Welcome to the Great British Diet website, a place where the food that has shaped many a Brit's life is celebrated. From traditional fare like Toad-in-the-Hole and Cottage Pie, to those foreign dishes that we have adopted as our own, to those iconic products we grew up with, to the memorable packaging and media of our best-loved brands...all will be discussed.
12th January 2012
TGBD's Top Brand of 2011...
*Tetley Tea*
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(Above: Screenshot from third-party Youtube video)
For me, 2011 was the year of the Tea Folk. Having awoken from their slumber the year prior, Gaffa, Sydney and co proved themselves as industrious as ever with ads coming thick and fast over the course of the year, exciting new products lines introduced, one or two great bits of merchandise released and a fab Facebook page. Indeed, I have nothing but praise for the effort that has been put in to the Tetley account and, with the promise of so much more to come, I envisage another corking year for the brand.
See here for an excellent PDF summarising the brand's activties thus far.
TGBD's Top Product of Christmas 2011...
*Marks & Spencer Advent Calendar*
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What a beauty. As a huge fan of Christmas, an advent calendar - preferably one with chocolate inside - is a must for me. That said, I have been somewhat underwhelmed in recent years by the designs with many looking either too babyish or not very Christmassy. Thankfully, M&S come to the rescue with this beautiful product sporting a traditional Christmas setting that exudes a sense of fun and warmth without losing that lovely touch of class.
With regards to the chocolate, each one came moulded in the form of something relatively festive - always a nice touch - and were just the right size to get a good hit of milk chocolate. Alas, the chocolates didn't get bigger as you got nearer the big day but the product quality was good and, at the end of the day, I would rather take this over size any day of the week.
In the news today...
Sydney limbering up for new Tetley ad
They're not slacking off...2012 is just beginning and Tetley already have a new ad out. Fittingly, it's for their Green Tea offering as the brand, presumably, tries to capitalise on the New Year detox/exercise trend.
The ad features Sydney bending various limbs whilst the wise, old Gaffer sits in his armchair knowing full well that before one embarks on any such strenuous activity plenty of tea is required to properly lubricate the joints. Indeed, it's short and sweet with a nice balance of fun and warmth. Good solid stuff.
Twinings expand and redesign Green Tea range
It seems Tetley aren't the only one's pushing the green stuff with Twinings announcing an overhaul of their Green Tea range.
Reportedly, the following 6 flavours are being added to their portfolio: Mango & Lychee Green Tea, Tangerine & Verbena Green Tea, Peach & Cherry Blossom Green and Tea; decaffeinated ‘Pure’ Green Tea; and Twinings Pure Yunnan Province Green Tea and Pure Anhui Province Green Tea - premium offerings. Moreover, the entire range has been redesigned with each flavour featuring unique illustrations to reflect the ingredients.
See here for more details, including product shots.
Cadbury kick off 2012 with some bubbly
It has just been announced that a new aerated tablet bar called Cadbury Bubbly will soon be hitting store shelves. As Matthew Williams, Marketing Activation Director at Kraft Foods, said: "The launch of CDM [Cadbury Dairy Milk] Bubbly aims to inject excitement into the category by introducing a dynamic and quirky new way to eat tablet chocolate."
Personally, when I first heard about this I was a tad underwhelmed; a plain, aerated bar targeted at the female consumer...whoopty-doo. However, from the pics I've seen it does look as it they are trying to do something a bit different with the concept and I'll be interested to see what sort of textures it delivers. That said, as a guy I would like to make one request to Cadbury on the NPD (new product development) front: create something exciting this year that we can really sink our teeth in to. Such sadly discontinued bars as the Fuse - a densely packed offering of chocolate, peanuts, crisp cereal, raisins and fudge pieces - and Aztec - Cadbury's take on the Mars Bar - point the way for me.
See here for more details, including product shots.
On the menu today...
Yorkshire Tea Marmalade Cake
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Whilst I am more than familiar with the brand's tea bags, Yorkshire Tea's bakery offerings always seemed to get overlooked - mainly because I am an avid fan of homemade cake. That said, just before the holidays, I caved in to temptation and picked up this marmalade cake to go with my afternoon cuppa. Admittedly, I am always a bit cautious around shop-bought cakes as they are often too sweet and/or artificial in taste. However, Yorkshire Tea do know a thing or two about making a decent cuppa and, in my English mind, that immediately elevates them to irrational levels of trust.
