Each week our team comes together to debrief, and share key stories and insights from the news cycle. Take a gander below and find out what’s caught our attention this week.
Is the future of food flexitarian?
The rise of vegan and vegetarian products on the market is hard to ignore! But the statistics suggest that whilst these lifestyles are on the rise, the vast majority of the population still eat meat and don’t intend to stop any time soon. Step in, the Flexitarian. Touted as the lifestyle that allows to you be free to experiment, indulge, be health conscious and minimise your environmental impact. Many of our clients are realising that their vegan and vegetarian products (and our corresponding marketing activities) are consistently growing in popularity. We believe this is a lifestyle trend that is going to continue to grow and definitely one for brands to grow in line with.
Check out YouGov’s white paper on this very topic via The Grocer.
Morrisons introduces ‘We’ll weigh what you need’ service to help cut food waste
Undeniably, we’re all guilty of buying food and at the end of the week still having our fridges stacked with leftover bits that haven’t made the cut. We know it’s not the way to go, but how do we put an end to it? Shockingly, new figures from the UK’s food waste champion – Ben Elliot, have revealed that UK households waste, on average, the equivalent of £500 worth of groceries per year – not only giving our bank balance a sharp hit but wasting an extortionate amount of good, fresh food.
The Grocer reports that Morrisons are now taking the plunge and making a change. They’re moving things forward, by taking a step backwards – let me explain. They’re introducing in-store butchers, fishmongers and deli specialists with a ‘weigh what you need service’ – creating a similar experience of how shopping was done prior to the introduction of large supermarkets. No-one’s accustomed to meal habits more than consumers themselves, so it makes sense to give them the control and in turn, hopefully, see a reduction in food waste.
Read more via The Grocer.
The bold Brew Dog identity is stripped back with not all that much to say — Does it need to?
Recently featuring in the ad break of Game of Thrones ”one of the most prestigious media slots in the cultural calendar.” The popular Scottish craft beer company Brewdog claims it’s ‘the most honest ad you’ll ever see’ Going against the grain of any costly cinematic productions, Brewdog stays true to their roots & their desire to accelerate the craft beer revolution through embracing the alternative.
Find out more via Creative Review.
Amazon puts its money where our mouths are.
Amazon is the lead investor of a £450m financing round for everyone’s favourite food delivery service, Deliveroo. According to founder and chief executive, Will Shu, the investment is good news for hungry punters, ambitious restauranteurs and delivery drivers, alike. Creating better working conditions, more jobs for all and a highly personalised experience for hand-delivered feast fans everywhere. The news made a bad week, even worse for Uber Eats whose stocks fell 8% after going public on Monday. Just Eat stocks have also suffered, falling by 7% and scrubbing off more than £360m of their market cap in one fell swoop.
Read more from The Guardian.
Thinking outside of the bowl for American Cereal Club
Thanks to our busy lives getting in the way, more than a few of us are guilty of skipping the ‘most important meal of the day’. With cereal sales on the decline, things were looking a bit glum for the breakfast aisle, but new research from The Grocer shows there’s a shift in the way people are consuming cereal products. Eating habits are moving away from a bowl of milk and cereal to cereal as a snack. We’ve seen plenty of on-the-go breakfast products over the last ten years, from bars to cereal drinks, but now people are choosing to swap snacks like crisp, popcorn and chocolate for a bowl of cry cereal. When we took on our client American Cereal Club, we knew we have to think outside of the box and the bowl. We don’t shy away from the sugar content – we embrace it, with an Instagram feed full of cakes, bakes, cocktails and snacks inspired by the rainbow coloured Malt-O-Meals™ Marshmallow Mateys™.
Get your cereal snack fix with The Grocer.
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To pick our brains about what cultural signals you should be taking note of – get in touch.