust with honest branding – be clear who your company is and be true to the values that drive it every day. 5. Your brand should always speak to your customers with a consistent tone of voice. It will help reinforce the business’s character and clarify its offering so customers are aware exactly what to expect from the product or service. 6. However, don't be obsessed with consistency, repeating the same message in the same way over and over again. Alternatively, aim to make your key messages work together to build a coherent identity. 7. If you are a small business, don’t try to mimic the look of chains or big brands. Try and carve out your own distinctive identity. There is a big consumer trend towards independent establishments, and several chains are in fact trying to mimic an independent feel to capture some of that market. Truly independent operators can leverage their status to attract customers who are looking for something more original and authentic, that aligns with how feel about themselves. 8. Be innovative, bold and daring – stand for something you believe in. Big brands are encumbered by large layers of bureaucracy, preventing them from being flexible and reacting to the ever-changing needs of their customers. Those layers of decision makers can make it hard for them to be daring with their branding. 9. Always consider your branding when communicating to your customer base, especially when doing offers. Don't lose your pride or dilute your brand positioning with indiscriminate discounting. Try offering more, rather than slashing prices. Promotions are an opportunity to reinforce your brand mission. 10. The old way of doing things was to simply stamp your logo on everything that sits still long enough. The future of branding is fluid and engaging - respecting your customers' intelligence by not giving everything away up front. Use Mystery to generate some intrigue and allow them to unearth more about your brand for themselves. This is the way to foster ambassadors who revel in telling other people what they have discovered. Mystery is an award-winning agency that has been leading the way in food and drink branding for the last 13 years. Experts in the sector, Mystery has helped create, develop and evolve consumer brands like Masala Masala and Pernod Ricard as well as thriving restaurant groups of all scales. Their clients include Giraffe - whom they have been working with since their first site and are currently working towards their 50th - Caffé Italia, Ponti’s Italian Kitchen and international brand, Caffé Ritazza, as well as launching cult establishments including London-based Gino Gelato, Monkeynuts and Bubbleology, the bubble tea concept that’s taking the UK by storm. They just launched Za Za Bazaar, which is the largest restaurant in the UK. Journalist enquiries to Liam at liam@palm-pr.com .... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:53:00 GMT http://foodanddrinktowers.com/features/simply-ice-cream-is-much-more-than-simply-ice-cream/ Simply Ice Cream is much more than simply ice cream Few foods are so redolent of good times as ice cream. Little kids and big kids alike are seldom happier than when they’ve got a big dollop of the cold stuff in front of them, whether they are at the beach in summer or cosy on the sofa in winter. Ice cream, it seems, is our favourite frozen friend. It’s a shame, then, that some manufacturers take advantage of our constant demand for their product to put out what is frankly disappointing stuff. The most heinous crimes of all? Flagrant overloading with sugar or sweeteners is one, and an over-reliance on artificial flavours and colourings is another. Ice cream doesn’t have to be – and shouldn’t be – like this. Happily, for ice cream lovers everywhere, Simply Ice Cream is one of those producers who understands. Theirs are no lily-livered corner-cutting impostors, but full-fat, no-holds barred ice creams, packed with the very best things. For me, a good test of a producer or eaterie is whether they do the simple things well. Simply Ice Cream’s Dreamy Vanilla gets a big tick on that count. Gorgeously creamy, and rich with real vanilla pods, it’s delicious whether eaten on its own or slathered in whatever toppings you choose (try with maple syrup and chopped walnuts for a show-stopping treat). In short, it’s the kind of ice cream you’ll never tire of. As the name suggests, Heavenly Honeycomb Crunch is, indeed, divine. Ripples and little nuggets of tangy, almost salty, honeycomb run through the frozen custard base, making for a dangerously addictive ice cream. Not surprisingly, it’s Simply Ice Cream’s most successful product. Lemon Curd is as it should be – not too sharp with lemon, but with the citrus beautifully balanced with the eggy creaminess of a well-made curd. The Stem Ginger and Marmalade works similarly well – powerful flavours both, yet blended with great skill to make a subtly spiced orangey ice cream. Delicious. Brown Bread ice cream is a traditional version that our grandparents might recognise. Made with caramelised breadcrumbs, the resultant ice cream is nutty both in texture and flavour. For me, it’s not quite as stellar as those I’ve mentioned so far, but that’s a matter of personal preference. As for the Coffee and Cobnut Fudge creation, the coffee wins out here. I couldn’t readily discern cobnut, which is a shame, nor much fudge, strangely. Still, I wouldn’t stop this ice cream from darkening my freezer, since the overall effect is somewhat akin to a cracking coffee and walnut cake in frozen form. Yes, please. Sorbets are new to the Simply Ice Cream range, and – absolutely zinging with fruit as they are – look set to continue the company’s award-winning tradition. Eating the Raspberry sorbet, for example, is just like eating a mouthful of smoothly-puréed ripe raspberries fresh from the cane. It’s fantastic. And the Lemon sorbet is precisely the lemon sorbet you long for on a scorching hot day when your tastebuds have turned to simpering mush. It’s a great tongue-tingling reviver of an ice. So there you have it. Simply Ice Cream. Ice cream (and sorbets) with no added rubbish. Wonderful natural flavours married with as smooth and as scoopable texture as you can imagine. And all packaged in cheerily colourful but elegant tubs. I liked them. I liked them a lot. Would I buy it again? Yes, and again, and again, and again... Star rating: 5/5 www.simplyicecream.co.uk .... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:22:00 GMT