I saw this comment today in a news feed and the subsequent BusinessWeek Online article I read:

“Small retailers can bolster sales by targeting wealthier shoppers who are less price-sensitive and may pay premiums for better service…”* 

 In addition to targeting people with more money (as opposed to those bums you usually do business with), I’d like to offer some additional pearls of wisdom:

1)  Make More Money Than You Spend: Businesses often fail because their costs outweigh their income.

2) Sell Stuff For As Much As You Can Get For It: Be careful though. If you price items too high, people may not buy. 

3) Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemas Closer: Wait. That doesn’t sound quite right. But, I guess it still applies. Certainly, my friends don’t want to get in between me and my enemas.  

*Incidentally, though the article offered advice for small retail businesses on how to survive this year’s expected down holiday shopping season, it did not provide recommendations on how to find these wealthier shoppers (who they should suddenly target) or give examples of better service items they could offer. Come on, BusinessWeek, you can do much better than to be so generic.  

I recently read this description of a cheesecake in Don DeLillo’s novel Underworld and it’s really stuck with me:  

“The cheesecake was smooth and lush, with the personality of a warm and well-to-do uncle who knows a hundred dirty jokes and will die of sexual exertions in the arms of his mistress.” 

Sure, we can’t really get away with writing something that graphic. But, it’s a good reminder of the passion and sensations we all associate with the food’s we love. Sometimes that gets lost as we worry about what consumers will think or try to write by committee. 

So what’s my thought here? Don’t be forget to be passionate about what you’re selling/marketing/producing. And, if you can’t muster that heat, get out of the kitchen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an 800-page epic to get back to. 

“We have called this group of keen and accomplished male cooks, the ‘Gastrosexuals.’ They are masculine, upwardly mobile men, aged 25-44, who are passionate about cooking and the rewards that it might bring – pleasure, praise and potential seduction.”
– Paul Aikens, Marketing Director, PurAsia in the Forward of PurAsia’s report “The Emergence of the Gastrosexual”

This is one of those marketing moves that is in one sense brilliant and in another, ummm, kind of annoying.

Here’s the gist of the story as I understand it. PurAsia, a UK-based company that sells Asian ingredients, hired the research company Future Foundation to closely examine the new trend in food: men cooking. Nay, not just men. MEN. M-E-N. Picture Antonio Banderas whipping up a seafood paella… or some such food-oriented fantasy.

Yes, cooking, according to this report, has become part of “the dance.” So ladies be warned, that culinary lothario cozying up to you may want to serve up more than just a plate of pasta puttanesca.

Still not sure just who might be considered “gastrosexy?” No problem. The report outs Chef Jamie Oliver, best known for his Food Network series “The Naked Chef.” Hmm, now I know why he was naked. Also outed? Chef Gordon Ramsay. You might recognize him from the heavily bleeped Fox network series “Hell’s Kitchen.” Wonder if he talks as dirty in the bedroom as he does in his restaurant’s back room?

In general, this “report” is meant to make us titter and talk and at least occasionally, mention the company who first commissioned the research, PurAsia. It’s an interesting way to use PR. Come up with an idea that’s one part obvious, one part silly and one part sex. Then, send it out on the interweb and get people talking. I first heard about it as part of the “Hey, Get A Load Of This” story on a Chicago radio station’s newsbreak. But, it’s all over the web, including PurAsia’s gastrosexual.com. The term even has its own entry on Wikipedia (for now, “the notability of this article’s subject is in question”).

Not bad for a report that started in the UK. I mean, I’d never heard of PurAsia before. And why should I have? They’re a UK brand that just launched… But, I’ve heard of them now. Bango success.

Yet, for all the publicity they’re getting (of which I’m now a part), I do find something a little off putting about this. There’s a crassness here. The whole thing revolves around sex. And, while I find sex amusing… I mean, err, um, (cheeks turn red)… I like to sometimes pretend that I’m mature enough to be above that sort of thing. And when it’s so “tee hee hee” obvious and plays so clearly into the stuff of late night talk show monologue humor, well, that’s when I start to get more turned off than titillated, leading to apathy and even worse antipathy toward the brand.

One of my biggest pet peeves is lack of signage on a bakery or deli case.

And by that I mean, a description, whether one word or one sentence, and the price of individual items.  

I needed a special cake for a party. Price was not an issue. But, it had to look and taste fabulous. So on my way to work, I stopped at a bakery that is known for beautiful pastries. The display case was filled with several attractive options. However, there were no signs, so I didn’t know what anything was or what it cost. I then began one of my least favorite activities: asking what everything was.  