Design:
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A four tiered visual hierarchy is clearly established from the outset. The first layer, the background, features the product's glorious golden orange colour scheme which acts to reinforce the product's marmalade flavour whilst communicating notions of specialness and warmth. The little detail of the tea pots in the background is a nice touch and, beyond mere decoration, subtly picks up on the afternoon tea theme. The second layer consists of the product graphic on the right which is nice and light and show a clear cross section of the cake to tempt our taste buds with. Slightly overlapping the second, the third layer features the product text and is identified by the same strip design - albeit a golden coloured one - employed by the brand's tea products. The text here gradually decreases in font size and letter spacing, thus, providing the onlooker with clear direction through the content. Finally, overlapping all three other layers, the brand logo commands the foremost positioning with its familiar smart, authoritarian black stamp-like design.
All in all, the presentation is logical, uncluttered and communicates those notions of sophistication, quality and tradition that one has come to associate with the brand.
Taste:
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On sliding out the cake in its delightful card tray, my first impressions were very good. The packaging's product image wasn't misleading at all with the cake looking as mouth-wateringly golden and moist as I had hoped.
Sitting down to a couple of decent slices with my afternoon cuppa, I quickly dug in and, I have to say, they've nailed it again. The crunchy texture of the sweet coarse-grain sugar topping contrasted delightfully with the soft, moist dough whilst the orange peel studding the cake's interior punctuated the whole experience with exciting citrusy bursts of flavour. All in all, the product uses good quality ingredients, is full of flavour and doesn't taste artificial and/or overly sugary.
Related TGBD Articles:
Web Links:
16 Novemeber 2011
In the news today...
Yorkshire Tea and Wallace & Gromit team up for another tea party
Just when I thought I couldn't like Yorkshire Tea any more than I already do they went and teamed up with one of my favourite double acts of all time. In collaboration with Wallace & Gromit's Great British Tea Party (1st - 10th December), the tea manufacturer will once again be encouraging British tea drinkers to register for their free fundraising packs, host tea parties up and down the country and, hopefully, raise a good amount of money for sick children in hospitals and hospices - there is even the chance to win a visit from Yorkshire Tea's mascot, Little Urn.
As a certain somebody would say, this sounds like a 'cracking' cause and, needless to say, here at TGBD we wish everybody the best of luck with this. In the meantime, be sure to check out the charity's website and the Yorkshire Tea Facebook page for more details. Also, head on over to quires-shop.com where 'Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Celebration Cakes' is currently available for just £9.99. The book contains 21 novelty celebration cake recipes and, most importantly of all, £1 of every sale goes to Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation.
29th October 2011
Nostalgia Hit...
1976 ITV Ads (Birds Eye, Smash, Corona, Yorkie and Guinness)
Including a couple of young lads discussing the merits of burgers, the famous Smash aliens, a trucker with his trusty Yorkie Bar and a cool, refreshing pint of Guinness, this really is a lovely collection of 70's ads. I know it's not food and drink related, but I must mention the little animated bird called Buzby 59 seconds in. Before BT came about in 1979 through privatisation, there was Post Office Communications and Buzby was created in 1976 to advertise their services through a series of charming animated adverts that lasted well in to the 80s. Personally, I love these ads and I recommend you Google Buzby for more videos and information if you're interested.
26th October 2011
Nostalgia Hit...
A trio of Trio Ads ("I want a Trio and I want one now")
Made by Jacob's and consisting of biscuit, caramel and chocolate, Trio is a fondly remembered - but sadly discontinued - biscuit bar that spawned some catchy ads featuring a certain little girl called Suzy. Enjoy.
25th October 2011
In the news today...
New Aero Finesse Mousse from Nestlé
Available at Tesco and Asda, new Aero Finesse is described in a fdin.org.uk article as combining "the light texture of Aero mousses with layers of chocolate, to create a new confectionary based chilled dessert". The product is low-calorie with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and, as such, is positioned as a "guilt-free indulgence"' for the mature female market.
The product comes in packs of four pots with a card wrap-around. The layering of the mousse and chocolate is quite eye-catching and the packaging enables it to be clearly visible on the store shelves. Moreover, the graphic design is suitably effeminate from the little yellow flowers decorating a nice product shot to the connotations that come with using words such as 'finesse'.
All in all, this does look like a bit of fun and with two flavours to try (Aero Finesse Chocolate Mousse with Dark Chocolate Swirls and Aero Finesse Vanilla Mousse with Dark Chocolate Swirls) I am sure many will be giving these a go.
HP say 'mo-over' to Houses of Parliament with limited edition release
For the first time in the brand's history, HP's graphic of the Houses of Parliament is going to be temporarily replaced by a gentleman sporting a bowler hat and a tash. Coupled with the text "Men of Britain: Grow your Mo”, this limited edition label is in support of Movemeber, an annual moustache-growing charity that raises money for men's health.
