We are going on the obesity ride of our lives… bypassing some of the most important and key components nature has to offer just to get in the taste we crave, desire and want. We  keeping feeding our addictions and eating mindlessly in order to feel better about our stationary positions and already inflamed waistlines. We are literally a ‘growing’ nation…

In 2011, the USDA took a gigantic leap of faith with key figurehead Michelle Obama, creating the Choosemyplate.gov graphic and website to replace the very vintage and outdated MyPyramid graphic. MyPlate offers a lot of opportunity for interpretation, but does provide a very clear way of denoting the reimbursable meal requirements and proper National Nutrition Standards. While this is a very useful tool for the whole of the Nutritional Guidelines, it is not specific enough to focus on school food.

Why is that? Well, for starters school food often does not come on a plate. Tray’s remove the guesswork out of washing dishes and make it simple to place foods and then carry. The trays especially are ideal for young kids. Schools are changing and eventually we will get to a place where plates are more widely seen and used, but until that day comes we should embrace the existing circumstance.

Choosemytray.me is a response to the need to educate k-12 school students on proper nutrition. Choose 3, for Free! is the slogan we are going to lead with and the tray will be symbolic of the foods available on a normal lunch day. Through the TILT Foundation, we plan to build a website with interactive menus and the ability to create your own nutrition-filled plate which will support the initiatives of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and also the Nutrition Guidelines of the USDA. We also plan to host a design contest to interact specifically with design of the tray to create something which would be more student friendly. Activity sheets and marketing materials will also be available ondemand on our website through some of our partner companies.

If you have questions, thoughts or comments, please don’t hesitate to send them our way via email or phone (443-226-9143).

NOTE: Please take into account that this is all preliminary and strictly based on a visual shift for MyPlate. The opinions expressed in this blog post and website are that entirely of TILT and does not represent opinions of our clients or of the US Government.

What is a Brand? from Tilt Studio Inc on Vimeo.

How to create Brands and what they are. Brands are beyond advertising and marketing… they tell a story.

This great video is worth the 5 minutes. It will change your entire view about the retail and loyalty consumer market; providing you with key insights to how the story has been crafted for us and made us believe in a brand. The video with the boat is breathtaking. This was shared with us by Anthony Garguilo from Compass’ Retail Brand Innovations Team at the Environments Summit last week.

Ginger’s Kitchen was the brainchild of David Cook; “Living a time-deficient life shouldn’t mean enduring poor quality ready-meals. “ Early in 2009 he went about trying to change this by making distinctive chef-prepared meals for a select few London delicatessens. He cooked the food with great care using well-sourced local ingredients. The demand was great; he moved into a larger kitchen and found another chef.

At that time David lived in Sussex and wanted to find a new premise so he could spend less time on the road and more time in the kitchen.  Tim and Hayley Breden, close friends had the same dream: “to cook the best food, use local producers and ensure quality always came first.” In 2011, the three joined forces in Partridge Green, Sussex with their state-of-the-art kitchen with plenty of room to keep up with the demand.  Ginger’s Kitchen is really in touch with the spirit around organic portioned control sized meals you can take home and cook when you’re ready.  Perfect for the on the go lifestyle we all lead today.

Ginger’s Kitchen produces a growing range of high quality distinctive chef prepared meals, soups and salads. All dishes are innovative, have strong visual appeal and deliver maximum flavor. No excessive packaging is used to keep waste to a minimum and where possible biodegradable or recyclable products are used.

Most unusual are the Panibois.  They are biodegradable wooden baking moulds manufactured by a small company in France. They are best baked in the oven, although can be popped in the microwave too. After it’s cooked, unwrap it and the sides pop off to become a plate.  Ingenious. The meals for two Panibois varieties change according to the seasons’ availabilities.

The pots are prepared so the ingredients retain their texture, flavor and nutrients. There are two sizes: a single serve and a two serve. Rounding out the menu are several salad and soup choices and side items to choose from.  Some of each of the Pots, the Panibois, Salads, Soups and Sides are vegetarian.

All salads come in a 286g lunch box and have a 4 day shelf life.  Panibois are available in 2 sizes: 410g (serves 1) and 650g (serves 1 or 2.  Vegetable accompaniments are 380g.  The cooked dishes have a six day shelf life but are suitable for home freezing.  Soups come in 1 size, 600ml which serves two.  Main Course Pots – serves one and can range in size from 350g – 400g. Main Course Sauce Pots serves 2 and are all 550g. All the pots have a 6 day shelf life.

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OUR BIG IDEA

The Panibois are an excellent example of getting the most out of your packaging. Why not take it a step further and template out a fork and spoon on either side of the wooden mould? That way when it is removed, instead of discarding the whole thing, pop out the disposable utensils and eating on the go is even easier!

