Ugo's is a range of microwaveable panini. Sounds strange? Well, they're actually rather nice, as they stay crispy when you heat them up. It's growing very nicely and has good distribution in all the major multiples. I admire the brand for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, they're owned by the Kepak Group, an Irish meat processer, with its UK offices in Kirkham near Preston and not by one of the international food giants such as Nestle / Unilever. They don't have their  big budgets and resources , but instead have a much stronger entrepreneurial spirit and a real 'can-do' attitude. Its great when you see these kind of companies do well.

Secondly, this is not the first time they've grown a brand from scratch. Over the past few years they've been successfully growing the Rustlers brand - a range of microwaveable burgers and hot snacks, which is sponsoring the new Corden and Horne film, the Lesbian Vampire Killers and has a new ad campaign which is about to break. It's the ultimate lads snack.

It's tough enough launching one successful brand into the UK supermarkets, but to launch two is quite an achievement.

Comment (0)

I always think that Starbucks is a bellwether brand. When things were great in the 90s it grew massively and seemed unstoppable, but as a mate of mine said, you know the economy's in trouble when hear that Starbucks is closing down coffee shops.  In recent times this has been a common occurrence, particularly in the UK, whose economy was recently described by Howard Shultz, the Starbucks CEO, as ‘in a spiral'. Peter Mandelson was not amused.

Starbucks' latest move is to launch a range of instant coffees - click here for the launch video. Will it be a success? I very much doubt it.

I do have to confess that I may have a biased view. I worked on Nescafe for a number of years when I was a brand manager and - being Italian - am a bit of a coffee snob. However, I still think it will be a disaster and is a sign of desperation from an ailing giant. This is why I think it will fail in the UK

• It claims to have ‘cracked the code' of instant by making a superior quality coffee. I've yet to taste it, but I very much doubt this has happened. I can't believe the R&D expertise of Starbucks is superior to Nestle...or Kenco.
• Lovers of instant coffee don't really like the taste of ‘real' coffee, so even if they have matched the taste of freshly brewed coffee it won't encourage current instant consumers to switch
• It's far too expensive - £1-20 for a pack of 3 ie 40p a cup! Compare this to £2.15 for a 100g jar of Nescafe which serves over 50 cups.
• In the UK the instant coffee market is in decline, so they're going to have to work really hard to steal market share.

So...to add to my mate's comments....you know when we're in deep, deep trouble when you hear about Starbucks launching a range of instant coffee.

Comment (0)

We often say, rather glibly, that all great products /services are underpinned by a great consumer insight and one of the most insightful innovations I've come across in recent times is Sarah Beeny's dating site, My Single Friend.

It's based on a very powerful consumer insight that

‘dating online is a lonely experience and that the cringe factor of describing yourself to potential paramours is rather painful'

Therefore it encourages single people to get their friends to write stories about them. Thus:

• online dating doesn't feel so lonely
• you avoid the ‘cringe factor' of having to sell yourself

Plus, I'm sure your friends have a fresher and more insightful view of what makes you tick, hence making you much more marketable.

A simple, but brilliant idea, based on a deep understanding of the needs and desires of single people looking for love. Well done Sarah Beeny.

Comment (0)

Really enjoyed the Cadbury's Eyebrows ad. Great casting, mindlessly silly but very funny. Bugger all to do with chocolate, but great entertainment and definitely a glass and a half of joy.Quite a coup to see the Lily Allen spoof version on  Channel 4's the Sunday Night Project which no doubt added to the buzz surrounding the brand. A great return to form for Cadbury's after the disastrous Trucks ad. Hope we never see the Gorilla again.

Comment (0)

I'm working in Milan at the moment and can't help noticing the number of Fiat 500s on the road. It's a really good-looking car and retains all the style and character of the much loved original. If I was in the market for a new small car, this is definitely the one I'd go for.

Comment (0)

I've been really impressed by Walker's Do Us a Flavour Promotion, a competition to find the next flavour of Walkers crisps. Various wild flavour combinations have been suggested by the public and we're down to the final 6. Whoever wins, based on public votes will win £50 000 and 1% of future revenues.

I've been doing a fair amount of motorway driving over the past week and so far have picked up 3 different flavours - Builders Breakfast, Onion Bhaji and Chilli and Chocolate. They've all been fantastic, but I particularly like the Builders Breakfast.

Its a really simple idea, but is a brilliant way to create interest in a well established category. And discussing the merits of different flavours is a great way to pass the time on long car journeys.

Whilst browsing the fixture at my M4 service station I noticed that Phileas Fogg had re-launched their crisp range. Compared to Walkers they looked rather dull - sea salt and Indonesian black pepper (yawn) and lacking character. Feels too little too late.

Comment (0)

I'm really intrigued by Howie's new range of products called Hand Me Down. These are ultra durable products that are designed to last at least 10 years and be passed on to subsequent generations. The only consequence is that they cost a lot of money eg £400 for a jacket.

The rationale they use is that these kinds of products will encourage us to consume less in the long term. Will be interesting to see whether this approach to responsible consumption will be adopted by other brands and categories

This approach reminds me a little of Patek Philippe's long running advertising campaign. This has the famous line. 'You never actually own a Patek Philippe, you merely look after it for the next generation' . Of course their consumer insight is very different - the desire to create a legacy and the bond between a father and his son. A fabulous insight and one that clearly resonates.

Comment (0)

I've just finished Andrew Marr's excellent 'A History of Modern Britain' and one of the things that struck me was that although British business is often good at inventing brands, its poor at growing and sustaining them.

This has been going on for decades. The decline of the automotive industry has been well documented - Rover, Leyland, Triumph and many more are buried in the Brands Graveyard. However, British brands perform  badly in many other categories - sportswear (Dunlop?), consumer electronics (Amstrad?), even beer.

Those that are successful are often niche (MG) and/or foreign owned (Kit-Kat, the Mini, Manchester United, even Harry Ramsdens). There are exceptions of course (Tesco, BA, M&S) - but not that many.

There are a number of possible causes - global competition, union power, bad management, our poor relationship with Europe, government policy. However the fact is, consumers (including British consumers)  don't have a burning desire to buy British brands.

However, our marketing services are world renowned. Our advertising agencies continue to lead the world in terms of creative output and we've got some thriving design, market research, training, consulting and media agencies with global reach. Some of the biggest marketing services groups are UK based eg WPP, Saatchi and Saatchi.

Why is this the case? I think the fact that English is the international business language helps. However, it could be that British creativity and our intellectual capital are more valued than our brands. Maybe its because Brits enjoy thinking and talking about brands much more than undertaking the much more difficult task of building them.

Comment (0)