Supermarket Sweep

February 14, 2012 //
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I’ve always been a fan of supermarkets and believe they have a necessary and significant place in the food retail universe. Maybe it’s all my years at M&S, but I think it is important to have a place that plays the generalist role for food shopping. This in theory gives the space for specialists like those I have been writing about. And each should know their place in the overall hierarchy so that they deliver against their proposition.

There has certainly been good progress in the supermarket world with great leaders like Archie Norman, Terry Leahy, Justin King and Mark Price really pushing the UK standards over the years. And then there are players who extend the boundaries even further. I remember making many a trip to the wonderful Wholefoods in the US as part of my old M&S role in order to bring back best practices to our teams. Whilst Wholefoods hasn’t translated commercially over here in the UK, there is a lot to be said for the retailing of the Kensington branch and I for one am a big fan of what they deliver in terms of customer experience.

So I was interested when friends in Cape Town were talking about a new supermarket opening. I visited Fruit & Veg City and their Food Lovers Market concept on previous South African trips but heard that this new opening in the less well off suburb of Tokai was a must see.

Tokai

Food Lovers Market is the third incarnation of Fruit & Veg City which complements the original, produce based outlets and their FreshStop concepts at petrol stations. And it really does cater for the food lover adding an array of wonderful sections to their already impressive produce section.

VM to match Wholefoods

Quality VM consistently maintained

At times, their visual merchandising competes at the same level as Wholefoods, particularly on produce, and there are certainly lots of keen staff around to help you with finding things, tasting things and suggesting recipes. What’s impressive here is not necessarily the number of staff as labour is cheaper here, but their knowledge and skills which have been well trained. Take it from me, that is difficult and rare to consistently achieve in South Africa.

However, the most exciting thing for me is their ability to be spot on with the offer. That is, spot on trend, offering popcorn, bottle your own ozone friendly water, freshly made doughnuts on the bakery section (always the longest queue there) and semi prepared meal solutions:

Traditional popcorn unit

Bottle your own, ozone friendly water unit

Fresh doughnuts made at the bakery counter: batter into fryer into topping.

Always a queue for fresh doughnuts

Added value, prepared meats for this carnivorous nation

They are also spot on with some of the other sections they have created: spices, nibbles, a coffee beanery, bottle your own olive oil and of course biltong, as well as impressive rear service counters for cheese, meat, fish, deli, bakery, salads and hot food to go.

Bag your own spices

Everything you could want to nibble...and more!

Biltong bonanza

Cheese galore

Fish supper anyone?

The other thing they seem to have addressed here is value. The original Fruit & Veg City concept cut out the middle man by working directly with the farmers, having them deliver directly into F&V depots. It seems this same principle is addressed with all the rear service sections cutting out the production third party. This Tokai outlet was packed every time I went and as I said, this is not a wealthy area. My baker friend tells me that the unit price of their bread is crazy cheap, which probably explains the gang of customers waiting literally tongs in hand for the next batch of ciabatta to hit the counter:

Tongs aloft on the right hand side

Not everything is perfect here. The challenge with direct deliveries is consistency of quality which was not always there. I also found the rear service staff less capable than those on the shop floor. But there is still a lot to be taken from here and clearly it is working as there are now 60 Food Lovers Markets to add to the 60 Fruit & Veg City and 66 Freshstops already in the empire.

This is a food emporium worth seeing … but please don’t copy their spelling!

Grares anyone?

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Categories Retail

Honesty is the best policy

February 12, 2012 //
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Hot on the heels of the coffee revolution, which is flourishing in Cape Town, comes chocolate. And not any old chocolate. There is a bit of a fashion evolving for the organic, healthy, ethical version.

As with most South African food products, the drivers are young dynamic people who have a passion for their subject, an intuitive sense of brand positioning and a keen eye for product marketing.

Quality chocolate comes to the market

I first saw Honest Chocolate at the Neighbourgoods Market, home of all the best food people every Saturday. Even in incredibly hot temperatures it was easy to see that these guys were doing something interesting, so I made my way to their new shop on Wale Street to further investigate.