Not only did the sales clerk not know. She had to consult a laminated sheet that described the cakes. That didn’t help much. When the second clerk got off the phone, she explained the first woman was new, and proceeded to point to and name every cake—with attitude. By then, nothing looked good to me, and I walked out. It is highly unlikely I will go back.  

I realize many establishments feel that showing the price may scare people away. What scares me away is having to ask the price, of this or that… or that… or that. I also don’t like when they put up a sign listing everything. Then it becomes my job to figure out which price belongs to which item. And then if the items aren’t labeled, it becomes even more work.  

I came in your store to buy something—not to work!  

Let my decision be difficult because I can’t choose between a lemon custard tart or a caramel, pecan brownie. Not because I can’t figure out what the “red fruit thing is.” Or, can’t determine if that’s lemon or lime. Or, can’t tell if there are nuts in the brownie. And, how much is each?  

I hear, “Oh, signs will spoil our display.”  Nay, nay, I say. A good piece of marketing will never ruin your display. It can make sales easier. Increase the comfort of customers. And, enhance your brand. And, whether you have a store or a product, you are a brand.  

But, you still have to do it right.  

There is a bakery in town that blares its identity in everything it does. It is modern, hip, funky, organic and wildly popular. The shop explodes with color and young, hip attitude. It is fun. Everything looks delicious. For the most part it has the signage and pricing in plain view. And these signs reflect the company’s spirit. The 10 point, faded magenta and pink letters are in a “broken-typewriter” font. It’s very cool…  

And totally unreadable!  

I’m too embarrassed to ask what each sign says, and wonder if it’s just my “over 30” eyes. So every time I get the same thing: their signature Raspberry Almond Croissant. It’s a good thing I like it so much. In fact, that and a cup of their coffee has become part of my Saturday ritual. That said, I wish they would make their signs readable. There are so many other things I’d like to try. 

I would call myself a trade show veteran having both exhibited at and attended numerous food shows, from Fancy Food Show to National Restaurant Association Show. I also know how to pace myself samplewise.

But I am still never prepared for the cacophony of the All Candy Expo.

I went with Kim, a team member. We made a perfect candy-evaluating duo. She likes all things fruity and sour, and I am strictly a chocolate gal. She is Gen Y and I’m a Boomer. We had it covered.

Entering the Willy Wonka-esque exhibit hall, we were immediately surrounded by jellies, gummies and licorices of all flavors and colors. They were hard, chewy, stretchy, powdered and enrobed. They could give you a buzz or make you sneeze. There were edible warts, teeth, cow pies, vomit and just about anything a youngster would go gaga over. Guests were shoveling samples into the supplied bags.

Kim was in hard candy and gummy heaven. I was in awe. I recognized a few products from my youth, but, for the most part, Kim had to school me in Gross Candies 101.

As it turned out, I was in the minority. Men and women in suits (exhibitors, buyers and such) were all conversant in sugar-loaded lingo.In the gourmet section, where most of the smaller chocolate companies camped, I watched a few chocolate exhibitions and tasted marshmallows, fudge, caramels, truffles and on and on. Sweet confection after sweet confection. Chocolates were infused with spices, seeds, wines or energizing properties. They were marketed by their origin, their cocoa butter content or their food pairing propensities.

It was all so complex and intense. I was starting to long for a good old-fashioned Hershey’s kiss. Luckily, that, too, was only an aisle away.

I was reading Ad Age today and discovered that this fall PBS will be airing a series entitled “On The Road Again… Spain.” The “docuseries” will follow Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, food critic Mark Bittman and Spanish actress/singer Claudia Bassols traveling through Spain and enjoying the cuisine. 

What an odd combination. The official show release (found here) describes it as “the road trip of a lifetime.” And, look, here’s a sneak peak of the show.

It seems that the trend in food and food TV has just jumped past celebri-chefs to A-list Hollywood stars (that is if we can agree that the Oscar-winner and Iron Man co-star is an A-lister). Will the public give her comments any credence or will they ignore her as a pretender? Will Paltrow become the go-to celeb spokesperson for food products? Will she come out with her own line of specialty foods and attend the trade shows, allowing me to meet her in person and pretend like that doesn’t impress me? Because, I have to say, that last one, would be so awesome.

In general, this seems to be a pivotal moment in food and food TV because never has someone who has so little to do with food suddenly been involved in a food series. Who’s next? Charlie Sheen traveling through Portugal with Anthony Bourdain? James Spader and Giada on a whirlwind tour of her native Italy? Big Bird and Paula Deen exploring the cuisine of Sesame Street? The mind boggles.