Admittedly, I'm still not best pleased about the recipe change but this promotion is for a great cause so I wish them the best of luck.
From the Neet Weet Gang to...wait for it...Weetakid?!
It's probably best that I start with the positives. Firstly, we have a new brand character that wants to inject some fun back in to breakfast - always a nice thing to see in a world seemingly hell bent on reducing everything to tedious and patronising health messages. Secondly, Weetabix are introducing some very nifty looking technology called augmented reality whereby a customer can hold up their iPad or iPhone to a special area on the packaging and the design will appear to come alive in 3D space. Thirdly, there's a free game to download from App store featuring the aforementioned brand character.
Now, sadly, for the negatives. As you might have guessed from my headline, I'm just a tad underwhelmed at the choice of name - if someone really does get paid to come up with stuff like this then I am definitely want a piece of the action. Moreover, Weetakid's design...hmmm, where do I start. It is like they have merged the Blob with that little yellow creature from Pokemon and thrown in some goofy teeth for good measure. Apart from not liking the aesthetic at all, the character just feels very babyish and not particularly endearing. That said, it is better than their recent Weetos effort which, after the demise of the Professor, amounted to simply sticking some brownish looking arms and legs on to a plain cereal graphic. Finally, as great as the augmented reality and game are, all of these things require access to an iPhone or iPad - pretty expensive pieces of kit. Of course, many won't have these technologies readily available and will, consequently, miss out on the fun completely. In my opinion, stuff like this should supplement not replace traditional methods of engaging the consumer.
24th October 2011
In the news today...
Tetley merchandise to hit Tesco store shelves
The Tea Folk Facebook page has just confirmed that the first wave of new Tetley merchandise will be exclusively stocked by Tesco from next week. Comprising of a tea caddy and mug, the products are designed to look like the Gaffer (see here for the mug and here for the caddy).
In a world that has become too short of fun food-related merchandise in my opinion, you won't hear a bad word from me on the products themselves. However, I'm in two minds about whether the move to sell them in-store was a good one or not if it was on the basis of exclusivity. On one hand, you'll get the impulsive shoppers who see the products and pick them up but, on the other, many Tetley fans may miss out because they don't have a Tesco's near them. Perhaps a traditional on-pack promotion where everyone can get involved in collecting and sending off tokens for merchandise would have been better.
Anyways, big congratulations have to go to the Tetley team for their efforts and I for one will certainly be keeping an eye out for future releases. In the meantime, I'll cross my fingers that Tetley will do some fun on-pack promotions for various collectables - I would love to see a range of miniature figurines or something in-product like the old trading card concept. Also, I think Tetley will be missing a big trick if they don't explore the heritage of the brand with their merchandise. There are huge amount of loyal Tetley customers out there that grew up with the Tea Folk and, I suspect, would love to see something that pays homage to the brand over the decades.
Nostalgia Hit...
80's Weetabix Ad (Cave of Hunger)
What better way to start the week than with a dose of nostalgia courtesy of the good old Weetabix Gang. In just 30 seconds of TV, we are taken on a mini but epic adventure featuring, as ever, some beautiful looking animation that in my opinion knocks a lot of the modern day stuff for six. Indeed, by comparison, the brand seems a bit dull now - definitely time to revive the Gang methinks!
23rd October 2011
Article Update...
Birds Eye Fish Fingers
I've just made a number of text and imagery updates to the article. See here.
22nd October 2011
Nostalgia Hit...
Weetabix Chex Ad (1994)
Remember Weetabix Chex? They were a short-lived product from Weetabix in the 90's which I only have a faint memory of due to a handful of POGS I came across not long ago bearing the cereal's name on their underside. Anyways, it's always nice to spotlight a less well known item from time to time so here's Charlie Chex in all his glory.
21st October 2011
In the news today...
Tetley Extra Strong ad coming to our screens
(Above: Screenshot of Oct 2011 Tetley Extra Strong ad as uploaded on Tea Folk Facebook page)
It seems they're not stopping for breath over at Tetley with yet another ad coming to our screens. This time for Tetley's 'Extra Strong' product, the ad features Sydney working on his biceps only to have the Gaffer explain to him what the product's name actually refers to. It's short and sweet with a little bit of humour and, as ever, a good dose of Tea Folk charm. You'll hear no complaints from me.
See here for a sneak preview of the ad.
On the menu today...
