Inglorious fruits and vegetables
7-7-2014
The third largest supermarket chain in France, Intermarché, introduced the campaign ‘inglorious fruits & vegetables’. The supermarket buys the ‘ugly’ fruits and vegetables that would normally be thrown away and sells it 30% cheaper. It is a win-win-win campaign: consumers get good quality fruits and vegetables for a cheaper price. The growers are paid for products that normally would be discarded and Intermarché increases its sales with this new line of products. Besides the ‘inglorious’ fruits and vegetables the supermarket sells soups and juices made from these products as well.
Intermarché launched this campaign nationwide trough billboards, social media, television and radio. In the Netherlands we have seen a number of actions to promote these ‘ugly’ products as well. In 2013 we saw the crooked cucumber action of the ladies of Kromkommer and the store Zegro in Rotterdam and in 2014 we’ve spotted the crowdfunding action for ‘kromkommer’ soups.
Grow your own mushrooms on coffee grounds
27-5-2014
More and more people grow their own vegetables in a garden at home. It is now also possible to grow your own mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. GRO Mushrooms has developed a home cultivation kit that allows consumers to grow fresh mushrooms within 10 days. The DIY Mushroom Farm Kit is packaged in a handy takeaway box and filled with leftover coffee grounds from coffee bars. You just open the bag, put it in water and occasionally spray it with water. The DIY Mushroom Farm Kit is available at the Coffee Company, Artis Amsterdam and UVA Amsterdam Science Park 904.
Application ‘Stop Wasting’
22-5-2014
To reduce food waste, several applications are developed, earlier we spotted the ‘Hospitality Waste Coach’. Unilever Food Solution comes with the ‘Stop Wasting’ tool to deal more effectively with the waste in the kitchen. There are three types of food waste: the waste inventory, the waste during the preparation and the waste on the plate. The app suggests menus that can reduce waste by 20% and chefs can use the app to determine the amount of food waste divided in breakfast, lunch and dinner. The progress can be tracked and they can read / share tips.
Big Bang Broccoli
14-5-2014
Broccoli has now its own advertising in the Netherlands. The Big Bang Broccoli campaign is launched by FoodGuerrilla, supported by Greenport NHN, Frugiventa, ZLTO and The Greenery. The goal of the campaign is to address that only 5% of the Dutch consumers eat enough vegetables and fruit. The broccoli season will be opened on 31 May and fresh Dutch broccoli will be auctioned at central locations in Amsterdam in collaboration with Dutch growers. From 31 May to 11 June FoodGuerrilla will organize surprising guerrilla campaigns like a broccoli pop-up diner in the ‘Geef café’ or sampling at railway stations. The campaign ends with the presentation of the Golden Broccoli, a price for a farmer/grower in the Netherlands that uses the smartest marketing possibilities to sell his broccoli.
Wash your hands with Jack Daniels
12-5-2014
DIY: Need inspiration for a new soap dispenser in the toilet of a restaurant or bar? Instead of throwing away empty Jack Daniel’s bottles, you can also transform them into a soap dispensers! Fill the empty bottle with soap, put adhesive film over the label to protect it from water and replace the cap with a pump. Besides Jack Daniel’s bottles you can also use other liquor bottles.
Hospitality Waste Coach
8-5-2014
The web application ‘Hospitality Waste Coach’ helps restaurants to register food waste. The web application gives an overview of which products are wasted, the quantity, the costs and the reason why. It helps entrepreneurs to control the food waste. The application is available on Apple and Android and is intended for restaurants, caterers and other institutions that prepare food. An app that makes it easier to contribute to social responsibility. Besides the hospitality version there is also a consumer version.
Wine bottle of recycled cardboard
7-5-2014
Truett-Hurst winery has developed a 100% recyclable bottle in partnership with Ecologic Brands. Paperboy Wine is made of recycled cardboard, featuring a plastic liner and is developed by Greenbottle. The cardboard bottle is 80% lighter than a wine bottle of glass and the carbon footprint is 67 percent less than that of glass containers. Besides the lighter weight, the insulation keeps wine cooler longer.
Donate oversized food portions
1-5-2014
It often happens that restaurant guests not eat their whole dish, because the dish was larger than they expected. The German Food Bank ‘Düsseldorf table’ and agency ‘Ogilvy & Mather Germany’ launched the campaign ‘All you Can Eat’. Participating restaurants can place a sticker on the menu next to the dishes that tend to be served larger than guests can estimate. Guests have the option to choose for a smaller portion at the same price. The saved money will be donated to the food bank.
Lobby concert during Earth Hour
8-4-2014
Every year the Ghent Marriott Hotel in Belgium participates in the global Earth Hour. Last Saturday 29 March they dimmed the lights again during Earth Hour for an intimate free concert from a jazz guitar player and a jazz singer of the conservatory in Ghent. Have a look at the Dutch Issue calendar and inspire yourself with the many (inter)national days you could pay attention to.
Single Origin Roasters: passion for coffee
7-4-2014
Roaster and café ‘Single Origin Roasters’ opened its doors in 2003 in Surry Hills, Australia. The guys of Single Origin Roasters really have a passion for coffee and take it very seriously. They are constantly roasting, measuring, mixing and tasting the coffee to create the best composition. They use ethically and environmentally responsible products and solar energy for roasting the beans. In addition, this company helped in creating the first special café milk on tap system ‘The Juggler‘. Customers can also have a breakfast, lunch or one of the seasonal menus besides a good cup of coffee.