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Often we hear the familiar thread that food allergies are just an imaginary issue, but in actuality the number of people developing food allergies are rising at a rapid rate and the trend it likely to continue. Why is this? Well, there is a lot of speculation, but the two consistent areas of focus boil down to our food production system and our air quality. The milk of today is not the same milk we had as children. Because of this, allergens and sensitivities are increasing and it is important to think about how to start communicating and offering guidance…

Obviously the ideal way to handle the food allergy issue would be to go back to the source and change the way our food is made and the environment that it comes from. In the meantime, however, the safest thing for those who suffer from a gluten intolerance to an anaphylactic peanut allergy would most likely benefit from some way of communicating their food restrictions when they are eating out and on the go. With the growing number of of people inflicted, the opportunity for some sort of allergy awareness system to become commonplace and make the lives of wait staff, chefs, and diners alike a lot simpler and clear cut is tremendous.

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HOW TO WORK WITH TILT ON THIS…

We do a ton of research around allergens and we are always looking to things like labeling and clever marketing to talk to how we can adjust and connect with different people and cultures. Through a series of International Icons we hope to establish some level of working order for the work to work within, but outside of that,  there are ways to develop new ideas for communicating ‘free from’ and or ‘all natural’ choices using food packaging, design, language and marketing.

Check out what we did for Kwik Trip Stores Pizza program last year:

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RESOURCES

FAAN – Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
Did you know Allergens? NY Times Article
Allergens for children
E. Rachael Baird’s Story

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Alternative sandwiches or ‘ready to eat, easy to hold food objects’ are quite the new/old thing – and are hitting the market hard… creating brand loyalty all along the way, increasing market share of the already impressive sandwich states. The stats read earlier this year were somewhere in the neighborhood of £3.5bn a year in sales in the UK alone. That’s some serious sandwich eating! If you are a retailer with a great signature sandwich or just an idea we think this is the category to be in. If you don’t, its time for you to create a unique product or Own Brand which gives instant recognition.

Think about how you can fill a need that a consumer wants on the go – easy to hold, easy to eat, no need for a napkin or a fork and fills their body up with the nutrients it needs.

How does this awesome brand recognition work? When you think of a brand of restaurant you consider the name, logo, identity, concept, look and feel and potentially the typical clientele. It is very broadstroke and high level. When you think about a product you opt-in for, you consider the same level of detail towards a single object, which is very focused and specific. This level of detail is often in areas like the packaging, taste, ingredients and the specific shelf presence.

We have found a number of products which are unique delivery methods and could be classified as food design. Take a look at what we have found… and let us know if you have any other ideas.

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WAITROSE LETTUCE WRAPS

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GORILLA SANDWICH

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SUSHI POPPER

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CANWICH

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ABOKADO SHWRAPS

Coconut water was tipped to be a big trend for 2010 and it didn’t disappoint. Backed by celebrities such as Madonna and Demi Moore who not only were seen sipping the drink they also put their money where their mouths were by financially investing in Vita Coco, a lead brand of coconut water.  If you still think this is a celebrity trend this post may change your mind.

Coca Cola Inc purchased a small stake in Zico a coconut company whilst PepsiCo not to be out done bought Amacoco which is the biggest coconut water company in Brazil. Far from a niche market this is now a $200 million industry. With many other celebrity drinkers and major drinks companies backing coconut water is a trend that may just prove to have legs. Currently the coconut water market is still evolving and new products are appearing such as coconut water being mixed with fruit juices, aloe juice and available with and without pulp.  It is now a regular feature in health food stores on both sides of the pond.

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WHAT IS COCONUT WATER? WHY IS IT SO POPULAR?

Coconut water comes from the younger greener coconuts which are harvested before they are ripe. If left to ripen the coconut water or liquid turns into the white fleshy insides of the coconut that may be more familiar to us. The coconut water is an excellent isotonic beverage packed with electrolytes as it contains potassium, magnesium and calcium. In fact  most of the drinks contain more potassium than a banana.

The water itself is also fat free and low calorie.These attributes make it popular with gym goers and people with active lifestyles looking for a more natural, less sugared isotonic sports drink. The Universiti Sains in Malaysia compared coconut water, sports drinks and plain water in a study looking at post exercise rehydration. They found it effective in helping hydrate the body after exercise with participants stating coconut water was sweeter and caused less nausea and no stomach upsets during the trial. However other experts have stated that coconut water may not be the best for rehydration after very strenuous exercise.

So combine this nutrient packed water with aloe juice surely must be the drink of the Gods? Aloe juice has long been hailed as an effective natural body cleanser and is regularly used for treating sun burn and other minor skin ailments. But did you know its also packed with calcium, iron and vitamins A, E and C. Wowsers!!!

Whilst skeptics may argue that not all of the claims on the packaging of some of these drinks brands have been proved. ConsumerLab.com tested products from Zico, Vita Coco and O.N.E and found that the only brand whose product matched their claims were Zico. They are a great source of fat free, gluten free, low calorie refreshment and with the launch of fruity flavours such as tangerine, acai and pom there is a drink to suit many tastebuds.

