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Good Enough to Eat: The Best Easter Packaging of 2013

Here at Bloom, we all enjoyed last weekend’s excuse to consume our body-weights in egg-shaped confectionary and I suspect we weren’t the only ones. According to a recent study reported in Confectionary News, Easter is primarily associated with chocolate for 62% of Brits (compared with just 12% who primarily associate it with Jesus).  

In the midst of our enthusiastic guzzling, however, we did come across a few Easter treats that were literally too good to eat. Here’s our round-up of 2013’s best Easter packaging: 

Best for Children: Smarties Hen House

The hen house’s window reveals a golden egg and a chocolate hen with an egg inside, adding a playful element of discovery to this innovative alternative to the traditional Easter Egg.   

Best for Grown-ups: Hotel Chocolat All Milk Collection

Hotel Chocolat’s All Milk Easter Collection added a rare touch of sophistication to this Easter’s offerings. The delicate, black, white and gold carousel box features a traditional Easter design dating back to the 1930s. The extra-thick egg it contains comes with a chocolate tablet embossed with the same scene. 

 Best of the Countline Treats: Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chick With Easter Buttons.

Only the most cynical Easter shopper could resist this smiling chick. Better yet, unlike most countline Easter treats, this chick isn't hollow, but filled with Cadbury’s iconic Milky Buttons.

 Best for Traditional Fun and Games: Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail Pack

Cadbury’s colourful, basket shaped trail pack provides you with all you need to construct your own Easter Egg hunt, for some nostalgic family fun. 

 

Best for Gourmands: Rococo’s Praline Quail Eggs and Salted Caramel Seagull Eggs

Rococo’s Praline Quail Eggs and Salted Caramel Seagull Eggs are ideal for those seeking up-market alternatives to the traditional hen’s egg. Nestled in tastefully rustic crates, the delicately speckled eggs could easily masquerade for the real thing.

 

Most Eco-Friendly: Elizabeth Shaw

Elizabeth Shaw’s Easter packaging was designed for minimal wastage. The egg did not even require any extra fixtures to position it, as the box was cleverly constructed to grip it in place.

 

Best Offering from a Non-Chocolate Brand: Rowntree’s Randoms

Colourful, exuberant and delightfully random, Rowntree’s packaging for its sweetie-filled egg was perfectly on-brand and, with no plastic window, it was eco-friendly too.

 

 

 

Live Advent Calendar

To celebrate Christmas at Bloom, this year we've decided to have a live advent calendar where each day someone would bring the Christmas cheer to Bloom.

As one might have imagined, much food was consumed and much cheer was had.

Here's a little snippet of all the activities...

 

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a jolly good 2013.

We'll be back next year. 

 

Pleasure in a pop-up

It is no longer enough for brands to deliver satisfication simply through a quality product. Brands today, must 'excite me, involve me and respect me as an individual'.  No small task for businesses who historically drive profit margins through uniformity and volume. Hence the rise of the pop-ups.

Pop-ups are the perfect platform - a single-minded branded presence on the high street offering pure brand theatre through experience and engagement. Cost effective against the exposure they generate, they offer a visible and real channel to celebrate the brand by creating something special if only for a limited time.

So hats off to Magnum who have just opened up a pop up store in Westfield Stratford (conveniently near to a certain global event starting in a few days). We recently heard about the 'Make your own Magnum pop up store" and had to go check it out. All in the name of research, of course.

With 2 types of ice cream (vanilla or chocolate & caramel), 18 toppings ranging from caramel swirls to coconut shavings to edible rose petals, 3 dipping chocolate sauces (white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate) and the option to drizzle some more chocolate on top, there are over 104,500 different possibilities to create your own Magnum. 

 

Magnum-inspired cocktails were also available at the bar.

 

Twitter campaign to go hand in hand with the pop-up store

Our creation was a chocolate & caramel Infinity ice-cream dipped in white chocolate topped with hazelnuts, popping candy and brownies and finally drizzled with dark chocolate.

If that wasn't enough, once you've created your guilty indulgence you are invited to sit in the 'Pleasure Pod', to measure the pleasure that you give out whilst eating it.