Clean, simple shopfront

Traditional reclaimed furniture in a contemporary space: a perfect reflection of the brand values

The shop was cool in more ways than the temperature and it is there that you see Antony and Michael handcrafting their chocolates. They use ethically sourced Ecuadorian cacao which is processed raw (unroasted) with no additives, preservatives, or emulsifiers and they use agave nectar instead of sugar. I know this all sounds a bit worthy and for me some of the bars were not to my taste, but the bonbons were truly wonderful squares of chocolate perfection which literally melted in the mouth. This is my way of eating a superfood!

I also liked the small window to the production process where the guys are hand tempering on granite slabs and simultaneously interacting with their customers. There was something very reassuring about that window and I think it benefitted from being small so there was a sense of something special and secret that you could glimpse.

Michael tempering away

Finally I loved the packaging. Yes it was eco friendly – what else do you expect? but it was the design which appealed to me. They were all individually created by selected local artists with the original artwork displayed on the shop walls. It is a relatively easy thing to emulate and really made a big difference.

Love this packaging

Back at the Neighbourgoods Market I discovered my second chocolate fanatic.

Thor Thoroe was a successful Danish entrepreneur with a vision of creating a business that benefits everyone especially the underprivileged but was unable to get the support he needed in Scandinavia. He came to South Africa to source raw material for his Danish ice cream business using the social enterprise model and found the country more in tune and supportive of his work ethic, as well as a gap in the speciality chocolate market. Last year, Thor partnered with chocolatier Antonio Allegra and so CocoaFair was born. They say it is the first organic bean to bar chocolate factory in Africa based on social entrepreneurship.

Factory turned shop

Cleaner turns chocolatier

I spent some time with Thor who is passionate about sharing his vision. He was particularly proud of this lovely lady who had approached them before they opened as she dreamt of having her own chocolate shop – surely a far away dream when you are a single Mum, employed as a domestic cleaner, living in a township. But these guys could relate to her drive and now she is a fully trained integral part of the CocoaFair family, soon to travel back to Thor’s Danish homeland so that she can train his teams over there on a new project he is starting. Ain’t that something?

If you fancy a piece of that, Antonio is starting a few courses so that you too can get your hands on the cocoa and see the whole process through.

From a retail point of view, there are some simple things to learn from here:

  • a passionate leader who creates and holds onto the vision whilst making things happen
  • transparency throughout the production process which is physically demonstrated in the retail environment
  • great product at good value prices
  • good packaging and marketing with some experiential courses thrown in for good luck

So there’s a lot to learn from the chocolate business and I for one am happy to partake in many visits just to make sure I get it. If you are in Cape Town, look them up.

Keeping it open, modern and simple

It still has to taste good for us to come back

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Categories South Africa

The blessing of the harvest

February 6, 2012 //
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The buzzword of the moment is experiential.

Businesses are constantly looking to differentiate themselves from the competition and to connect more emotionally with their customers. It is important to offer something more than just a branded product and that can be achieved by creating a unique and memorable brand experience. Black Tomato have established a hugely successful travel company on the back of this and many restaurants and retailers are extending their offering to include courses, talks, stayovers and much more to exploit this fashion.

This Saturday I got to see just such an initiative at the beautiful Moreson vineyard in Franschhoek. We were to attend the ‘Blessing of the Harvest’ where we would create wines the old fashioned way with the team there.

The day started with a glass of bubbly and a small bite to get us in the mood for the whole event.

Plenty of crates to fill in the 35 degree heat

Tackling the vines

There was a sense of really being part of something both fun and fulfilling. I also developed a load of respect when you realise just what a small dent this big group of people made on the overall crop.

Hand cutting the Sauvignon Blanc grapes

One crate of grapes picked and ready to stomp

Once we had filled our crate, we were encouraged to enter the one minute challenge of crushing our grapes by foot…the old fashioned way!

It turns out there is a technique for optimising the amount of grape juice you get which involved various levels of hugging and big feet! Others chose to cheat and bolster their juice levels in other ways in order to win the prize for most juice from their barrel! Clearly I was not competitive enough and didn’t win that prize. Nor did I win ‘best legs’ prize, but better luck next time.

The Moreson team changed the way this part of the process took place this year and for me it was a little bit slapdash. I would have preferred to have stomped for more time (in the shade) and seen more about the whole cycle of making wine. But after our 1 minute stomping and 2 minute liquid collection we were done and sent off to try the professional stuff.