Aloe Water is also in the same vein and not without its benefits. New and out to the market, this new kind of water is loaded with benefits. Not as rich and creamy as coconut water, but certainly a tasty treat in its own right. One of the most successful versions of this is a brand called ALO. This clever Taiwanese brand used chunks of aloe in the drink so as you drink you get a slippery texture of fruit. It is very much like bubble tea.

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OUR BIG IDEA

being pushed towards the sports drink market it would be great to be able to buy this with a sports cap lid to make it easier to suck down quickly! Perhaps making this on tap in a yoga studio or gym would be another beneficial direction to go.

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WHAT CAN TILT DO?

We work on food innovation design and delivery and since the coconut and aloe waters are new areas of focus, we imagine a fantastic walk up counter Coco/Aloe Bar. One of our recent projects was working with Mighty Leaf Tea on their Tea Bar. We created the delivery mechanism, while working along side one of our menu developer partners. In this instance, we partnered with Dee Pettit and she worked on developing a new style of ready-to-make drink using a fruit and agave blend into the tea.

Have a cool product or drink? Let us develop a delivery platform for it.

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Good morning, beautiful PARIS! Today is the day for a fantastic run throughout the city, seeking the best of the best restaurants, petrol stations, convenience stores and grocery spots. At only a mere 13km, you can walk it, run it or bike it very quickly – within an hour or so. My feeling is that the best tour of the city happens through movement and being on the go, the way these restaurants are meant to be seen.

Some say the city of love, others say the city of lights, but to TILT, Paris is the city of food; delicious, whole, healthy and untainted, the food experience in Paris like non-other in the world. The experience has a lot to do with service and quality of food and you pay a premium on it. Maybe a bit unpractical for the American and British Tourists who expect an exceptionally large portion, quickly and cheaply.

If you have the time, jump on the Eurostar from London and just head off on a tour of Paris for the day. Experience a smattering of fine concepts and brands that might be coming to you, someday. Parisian concepts may or may not be applicable in other places… the jury is still out, but we want YOU to make the decision for yourself and experience all the city has to offer. Below we have provided a map and a list of some of our favorite concepts. Enjoy!

View Larger Map
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JOOSBAYOO

Joosabayoo is one of the coolest and freshest new concepts we have seen in a long time. It is bright and clever with the marketing and messaging, but mainly the design is functional! It is totally focused on a quick, grab n’ go food bar with fruit juices and a lovely, modern atmosphere.

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COJEAN

One of the companies that we really want to work with is Cojean in Paris. A really great, fresh food company with roughly 20 or so cafes in and around Paris. They have a commissary kitchen and make fresh food every day and their primary sales time is from 11am-2pm. The company culture is very focused on their employees and quality food.

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MCDONALD’S
The French McDonald’s is the second largest market for the McDonald’s enterprise. With quality ingredients, a higher caliber of manufacturing methods and better portion control, it is a creative change from the typical McDonald’s. The most impressive is the walk-thru experience which looks like an ATM.
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QUICK

These uber fun and clever spots are completely equip with marketing and lead in markers. The design is fresh and clever, approachable and easy to navigate. The French burger favorite – Quick Restaurant is here to stay and competes on every level with the usual US versions.

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PICARD
What a cool space! Definitely one of the most interesting concepts we have ever been to. Picard is a frozen food phenonmenon in the heart of Paris. Similar to a Costco, this has a ton of bulk food, but nothing is fresh – it is all frozen. Get suited up for a party with some of the beautiful pastries, or just have an every day soup.
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MONOPRIX

We found Monoprix on a study tour we went on with Insight Research two years ago. The basement grocer is in the bottom of the Monoprix department stores and is a full grocery opportunity, complete with all the walks of life that we have grown to love and use.

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MONOP

Monop is the lunch spot for Monoprix. The baby-sized version sits in and around Paris in busy business lunch areas.

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FAUCHON

One of the best experiences in Paris is seeing the french pastires and food in and around the city. Fauchon maximizes the French potential for beauty and grace with their food design and has everything from quality meats and drinks all the way through to signature pastries. Their Fauchon graphics are everywhere and it is fitting with the high-end styling of a Parisian clothing brand.

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TEA BY THÉ

A fresh and comfortable cafe concept, set in the heart of the city, Tea by Thé. Their own tea brand is available on site for purchase or consumption. You can sit in alley chairs outside or indoor on a smattering of different furniture choices. Absolutely beautiful.

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CARREFOUR

Carrefour City is an exceptionally well known brand around the world, but the Parisian version is made for a city-sized version. It is suited up to provide a quick smattering of daily foods needed.

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POMME DE PAIN

Sandwiches are the go to food for any Parisian. Toasted bread and delicious sandwiches can all be found at Pomme de Pain which is a simple, on-the-go place to go on your way to work or out for lunch with a colleague.

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