Cadbury Buttons
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Even when I am old and practically immobile I'll probably still find a way to sneak in the odd bag of Cadbury Buttons. Everything from the delightful name with its playful connotations of childhood to the confectioneries miniature-sized nature exudes a charm that I've never been able to shake - and, to be honest, never have wanted to.
Design:
Yesteryear:
(Above: Screenshots from third-party YouTube videos)
Ahhh, the Buttons of my childhood. The smart font design of the gold Cadbury logo along with that lovely purple background brought a touch of class to the confectionery and even the 'Buttons' text retained a degree of smartness with its small serifs. Indeed, what is so lovely about this design of old is the way in which Cadbury conveyed the childish nature of the product without sacrificing a certain level of smartness that communicated a specialness about the product.
Today:
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Front: Even though the small purple packet remains, there are a number of changes to the design: the 'b' in Buttons has gone from upper to lower case - presumably in order to convey a more childlike feel; the balance between the principal graphic and text has changed with the former appearing larger and more dominant; a 'Dairy Milk' logo has been added between the manufacturer and product names; the gold Cadbury text is now much smaller and squashed in to the top left hand corner of product to make space for the new Fairtrade logo on the right; and, finally, the now standard 'Be treatwise' calorie content message appears in the bottom right hand corner of the packet.
Overall, the essence of the design remains the same but, like so many others these days, it suffers from the plague of overcluttering. Whether it is superfluous or just ill-placed content, once clean, visually striking designs are tending towards a more busy appearance that just don't have the same impact. I understand the merits of more information but at the same time there has to be a limit and certainly a lot more sensitivity shown for the overall aesthetic.
Back: This is standard fare. Design devices have been employed well to draw attention to important text and make it easy for consumers to distinguish between different pieces of information.
Taste:
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Cadbury Buttons certainly don't disappoint on this front. If you compare their ingredient's list with the one on a bar of Dairy Milk you will see they are identical; however, the taste experience is still quite different. I presume the principal factor in this is Buttons' smaller size, increased surface area and, thus, quicker melt. In any case, all those milky sweet flavours one one would associate with Dairy Milk come through making for a very additive product.
TV Advertising:
History:
Launched in 1960 and now sold in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK, Cadbury Buttons are small, disc shaped pieces of Dairy Milk. More recently, white chocolate and giant-sized milk chocolate variants have been added to the Button's brand.
Related TGBD Articles:
Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel (Cadbury's Caramel)
Web Links:
19th October 2011
Nostalgia Hit (Rolo, McDonalds, Frosties and Smarties Ads)
Another great compilation of food ads here. Featuring the usual humorous take on the 'last Rolo' concept; a kid very happy to find Ronald McDonald and various other creatures dancing around on his Happy Meal; what looks like Dean Cain getting volleyball coaching from Tony the Tiger; and, finally, a wonderful Smarties ad with a surrealist/optical illusion slant - I was particularly excited to find this one.
18th October 2011
PG Tips Trick Cards
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Not long ago I was rummaging around the loft and was delighted to discover these PG Tips playing cards from yesteryear. Featuring the Tipps Family and Tea Lady, these cards have a couple of 'tricks' up their sleeve - sorry about that - which are detailed as follows:
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I can still remember playing cards with my family and trying - the operative word here - to use these cards' special back design to gain some sort of advantage. Needless to say, my knowledge of card games at the time was practically zero and I think I ended up confusing myself even more trying to cheat! That said, they do make for a delightful collector's item and I wish the likes of Tetley would put out a Tea Folk product like this. Indeed, with the return of Gaffer and co it would be lovely to see some cards featuring imagery from today and yesteryear to celebrate the brand's heritage.
Anyways, back to the matter at hand. The card box - apologies for the worn condition of this - is kept simple and smart with a yellow background, red border and capitalised serif-style font for the 'trick cards' text displayed prominently in the centre. Fittingly, the principal graphics are of Mr and Mrs Tipps shown, as they appear in the deck, on the faces of the King and Queen of Hearts respectively. The side of the box continues in the theme of smart and simple with the same red border and yellow background design as before. As for the back, the background colour is changed to white so the smaller red text is clear and readable.
As for the cards themselves, they nailed it in my opinion. The back of the cards sport a lovely dark green background design speckled with the four suits in an orderly and very smart fashion. Moreover, the middle segment is left white to set off the wonderful PG Tips logo of old and the sophisticated italicised text of the "Its the taste" slogan. Again, everything is kept simple, uncluttered and very smart - great design.
