Traceability And “Food Miles”
The trend is for people to want to know where their food is from and who produced it. This goes far beyond country-of-origin labeling. It is a French and Italian trait, always foreign to British culture, but now catching on. It is part of the Slow Food movement and much more. I expect we will […]
Convenience Food Puts End
To Buffet Cars
“The buffet car, one of the few remaining civilized pleasures of traveling on Britain’s over-crowded railways, is to be axed on several routes between London and the West Country.” All the usual reasons were given — it takes up room, adds weight, etc. But many passengers were unhappy: “The buffet car is part of the […]
Box Fresh
The Times also devoted a two-page spread to the hottest trend in British retailing, as the headline states: ‘Box-fresh and delivered right to your doorstep’. The article is basically a review of five different services, all of which deliver mixed boxes of organically grown fruits and vegetables to the homes of purchasers, typically on a […]
The Perishable Pundit Visits South Africa
Dispatch IV: Seeing The Future
From Across The Pond
In continuation of yesterday’s review of a day in London’s newspapers: Back in The Guardian, a columnist by the name of Simon Hoggart visited America. Those foreigners report the darndest things. For example: “It may be the little things in America that make most of it such an attractive place. Friendly service in shops, where […]
Fun And Passion At Trader Joe’s
We discussed Trader Joe’s in our pieces about Tesco here and here. Tesco is planning a concept that is roughly the same square footage as Trader Joe’s. The Dallas Morning News article is about people so passionate about Trader Joe’s that they take detours on vacations — with empty suitcases in tow — to go […]
Pundit Mailbag:
Measuring Childhood Obesity
Yes, I think school foodservice has an impact on the well being of our children and it is probably something that is not measurable. There is a lot of things in life you can’t measure, but you know it’s for the betterment of your lifestyle. — Eli Hudson Produce Specialist Pate Dawson Company Eli Hudson […]
The Perishable Pundit Visits South Africa
Dispatch III — UK Weighs In On Obesity
In the old days, you could at least run into London and either do some business, visit with friends, shop or sightsee. But with the security issues, going back through security can be such a hassle you don’t even want to bother. It also would be nice to take a shower, and shower facilities are […]
Pundit Mailbag: The Foodservice/Retail Packaging Dichotomy
We tend to underestimate the preferences and needs of both groups because we think first about selling and minimizing risk rather than solving problems. Kudos to Dole, and can I have those products in my store please? — Meredith Auerbach Strategic Marketing Projects for Agriculture Meredith is responding to the piece we ran about Dole’s […]
The Next Generation Of GMO Foods
Opponents of genetically modified food have had a relatively easy job because the benefits to consumers have been very defused and indirect. Farmers will get better yields which will lead to lower prices, etc. This is no big deal to most US consumers who already enjoy cheap food. But the next generation of GMO products […]
The Perishable Pundit Visits South Africa
Dispatch II: London To Cape Town
The stay for a half a day in Heathrow was uneventful as was the flight to Cape Town. There was a similarity to be noted, however. In Heathrow, there was this enormous shopping arcade, yet the most telling message is how homogenous retailing has become. For the most part, the stores were identical to those […]