Here’s a good way to tell just how much of an impact a company’s booth had: wait two weeks and then write up what you thought.    

On April 27-29, Savor attended the Global Food and Style Expo in Chicago (made up of three smaller shows: The Spring Fancy Food Show, The U.S. Food Export Showcase and The All Things Organic Trade Show). It was an interesting smorgasbord of edibles. Case in point? There I was chewing away at a strip of beef jerky when an exhibitor offered me a sample of her wares. Chocolate. “Sure,” I said, taking a truffle. “What better to complement this beef jerky?”  

And, now here I sit, writing my thoughts about the companies I saw at the show. And, you know what? I can not remember the chocolate or beef jerky companies. In fact, without checking my notes, there are only two companies whose marketing really stood out to me–and whose names I can, therefore, actually remember.

USA Pears - (Organics Show) This pear supplier’s booth revolved around a “Check The Neck” theme, a method for determining the ripeness of your pear. Their handouts included my favorite giveaway of the whole show, a brown bag featuring their logo and instructions on how to use the bag to properly ripen pears. “Isn’t this just a regular brown paper bag?” someone asked. The two friendly men behind the booth’s high counter comically disagreed. “It’s like a brown paper bag. But, it has these pear-ripening instructions, so you can enjoy the perfect pear.” What a great promotion. Tongue in cheek, clever and related back to their product and company, especially in how it showed that they, unlike other pear purveyors, really cared about the perfect pear.  

Yoghund - (Organics Show) Yoghurt for dogs? I’m not actually sure if this product makes sense or not. (Although since I don’t have a dog, maybe I’m not the one to judge. ) But, here’s what caught my eye. Yoghund signed up to be in the What’s New Showcase. There they were on a shelf with hundreds of other products. There I was thirty feet away standing in one of the aisles, waiting for my two team members to catch up. And from thirty feet away, Yoghund caught my eye and enticed me to check them out. How? Video. Next to their packaging they had placed a small screen that was playing a short looped clip promoting their product. It was as simple as happy dogs running around and eating Yoghund. But, the dynamic visual, next to all the static displays, got me to check out their product over all the others being exhibited. I was so curious that I even stopped at their booth. Really a very successful and simple way to catch someone’s eye.

So, those were my two favorite marketing efforts at the show. Pears and Yoghurt for dogs. While they shouldn’t have seemed to have much in common, they actually did. Their materials were professional. Their websites are informative, interesting and well designed. And, the most ironic trait for two companies exhibiting at a food show, neither one was passing out samples, illustrating that there’s more to successful food show exhibiting than just your food.

I just had THE best macaroons I’ve ever had.

If you’re like most people, you’re ambivalent about coconut macaroons—especially if your experience comes from a Maneschevitz can.

Clearly in rebellion to the typical processed lumps, numerous versions at various bakeries have popped up over the last few years. Usually enormous and drizzled with chocolate, they are clearly an improvement. But, they haven’t won me over. One is enough.One a year is enough.

That is, until I tried the coconut macaroons at Lovely: a bakery the other day.

When I saw the little mounds under glass, I remarked to Gina, the owner, that they looked rather burnt. She said, “No, it’s not burnt. I like to toast it well for crispness.” I was intrigued. I love crispy.

Out in the car, I bit into it. The crust was exceedingly crisp and caramelized. The inside, by contrast, was soft and luscious. Though I tried to make it last, the macaroon was gone in two more bites.

I turned the engine back off, exited the car and found myself back at the counter buying several more to take back to the office with me. These were worth sharing.

Wow. Our first entry. Exciting. So, welcome. Glad to have you here. As the above title suggests, we are passionate about food marketing. In fact, Savor is a marketing communications agency that specializes in building brands and increasing sales for companies in the food industry. Pulling from our years of experience…

But, wait, wait, wait. That’s all information you can read on our site. What do we plan to do here? On our blog? Well, for posterity’s sake, let’s get things straight. Our entries here are meant to:

1) Inform you. We’ll touch upon what’s going on in the world from a food perspective, a marketing perspective and, of course, a food marketing perspective.

2) Make you smile. Who knows? Maybe make you cry. Not from boredom though.

3) Let you get to know the people behind the Savor Orange. A number of our team members will be posting entries. In that way, you’ll get a feel for our team’s personalities and see that we’re smart and easy to work with (if we do say so ourselves, though if you’d like references we’d be happy to provide).

That should offer a good framework for this forum. Of course, then there’s the hidden, double-secret goal. We want to be the marketing agency for your food company.

Until we blog again…