Tag Archives: Foodie

June 14, 2013 · 10:27 am

Cronuts

An unlikely source for our Foodie Friday Fun this week – the folks over at Freakonomics. I’m a big fan of both the books and the podcast because their whole schtick is looking at things very differently albeit from an economic point of view.  Today it’s the cronut, an invention by a NYC baker which is a cross between a doughnut and a croissant. As Freakonomics reports:

Cronuts are so popular that lines form at 6 a.m. — 2 hours before the shop opens — and Ansel runs out within minutes. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet (and Craigslist) there is even a cronut black market, with unauthorized cronut scalpers charging up to $40 apiece for home delivery (a mark up of 700%). And of course there are cronut knockoffs appearing all over the world. Ansel has even trademarked the name “cronut.”

So here we have an interesting and, hopefully, common problem – you do invent a better mousetrap although once it’s out there it’s not particularly hard to duplicate.  You can try to protect it via patents or trademarks but the former is costly (and the laws are changing) and the latter is hard to protect for something such as this.  Why?  Because it is almost a “generic” term such as Kleenex or Xerox (tissues and copying, respectively).  The article has a great overview of the laws involved if you’re interested.  So what can you do?

In two words, be better.  Two more:  be smarter.  You are, after, the original, and that’s an edge – sort of like what distinguishes the official sports league websites from all the other sports sites that are out there (scores and stats are commodity content, after all).  People like that – getting the original as long as the original lives up to its reputation (anyone think Hyrdox are better than Oreo’s?  Seriously?).  The inventor has a head start and it’s a small business.  Why blow the profits on enforcing the potentially unenforceable hundreds of miles away from your base of operation?  We don’t take the time often enough to think about the real value behind an argument made in principle.  What fees might come in from licensing the name to a bakery in LA?  What might it cost to get those fees?

I’ve never had a cronut.  I might even break my general eating habits to try one next time I’m in NYC (assuming I can get one).  What I won’t do – and what you shouldn’t either – is sacrifice smart business thinking over some grandiose idea.  Be better, be smarter, and you’ll reap the rewards.  You agree?

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May 31, 2013 · 8:26 am

Remoulade

Foodie Friday Fun time! Today our topic is a sauce many of you have had with crab cakes, french fries, cold beef filet, or many other dishes called remoulade. Other than spelling, and the fact that it’s good, that’s about where the agreement ends.

Français : Sauce rémoulade faite sans mayonnaise

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was chatting with a dear friend and fellow cook on the topic (we had dined at a place with excellent remoulade years ago and were trying to figure it out) and realized that we didn’t even know where to start.  Unlike many dishes, remoulade is a bit of a chameleon, changing itself based on its enviroment.

Cajun remoulade is different from French, which varies from Belgian.  Is it mayonnaise-based or more of an aioli (I know – splitting hairs bit still…)? Is there ketchup in it or not? Anchovies? Do we use French cornichons or a dill pickle? Capers – in or out (is that a master’s thesis topic or what)?  In fact, maybe it’s more of a condiment than a sauce?  Tell a cook to make a remoulade and you’ll get one of several things, each of which is “right” based on the cook’s background.  It’s unlike one of the “mother sauces” which are very specific. Which is the business point.

Most business issues are like remoulade – there is more than one right answer.  As my friend said, “there are so many different ways and you don’t know which one is right for the job, maybe you should just give them a list of options and let them pick the one that suits their needs the best.”  Good advice for consultants like me and other business folks like you.  What can hamper our business success is thinking that there is just ONE way to accomplish the goal.  We need to focus on “a” right answer, not “the.”

We haven’t quite deduced how this restaurant made their remoulade – they’re out of business now so we can’t go back and ask – but we’ll keep trying.  What we do know is that their answer to the remoulade question was unique and worked for them with their food.  That’s just like the answers to most of your business questions are.  You with me?

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May 24, 2013 · 8:56 am

Brands Out Of Control

A Foodie Friday that begins a long weekend here in the US. Today, however, we’re doing Foodie Friday Fails, and actually they’re kind of fun because of their inherent stupidity. Our fist bit of joy comes to us courtesy of the folks at Nutella.

Deutsch: Ein Glas Nutella-Nussnougatcreme

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A big fan of the hazelnut and chocolate concoction decided to celebrate the product by creating a “World Nutella Day” celebration and used social media and the web to promote it. Want to guess what happened next?

Sarah Rosso, the principal organizer of World Nutella Day, says she received a letter from Ferrero demanding that she stop using the Nutella name and logo. Since it’s a little hard to celebrate Nutella without using the word “Nutella,” that essentially spells death for any sort of World Day. Rosso, who described the letter as “a bit of a surprise and a disappointment,” will have to shut down her Facebook page, Twitter, and website — or, I guess, make them into blind items. “World Day to Celebrate An Unnamed Hazelnut Spread” doesn’t have as much of a ring, but at least it’s not actionable.

That’s right:  in a time when hundreds of brands are spending millions of dollars to create social virality, the geniuses at Ferrero shut down something that does nothing but celebrate their product in a positive way.  They’ve since recanted and are now supporting the effort, blaming their lawyers who reacted reflexively to use of a trademark.  Right.  In an event, the damage has been done but the lesson is worth repeating.  We no longer “own” our brands.  Our customers do and we need to support nearly everything they do unless it’s hurtful or illegal.

Then there are the folks at  TGI Fridays in the great state of New Jersey.  13 of their outlets were caught filling premium liquor bottles with cheap booze and charging top shelf prices for it.   Obviously, the brand takes a hit as a bar, but it also has to make customers wonder what’s going on in the kitchen if the bar is so out of control.  One bad apple and you can write it off to a rogue bar manager.   13 outlets and clearly no one is minding the store (or bar) by watching inventory and sales reports.  Maybe they’re not watching what’s being served or how it’s being cooked.

While the Nutella case shows someone paying too much attention, Friday’s shows the opposite   Managing is often a balancing act and here we have two food brands that have fallen off the wire.   Thoughts?

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