Apparently hugging your partner helps - it's a loving process this wine stomping

Best legs winner...judge for yourself

The added benefit of having this event at Moreson is that it is home of the beautifully appointed Bread and Wine restaurant, run by Tina and Neil Jewell. Neil came over to South Africa from the UK many years ago and has established himself as a leader in the charcuterie business making all sorts of wonderful cured meats. He even does a course if you are interested. And so the final part of this Blessing was to partake in a grand buffet lunch at the restaurant. Once again, for me, there was a bigger opportunity to link the wine and food which would have completed the experience, but Neil certainly laid on a spread.

Bread & Wine

Neil's spread

Overall it was an enjoyable day and fascinating to see that we were surrounded by locals and tourists alike, of all ages from young children to retirees and from around the world. There were also a couple of businesses on a team day which was a great idea. I am always amazed by how people find out about these things but the lesson is that they do. And I guess that is what this experiential marketing is all about.

Whilst I didn’t win the label design competition either, I am looking forward to receiving my bottles of ‘Footsteps’ wine in a years time when it has matured into something more drinkable. Until then, I will hold onto the connection I have with this particular vineyard and there’s a lesson to take from that.

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Categories South Africa

A seat at The Table

February 4, 2012 //
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There is a new formula to opening a restaurant these days, wherever you are in the world.

The first thing is to get yourself a cool, stripped back space and then add some quirky furniture and the obligatory signature lighting from the latest fashionable designer. Throw in crockery that can be sold in retail and finally develop a themed menu: it could be a style of food, a country of origin, or some other unique theme that requires much explanation at time of ordering and hey presto…a restaurant is born.

Not so for the lovely people who created The Table, whose name says it all. Simple and to the point. Camilla Comins, brother Jason and hubbie Russel Wasserfall listened to all the friends who had dinner at their home and said they should open a restaurant. After years of considering it, the trio finally opened this Stellenbosch hideaway last year.

Our table of choice

Based at the unassuming De Meye vineyard, Russel is the ultimate host when you arrive to find your table perfectly situated under the acorn trees. He is charming, relaxed, professional and ever so adorable…as well as a little bit naughty. And his photography is not bad either!

Table number 1

There is no menu to peruse as there is only one set menu on offer here and that is bold and refreshing to me. You only have to read Barry Schwartz ‘Paradox of Choice’ to understand what a great relief that is.  If you are worried about the menu, their website is a food lovers haven so you can make your choice knowing what is on offer, or discuss alternatives with Russel.

This weeks menu was pretty much my ideal choice: a simple starter of potted prawns and freshly baked bread followed by beef with bearnaise sauce, thin crispy chips, seasonal salad and heirloom tomatoes. For dessert, there was a perfect pear tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream. I can honestly say the three and a half hours we spent loitering under those trees, chatting to Russel, drinking his recommended wine and guzzling our way through this perfectly prepared food was one of the best meals I have ever had. Maybe I should have taken up our host’s offer to grab a blanket and doze under the trees to really indulge, but we had definitely outstayed our welcome by then.

Simple perfection

Another perfect plate

It is not surprising with their credentials that Camilla and Jason are turning out such wonderful approachable food and not to be out-done, Russel brought each plate out with a passionate description of what it was and where it was sourced. They have really worked with local specialists to get what they want and make the most of it, and that is not always easy in this country. This attention to every detail continues throughout the meal, from local heirloom tomatoes to succulent grass fed angus beef; from tarragon supplied by the farm over the hill to the most incredible puff pastry on the tarte tatin which was made by a cleaner that Camilla discovered at her workplace who was making pastry as a side line. Needless to say, it is now a start up business. Even the bill arrived in an old tin passed down through Russel’s family which reflects the tradition of South Africa.

Seasonal and local are not just words to these guys – it is a genuine way of life.

And if you get a chance, sign up for one of Russel’s food photography courses. You can see a couple of select examples adorning the walls inside and they are once again simple and beautiful. I am gutted my trip is not timed to coincide with one, but at least it gives me an excuse next time. Watch out Russel – I am definitely coming back!

Heirloom tomatoes from the tomato man

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Categories Restaurants, South Africa
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