Regarding the faces, cards 2 through 10 are just standard card designs, however, J through K incorporate a different member of the Tipps Family and the aces feature a fabulous graphic of the Tea Lady:
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As you can see the cards feature the Tipps Family in all their glory with graphics from, presumably, the adverts. Mr Tipps (Geoff) is pictured in his dressing gown, Mrs Tipps (Shirley) looks to be in the kitchen probably cooking something, Samantha Tipps is tucking in to an egg at the dinner table and, finally, Kevin Tipps is grinning and looking suitably animated. As for the Tea Lady graphic - my favourite - she is pictured in full on each ace tending to her tea leaves against the lovely backdrop of trees, mountains and blue sky - could almost be Cumbria, that is, when it's not bucketing it down!
I should also probably point out that there are a couple of extra aces in the deck and if you inspect the first of the four pictures above closely enough you'll see the pips differ on either side. Therefore, if you craftily fan the cards one way the aces will appear to be one suit and, if you fan the cards in the opposite direction, the aces will appear to be another suit - now that's magic!
Overall, I have only but praise for the designers on this one. There is a perfect balance between the fun elements of the product and the notion of quality and sophistication that the brand's modern designs have, sadly, strayed a bit too far away from. Like the trading cards which PG Tips used to put in their boxes, I just wish there was more of this sort of stuff these days - here's to hoping Tetley pick up the baton.
Related TGBD Articles:
Web Links:
Nostalgia Hit
Making up for lost time, I found this Children's ITV ad break from 1992 featuring an array of brands from the likes of Smarties, Pepsi and McDonalds to forgotten ones - at least by me - such as Kellogg's Golden Crackles. Hopefully there is something for everyone here.
In the news today...
Wham bar and Highland Toffee resurrected!
Colourful, oh-so chewy and - like all good sweets - the menace of dentists across the land, McCowans Wham bar has been a feature of many childhoods over the decades along with their Highland Toffee bar, one of Scotland's oldest confectioneries. However, recently it was reported that McCowans was closing down factories and that these confectionery icons might disappear forever. Whilst other classics have indeed fallen over the decades, I did reserve a bit of hope for these two bars and, thankfully, one of the companies I tipped for getting involved did. Indeed, Tangerine Confectionery announced that they have bought up the two brands and will shortly be adding them to their already wonderful portfolio of classic British sweets.
In many ways, it is still a very sad time because it is never nice to see a company like McCowans fall on hard times and TGBD's thoughts go out to all the employees that have lost jobs as a result. However, at least McCowans most beloved brands will live on and, in turn, a couple of pieces of British confectionery history.
Web Links:
8th October 2011
On the menu today...
Botham's of Whitby Stem Ginger Brack
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Back in May I reviewed Botham's of Whitby Yorkshire Brack (see here), a moist tea-infused fruit cake, and I was impressed by both the packaging and the product's taste. For a while now I've been meaning to get my hands on another of their products and, after a bit of hunting around, I'm happy to say I've found this delicious looking offering.
Appearance:
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This packaging borrows many elements from the Yorkshire Brack design and, as such, conveys the same sense of tradition and quality. The text is once again in smart serif-style font; the product name is pictured in the same old-fashioned looking banner graphic; gold lettering and detail adds an air of sophistication and specialness to the product; the orange colour scheme picks up on the gingery nature of the brack; and information on the two long sides of the product gives the customer an understanding of the product and the manufacturer's history.
Inside, the brack is wrapped in baking parchment which, as I said in my other review, is a nice touch that gives the product a very homely feel. The cake itself has a beautiful golden finish that is set off nicely by the glaze they've used and both the interior and exterior is pleasantly speckled with dried fruit.
All in all, this is a well executed design that feels befitting of both the nature of the product and the manufacturer's heritage.
Taste:
The brack marries soft, moist dough with the plump, juicy texture of sultanas and raisins and the gentle bite of mixed peel. The wave of sweetness imparted on the taste buds is counteracted somewhat by the taste of ginger which gives the cake a lovely warmth and spiciness. That said, the inclusion of orange in the product is a bit lost on me against the other stronger flavours.
Overall, there are some great textures and tastes in this brack and, if you enjoy sweet things, who'll no doubt love it; however, for me, the proportion of sweetness to ginger and citrus needs a bit of tweaking.
History: Please see here.
Have you considered...?
The ingredient's list is reassuringly short with the manufacturer using quality ingredients throughout. Moreover, the product contains no added fat and is suitable for vegetarians.
Related TGBD Articles:
Botham's of Whitby Yorkshire Brack
Web Links:
Fellow food bloggers:
It's All About Limited Edition