 

The pod records your sensory output through measures of skin tension, facial expression, deglutition (aka swallowing) and heartbeat to capture your responses and displays them through a series of visual animations chart the pleasure journey.

This is just a short interpretation of the visual animation inside The Pleasure Pod.

 

Congratulations to Magnum and Unilever for creating such a compelling brand experience. So Mars was wrong...here is an example of Pleasure you can Measure.

Consumer's verdict on patriotic packs

As a follow up to our blog article in May - A Title wave of Patriotism - here's an interesting video of consumers discussing their reaction to a selection of the many patriotic packs launched earlier this year to celebrate the Jubillee, the Olympics and the United Kingdom. Commisioned by Packaging News this is an interesting insight around how these packs have or have not improved their perception of these brands.

 

 

A tidal wave of patriotism

We all love a good reason to celebrate. And this summer, London is not only gearing up for the Olympics but also for H.R.H. The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations and not forgetting the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship. So with that combination, it does not come as a surprise that every week we see established brands emerging with limited editions to play a role in national optimism. 

Whilst the Olympic brand (such as the Olympic rings, the torch and the flame) is protected, in order to ensure that sponsors get the exclusivity they have paid for, the national flag and the Queen’s equities are rather more permissive. As a consequence the iconic Union Jack is fast becoming omniprescent throughout the high street. A poignant symbol of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it tackles both the recognition of our Queen's 60 year reign and a message of support for 'Team Great Britain' as well as an opportunity to align brands to a culture of British pride.  So how are brands doing it?

 

Patriotic Pride

An unadulturated celebration of all things British is the brief here. Aligning the brand with the Union Jack in a way that is both relevant and appropriate. British flavoured / themed limited edition products are fast emerging every where. Here are just a few. 

1950’s Revival

Brands will always seize on the opportunity to remind us of their enduring appeal through landmark milestones. Several brands have dug into their archives to bring back some classic designs from yesteryear to remind us how long they've been gracing our cupboards. The Jubilee and its retrospective celebration of Britain over the years provides the perfect stage.

 

Diamonds, crowns and jewels

This category embraces brands that have earnt their right to celebrate the Jubilee through receipt of the Royal Warrant. Some are more overt whereas others a little more understated and elegant.

It would be a shame not to mention some of the great brands that Bloom has been working with to celebrate these occasions. A couple of months ago we couldn't move in the studio for the cultural british images and the red, white and blue flags filling our screens. Here's a few of the brands we've aligned with this wonderful occasion.

                              

    

 

Finally the Museum of Brands are curating an exhibition ‘Jubilee, Jubilee’ which is showcasing souvenirs and commemorative products made to mark the royal jubilees of the past, as well as the newly released keepsakes launched to commemorate this year’s Diamond Jubilee.

And with all the excitement this summer and the wave of patriotism sweeping the country, we wish The Queen a happy anniversary, Team GB all the best at the Olympics, England every success at Euro 2012 and hope that this might be Andy Murray's year to win Wimbledon!

Here's to all things British.

For futher examples of celebration packs click on our Flickr stream on the right of this post.

And so it came to pass … the origins of 3 brand icons

Many of the world's loved and respected brand icons are born through happenstance. This week we’ve picked 3 famous food brands and investigated the unusual stories behind their conception.

Heinz ‘57 Varieties’

You’d be right in thinking that Heinz must have more than 57 varieties today. In fact they sell more than 5,700 different products in 200 countries. So how did the claim come about and why did it stick?

Back in 1896, Henry John Heinz was riding a train in New York City when he noticed an ad for ’21 styles of shoes’. He thought it was a clever way to advertise the plethora of canned and bottled foods his companies sold under one banner. At that time the company already sold more than 60 items. The number 57 was literally born from 5 (his lucky number) and 7 (his wife’s lucky number). He owned the company, it was his prerogative ... and Heinz ketchup still carries this claim today though less prominently.

La Vache qui Rit

The Laughing Cow was born soon after World War 1. French cheesemaker Léon Bel had a lot of comté, gruyere and emmental cheeses left over and decided to melt them down to create a new type of cheese.

