Category: Food and Drink

How to Turn a Problem into an Experience with Soul

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Written by Maria Moraes Robinson

In our Customer Experiences with Soul approach, we emphasise three pillars which are critical for an experience to be meaningful: authenticity, systemic vision and universal human values. In other words, the motivation to deliver a meaningful experience must be genuinely and deeply human. And it is always a great satisfaction to be able to see concrete examples of experiences that express these pillars. Continue reading “How to Turn a Problem into an Experience with Soul” →

#EATLIKESIMONANDMARIA

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The biggest news in the burger world this week was the Andy Warhol advert which Burger King aired during this year’s Superbowl.

If you have not seen it, here is the original documentary footage which was edited down to the 30-second clip. It comes from the Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth who recorded Warhol in 1981 for his art movie “66 Scenes from America” which was filmed. Continue reading “#EATLIKESIMONANDMARIA” →

BrewDog head back to basics with new marketing campaign

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We start Customer Experiences with Soul with a look at the meaning of the word ‘soul’ in business. We close chapter one with the following remarks:

One of the greatest challenges for any company wishing to grow is the continued nurturing of its soul, the very reason for its early success. In chapter four therefore we look at how BrewDog recognised this very issue and sought to capture more formally the essence of their being in their Be More BrewDog charter.

Continue reading “BrewDog head back to basics with new marketing campaign” →

The Things which BrewDog Believe In

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In Customer Experiences with Soul Maria and I provide an in-depth look at Scottish brewery BrewDog. Co-founder James Watt gave us permission to include the BrewDog charter, which he wrote along with many of the most senior and long-standing members of the business to encapsulate the essence of BrewDog.

BrewDog was growing in size, and so the manifesto was written to help those working for the company understand easily mission, the vision, the values and ultimately, the very being of BrewDog.

Credit: BrewDog

As an Equity Punk investor, I have access to all of the updates directly from James. He recently shared an update with results from the first half of 2018, in which he wrote the following: Continue reading “The Things which BrewDog Believe In” →

Cloudwater Brew Co. show how to respond when things go dramatically wrong

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Credit: Cloudwater Brew Co.

Cloudwater Brew Co are a Manchester-based brewery and were voted the second best brewery in the world at RateBeer Best 2018. Their blog is well worth a regular visit, even if you are not a complete hop head, as this recent quote from a post on mental health in the beer industry shows:

Every business is driven by a sense of bringing something meaningful into being with adequate rewards in exchange for effort, but our individual and shared humanity must be central to our company goals, targets, systems, and culture, if we’re to build long-term sustainability. Our ambition should not just focus on protecting our staff from physical, mental, or emotional harm, but also be centred around a sense of holistic, collective, and individual happiness too.

(Source: From Head Down to Head Space)

Continue reading “Cloudwater Brew Co. show how to respond when things go dramatically wrong” →

Catching up with BrewDog’s Supply Chain Team

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Photo credit: BrewDog

In Customer Experiences with Soul, Maria and I explore the culture, values and approach to employee engagement at BrewDog, the cutting-edge Scottish brewery who revolutionised craft beer in the UK. We are therefore pleased to be able to share this story from BrewDog which explores what it is like to work within their supply chain team from many different personal perspectives. Continue reading “Catching up with BrewDog’s Supply Chain Team” →

Have a Free Pint on BrewDog

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As most of you will have seen, I have been writing recently about BrewDog on both my blog and for Sustainable Brands. Maria and I include BrewDog as one of our cast studies in our book, and this month you now have the chance to really experience BrewDog at one of their bars, both in the UK and around the world.

BrewDog have announced that they are organising the largest round of drinks in the world – one million in fact. If you click here, you can claim your voucher for a pint of their flagship beers, Punk IPA.

Of course age restrictions and a few other conditions apply, so please do read these carefully.

Interview with Lisa Lawson, Founder of Dear Green Coffee Roasters

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Credit: BrewDog

I first heard of Dear Green coffee roasters a couple of years ago when Scottish brewery BrewDog announced that they had selected Dear Green as their suppliers of coffee to their UK bars. As BrewDog mentioned in their announcement, the attitude towards uncompromising quality was a key deciding factor:

As advocates for amazing coffee in our bars, we only want to work with the very best in the business. We are bringing the same attitude to our coffee as we do our craft beer, so fostering relationships with those at the cutting edge is essential. From the La Marzocco espresso machines even down to the Inker cups that we use – everything is dialled in so that when you order up a macchiato or an Aeropress, you know you’re getting the very best.

Continue reading “Interview with Lisa Lawson, Founder of Dear Green Coffee Roasters” →

Love, Romance and the Customer Experience

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Maria and I often visit a local restaurant, Maria Lima, which we go to a lot as it is just two blocks away. It had been quite an intense week for us (in a good way), and we just felt like relaxing in a very convivial location. We do love the restaurant. It has great food at reasonable value, and we also love the music there too, which is sometimes Indian and always eclectic. Continue reading “Love, Romance and the Customer Experience” →

Bad Coffee in Good Hotels

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I do always enjoy a good breakfast in a hotel, and nowadays to me it seems that with one or two notable exceptions (thank you Buenos Aires) there is not always such a great difference between what is on offer, independently from the quality of the hotel. As I was drinking a very disappointingly weak excuse of a cuppa in our final hotel in Teddington, I came to realise that what really makes a difference to me is the coffee.

No matter how good the other aspects of a hotel is for me, what leaves a lasting impression is the feeling I get from starting my day with a great cup of coffee.

This may seem like a trivial point, but I really think there is something significant to learn about customer experience design. A hotel simply is not able to offer a five star experience at three star prices, and neither should it try. However, what makes the difference between a good experience and an exceptional experience can often be found in one small detail. Continue reading “Bad Coffee in Good Hotels” →