Mark Hix on the difference between morels, chanterelles and girolles and why you should eat them all the time August 2, 2016 Girolles are one of the first mushrooms to appear on the UK’s culinary calendar. If you’re very lucky, you might find a rare morel or a scarlet elf cup, which grows in freezing conditions in the early part of the year unlike most of themushrooms we pick here. But trust me, the first funghi you’re [...]
Yeo Valley-manufactured yoghurts sold at Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Sainsbury’s and The Co-Operative in rubber scare recall August 1, 2016 Five supermarkets have been advised to recall thousands of own-brand yoghurts manufactured by Yeo Valley as they may contain small pieces of rubber. Asda, the Co-Operative, Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose have all been affected by the recall of the yoghurts. The rubber was found in a fruit conserve made by a supplier, Yeo Valley said [...]
Branding and buyouts: Brand Union’s Toby Southgate on corporate takeovers, Tesco’s farms and Tesla’s higher purpose August 1, 2016 Perceptions of brands change over time,” says Toby Southgate, worldwide chief executive of Brand Union. “And building them takes a long time. It’s not about the final push over the line.” A consultative arm of WPP, Brand Union specialises in brand strategy, and has shaped the identity of some of the world’s biggest names, including Vodafone, Absolut [...]
Galvin at The Athenaeum: the brothers are on top form again with their latest Mayfair venture July 26, 2016 I’d been planning a self-congratulatory column when I reached 100 restaurant reviews for City A.M. but I took my eye off the ball and now we're up to number 105. When the centenary klaxon should have been sounding, I was too busy drooling over the tinned black pudding at Six Portland Road. So I’ll spare you [...]
Brexit vote? What Brexit vote? The rise of the discounters is still hitting supermarkets’ market shares July 26, 2016 The results of last month's EU referendum may have sent markets reeling, but it seems the supermarket sector has continued as it was before – namely, with market shares sinking for all of the big four. Figures by Kantar Worldpanel showed the Brexit vote had "no immediate impact" on the prices retailers were charging or [...]
Exclusive: Walkie Scorchie, more like: City A.M. uses the rays of the Walkie Talkie building to fry an egg | City A.M. July 22, 2016 The developers of the Walkie Scorchie skyscraper – aka 20 Fenchurch Street – had hoped their building would be known for its striking design and its blue chip clients. But instead City A.M. has revealed how the building has begun emitting a curious ray of light, started melting cars, set a carpet on fire and [...]
Supermarkets face “fake” farms complaint from farmers July 17, 2016 Supermarkets are under fire over the use of "fake" farms to promote products to customers and farmers have now lodged an official complaint with authorities over the use of the branding my supermarkets. The National Farmers Union (NFU) has filed a formal complaint with Trading Standards over the use of names such as "Woodside Farm" by Tesco, arguing they are [...]
Fixed or tracker: As Brexit prompts mortgage rates to tumble, how long should borrowers hold out for? July 12, 2016 Brexit might have thrown markets into turmoil, but if you’re thinking of taking out a mortgage, or are remortgaging, rates are about to get even more competitive. Since the referendum began in earnest, investors have clambered to buy government bonds, driving down yields and enabling mortgage lenders to offer more long-term funding. Banks have been [...]
Predictive power: Black Swan’s Jeff Headley on marketing intelligence, flu prevention and why the internet is the largest real-time focus group in the world July 11, 2016 Marketing is fundamentally about prediction: what does the consumer want, and when do they want it? From New Coke in 1985, the modernisation of the Gap logo in 2010, and BIC’s pink “for her” biros just four years ago, the history of marketing is littered with flops which better consumer testing could have avoided. Since 2011, [...]
Ofcom: Sky garners few complaints across broadband, TV, mobile and telephone, but BT, EE, Plusnet fare badly July 8, 2016 Things aren't getting much better. The total number of complaints made to Ofcom in between the last three months of 2015 and the first three months of 2016 was stable – though, to be fair, there was a slight decline in pay-monthly mobile complaints. Sky consistently got less complaints than the industry average, while Virgin [...]