In 1921 he noticed a meat truck go passed nicked name ‘Wachyrie’ after ‘Valkyries’ the creatures from Norse mythology that determine victors in battle. Considering it a relevant association Bel created the pun ‘La Vache qui Rit’ (‘The Laughing Cow’.  He then commissioned Benjamin Rabier, a cartoon artist,  to draw up the cow which has evolved into what it is today.

Green Giant

In 1925, Minnesota Valley Canning Company wanted to market its range of can peas. Unusually it came up with a grumpy grey gnome wearing a bearskin, stooping and scowling.

Realising that this was not the most relevant or consumer friendly face of the brand they soon hired an ad agency to revamp the mascot. It was none other than a young Leo Burnett who evolved the mascot into a friendly giant, painted him green, with a leaf strewn tunic, wreath and boots and called him ‘Jolly’ all in an attempted to make him more friendly.

The Jolly Green Giant was such a successful marketing campaign that the company actually changed its trading name to Green Giant.

Easter time!

In 2011 we saw 25% of all global chocolate launches for chocolate products with a "seasonal" positioning, such as Christmas, Easter, or Halloween. And it seems that this year has seen a real hive of activity around new Easter chocolate products - research shows that there has been a spectacular 45% rise in the number of Easter products launched globally during 2012 compared to Easter 2011. Here's some egg-cellent examples... 

Impulsive holiday chocolate buying

Thorntons range of 1p Easter eggs are being promoted via outdoor advertising, using the instant mobile checkout Simply Tap to allow users to buy the eggs.

Users can download Simply Tap from the Apple App Store or Android Market, which then allows them to take a photo of the desired product or scan the related QR code through the Simply Tap app and instantly purchase it with a single tap on their mobile phone.

 

Easter Celebrations

The much-loved Celebrations chocolates are now available in a luxury hollow egg filled with a large bag of luxury Celebration chocolates! Available in stores from today...

Easter Doughnuts

The American chain of Krispy Kreme doughnuts is throwing its hat, or rather its egg-shaped doughnuts, into the ring this Easter, with two glazed ovoid treats. Filled with frosting and topped with glaze, they're sugar bombs that even fans of Krispy Kreme's regular glazed doughnut might find a bit over the top. The two new doughnuts were created with inspiration from the Universal Pictures’ Easter-themed family movie HOP.

 

Hatching plans

With Easter just days away and covert chocolate buying about to go into overdrive, in Australia, Cadbury has turned to social media this year to market its eggs.

The new approach allows Cadbury to reach the growing number of consumers looking for product ideas and information online, as well as to target younger adults who are typically less involved with the brand than its traditional family market.

The three products to be heavily marketed online are Egg 'n' Spoon, Cadbury Creme Egg and Caramel Bunnies.

Cadbury expects to sell about 200 million Easter eggs this year in Australia. We're very excited about Egg 'n' Spoon which hits the UK soon. 

And finally a little freebie we found online... Rock+Paper+Scissors are giving away free Easter bunnies. Just print, cut, and stick them together.

 

 

Here at Bloom we wish you a Happy Easter - and a lovely 4 day long weekend (if not more!)

 

Valentine's day special

Every year there is an escalation in romantic interest as February, the Month of Hearts, approaches, and the scent of Valentine's Day begins to waft in the air. Here at Bloom we look at how the everyday things you love, like coffee, smoothies and macaroni cheese are making a special appeal for Valentine's day.

 

1. Say it with a smoothie

Innocent has launched an alternative Valentine gift idea this year... 

This is no ordinary Innocent Smoothie, but a cheeky blend of strawberries, bananas and... love! A charming concept for Valentine's Day where you can 'Make your own Valentine's Smoothie' via Innocent's website, giving your Valentine an extra special personalised delicious treat. 

 

2. Coffee loving through augmented reality

Starbucks in America has launched a ‘Starbucks Cup Magic - Here's to all the relationships in your life worth celebrating.’

