Vietnam is definitely my favourite country for food that I have visited so far. The variety is stunning, from Pho to spring rolls, strange looking fish to omelettes, stunning fresh vegetables to Banh Mi (breakfast baguettes) plus locally brewed beer and wine.
The last year has been a struggle for everyone. Not being able to go out and socialise with family and friends in a pub or restaurant, staying at home eating and drinking too much, trying to keep yourself sane and keep yourself from putting on the weight whilst binge watching series on TV. With all this in mind, to hear that Hospitality Action are setting a challenge for 2021 called ‘To Hell and Back’ to raise funds for the hospitality industry, I was more than excited to get involved.
When you think of Spain and Spanish cuisine, what are the first thoughts that come to mind? Paella? Tapas? Sangria? Me too, but Spanish cuisine consists of so much more than just paella and tapas (although they can never be ignored), and in recent years people have come to celebrate the extraordinary flavours and variety of produce that the cuisine has to offer.
As I’m fairly new to the ‘bean team’ and learning about the amazing work that Hospitality Action continuously do, I’ve been eager to dive head first into their 2021 initiative ‘To Hell and Back’ to raise funds for the industry that means so much to us all. Together with 16 of my teammates, we are committed to travelling 535 miles to contribute toward HA’s immense 30,000-mile total between 10th – 18th June, through walking/running and cycling (though I think by June 18th, quite a few of us will be crawling toward that G&T at the finishing line).
It never ceases to amaze me that the guys at jellybean are always up for a new challenge. No matter how busy they are juggling workload with a hectic home life, even if it eats into their personal time and requires them to go outside their comfort zone. Whether it’s a 100-mile bike ride, running a marathon, completing the moonwalk, taking on the 3 peaks challenge, or devoting time or expertise to a charity initiative – the beans will rise to the occasion with enthusiasm, commitment and determination. All whilst having fun as a team and enjoying the banter and camaraderie along the way.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the opportunities I have been given in an industry traditionally not known for its female-friendly workplaces. Today in 2021, there are organisations in place to encourage more women to set up agencies (I’m thinking of The Agency Collective) and initiatives by associations like The Alliance of Independent Agencies to promote diversity in the agency world. But I rather suspect there were no such organisations or initiatives back in 1987 when Fiona, our CEO, took the leap of faith to set-up what is now known as jellybean.
As the leading foodservice agency, jellybean is proud to have partnered with Arena to sponsor an exclusive boutique online event gathering foodservice sales and marketing professionals together to exchange insights around the challenges of the past year, and those of the months ahead.
I am absolutely thrilled that Jellybean is a Top 60 B2B agency (59) and a Top 40 Integrated B2B agency (38) according to the recently released 2021 UK B2B Marketing Agencies Benchmarking Report.
Did you know that Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world? To put it into context, it would take you the same amount of time to fly from Heathrow to Dubai, as it would to fly from one end of Canada to the other.
Like many of us, last year I got into the routine of a regular glass of something of an evening to unwind at the end of the working day, or to relax on the weekend. Lockdowns, tiers, lack of social contact, lack of anything better to do in general and working from home, combined with more daily exercise, all gave me a good reason to treat myself of an evening (thank goodness I didn’t have to home school, I would probably have started at 10am!).
At Jellybean, we love to raise money for charity. I’ve always wanted to take part in Movember and felt like this year was the perfect time to give back and do my part.
Like so many stories relating to charity support, this one concerns itself with family matters. Firstly with the birth of the Royal Marsden hospitals, and secondly with how they have come to help me and my family.
There are so many worthy charities that need support, funding, and resource. Over the years I have donated to many of them and will continue to do so, but The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity will always be my ‘go to’. My loyalty to it will never change, nor will my immense gratitude for the care that the Royal Marsden team gave my father in 1996.
The Children with Special Needs Foundation is my choice for the Jellybean 12 days of giving initiative 2020. I have been a supporter and patron for over 15 years of this wonderful local charity that was all set to celebrate its 25th year in 2020 and ramp up fundraising in this momentous year. Sadly, due to Covid, virtually all activity has had to be shelved and as a result essential funds have seriously depleted. CWSNF was inspired by Nick Ivil (who has Downs Syndrome and is still very involved to this day) and started by the inimitable and tireless Gordon and Ann Parris MBE. What sets this charity apart from so many others is that all the money raised goes to the point of need (all the hard working and enthusiastic team involved volunteer their time and expertise), every request for help is personally considered on its merits no matter how large or small the requirement and it is all about providing life-changing equipment and experiences to children with a wide range of special needs.
As a leading integrated food and drink agency we often get approached by TV production companies looking for food brands to take part in their programmes. However, when the call came earlier this year the production company on the end of the line was not only interested in working with some of our clients, but also with Jellybean. The question was posed…would you be open to coming on the show as a food marketing expert to give your opinion on a range of ads and different recent food marketing trends?
Like many of my fellow beans, I consider myself to have a well-rounded palate and a decent set of taste buds. So how (especially with my penchant for Indian takeaways) have I completely missed Pakora?
We thought we knew cocoa, until that is we started working with Olam Cocoa to launch their new range of deZaan premium cocoa powders – which made us think again! We couldn’t believe the range of colour and taste variants they had developed, taking cocoa from an everyday staple to something to truly inspire professionals in the kitchen. And it seems the more you discover about cocoa, the more there is to learn – from pH to dutching, fat content to intrinsic and extrinsic colour (who knew!). Working with Olam Cocoa on the launch of their new responsibly sourced professional range has been a real education.
This September saw Jellybean work with flavour innovator McCormick Flavour Solutions to stage its live-streamed ‘End of Summer Sessions’, featuring two of the UK’s most respected chefs hosting two unique digital inspiration demos, from their respective kitchens.