 

They have rolled out some heart-adorned cups to celebrate Valentine’s Day. If you have the Starbucks Cup Magic app and put the cup within your phone’s field of vision, your phone will display images of heart-shaped flower petals flying off the cup. You can also send a video of the scene to your beloved via email or Facebook.

 

3. Philanthropic love 

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is taking love sharing to the next level by offering to send positive emotion tweets and Macaroni & Cheese to the needy as part of the charitable ‘Golden Voice of Love’ effort.

The new campaign features the brand’s ‘Golden Voice’, Ted Williams, calling KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese’s loyal fans to help hungry people in the USA. The brand is encouraging the public to tag their V-Day tweets with #VoiceOfLove from February 12-14. These posts will immediately appear in Mr. Williams’ virtual mailbox—then he will select a number of tweets and record them in a video in his great soulful voice, which will be then posted to the brand’s YouTube Channel. Each tweet with this Valentine tag will result in a donation of 100 boxes of KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese to Feeding America organisation.

Get tweeting now...

 

4. Branded love

The makers of Marmite are ‘spreading the love’ with the release of three limited edition signed e-cards on facebook designed by artist and Marmite fan, Pete Fowler, with messages such as "You're the crumpet to my Marmite" - only real lovers would appreciate.

Very Marmite..very nice....

 

5. Sweet gifts for your sweetheart

After last year's Glamour Glaze Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, we've been eagerly anticipating this years Valentine related donught delight from Krispy Kreme. And this Valentine they’re offering 3 holiday themed doughnuts to choose from–Heart with Sprinkles, Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles, and the Drizzled Heart.

Our mouths are watering and our hearts are fluttering.

Modular confectionery

Modular systems are smart. They allow you to tailor a product, change it around and swap in and out individual components according to your individual want.  It's customisation controlled by you. Think Lego, IKEA furniture or Dell computers.

Elsa Lambinet, applied the idea of modular experimentation to chocolate for her 2011 graduation design project. She collaborated with Swiss chocolatier Blondel to create this beautiful concept of customisable confectionery from interchangeable components.

Called “Sweet Play,” the project uses three types of chocolate and a range of toppings and fillings: dark chocolate has a platform for fruit, milk chocolate features indentations for nuts, and the white chocolate can hold liquids. All three have slots for receiving fillings such as wafers, nougat, and caramel. “Participants get to mix and match ingredients for hours and hours as they gorge themselves on custom confectionery goodness,” writes Lambinet. Its Wonka for grown-ups. See video here.

Last year, U.K. candy buisness, The Natural Confectionery Company, went modular with jelly sweets. In June 2011, they  launched Guzzle Puzzle sweets, a DIY mix and match flavour exploration in a unique jelly form. The candies come in five flavours - lime, cinnamon, banana, orange, and raspberry - but in certain combinations they create three additional flavours: cola, bubblegum, and pink lemonade.

Whilst aimed at young consumers, the brand language was deliberately not so childish as to alienate the older audience. We all have our own 'inner child' and confectionery is naturally the platform to expose this.

But who can forget Jelly Belly, the pioneers of confectionery flavour modulation? With a massively loyal following, Jelly Belly consistently challenges its consumers to come up with new 'recipes' from individual sweet combinations, and then showcases them on their website. With 50 official flavours in the range the possibilities are almost endless. 

Whilst 'modular' in confectionery is fitting for a category which is all about fun and exploration we believe that there is scope for modulation in food beyond confectionery. Watch this space...

Food and dining trends for 2012

The New Year is a time to learn from the past and look forward to the future…so we bring you six trends in the world of food that we think will prosper over the course of this year.

 

Scandimania

A Scandinavian invasion - following the success of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Franchise and the TV series The Killing, high streets are expected to reflect a Scandinavian feel. It all began with flatpack furniture and meatballs, but our taste for Scandinavian style has evolved, and IKEA is soon to be a distant memory amidst all the new influences hitting our high streets.

The number of Scandinavian and Baltic products being sold in the West End has increased fourfold in the last year. John Lewis Oxford Street added 38 new Scandinavian brands to their food hall in January 2011 alone. 

Mustard and Dill Herring