Here's a modern take on the Stamp Act that even Bostonians can enjoy: The Wheat Foods Council is calling attention to the new whole-grain recommendations in the Food Guide Pyramid with three Whole Grain stamps that you'll soon be seeing at retail.
The new stamps classify whole-grain foods into three categories: Good, which offers a half serving of whole grain; Excellent, which provides a full serving of whole grain; and 100%, which contains a full serving of whole grain and no other grains, which I guess are considered junk grains now.
And here come the angry farmers to complain about that last sentence. Just kidding, folks. Put the pitchforks down.
We're taking a hard look at what whole-grain products to add to the site, and we'll be using the stamps to identify them when they appear.
Meanwhile, there's a new war on stickers shaping up in the produce aisle, with the announcement that a pilot program will test laser-etching of fresh fruits and vegetables. Everything from bar codes to advertising could be on the horizon, but for now the etching is limited to the price look up (PLU) and manufacturer.
There's some information to be found in those PLUs, if you know how to read them. If you see a four-digit code, it means the produce was conventionally grown. If the PLU has five digits beginning with a 9, it's organically grown, and if it has five digits beginning with an 8, it's genetically modified.
Those numbers can be found on the stickers on all produce the next time you're at the supermarket. If the laser etching turns out to be more effective, maybe we can burn those whole grain stamps right on the bread and muffins.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
New Cookies, New Category
Filed under Stuff You Need to Know: I'm rearranging our catalog to make it easier to use both for you and for us. That means you'll see some small changes in our categories over the coming weeks, which will be very annoying for anyone who bookmarked the pages or follows an old link from a search engine. You'll get our home page instead of the page you expected. Check the links on the right and you should be able to find what you want (or else I should be fired). I'll also post updates here at the BakeryBlog whenever a change is made.
This week, say goodbye to Celebration Specialty Desserts and hello to Birthday Specialties. The new page has double the number of products the old page had--four instead of two!
That's not terribly exciting, but I think you'll love those two new products, a Blue Birthday Cookie and Pink Birthday Cookie from our friends at Supercookie. These are a terrific alternative to birthday cake or a great gift to send someone who already has a cake. Please send those bandits with the cookie bouquets a message by ordering these.
As for the why behind the catalog shuffling, there's two reasons. First, we don't organize our products by manufacturer in our back end, which means I have to spend a lot of time hunting things down to make changes. Our Bakery List makes it much easier for customers to find products than it is for us to find them.
Second, I'm unhappy with the current catalog organization. I doubt that Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Gift Baskets warrant their own categories, and Shop by Price becomes irrelevant when you add on the shipping charges.
I'm in "Read the customers' minds" mode to figure out what all of the new categories will be. If you've got some thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
This week, say goodbye to Celebration Specialty Desserts and hello to Birthday Specialties. The new page has double the number of products the old page had--four instead of two!
That's not terribly exciting, but I think you'll love those two new products, a Blue Birthday Cookie and Pink Birthday Cookie from our friends at Supercookie. These are a terrific alternative to birthday cake or a great gift to send someone who already has a cake. Please send those bandits with the cookie bouquets a message by ordering these.
As for the why behind the catalog shuffling, there's two reasons. First, we don't organize our products by manufacturer in our back end, which means I have to spend a lot of time hunting things down to make changes. Our Bakery List makes it much easier for customers to find products than it is for us to find them.
Second, I'm unhappy with the current catalog organization. I doubt that Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Gift Baskets warrant their own categories, and Shop by Price becomes irrelevant when you add on the shipping charges.
I'm in "Read the customers' minds" mode to figure out what all of the new categories will be. If you've got some thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
And You Thought the Cola Wars Were Bad
Interstate Bakeries and Sara Lee are preparing to throw down in a battle royale over whole white bread, according to the tale of the tape in today's Chicago Tribune. It seems that ConAgra has found a way to mill whole wheat so that it can be baked into loaves that look like white bread while retaining some of the nutritional benefits of whole wheat bread.
Again the awe-inspiring influence of the American Wheat Council and the new Food Guide Pyramid creep into our daily lives. You can even download a free version of the Pyramid for your PDA to tell the skeptical Atkins adherents in your life about the benefits of whole wheat.
Both Interstate and Sara Lee are hoping to corner the fickle youth market with a product that kids will eat and parents will feel good about serving. Expect the battle to heat up in a supermarket near you by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if you nice folks in readerland would like to see some whole wheat breads on our site. Yes? No? Let me know.
Again the awe-inspiring influence of the American Wheat Council and the new Food Guide Pyramid creep into our daily lives. You can even download a free version of the Pyramid for your PDA to tell the skeptical Atkins adherents in your life about the benefits of whole wheat.
Both Interstate and Sara Lee are hoping to corner the fickle youth market with a product that kids will eat and parents will feel good about serving. Expect the battle to heat up in a supermarket near you by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if you nice folks in readerland would like to see some whole wheat breads on our site. Yes? No? Let me know.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Baked with Platinum, I Guess
I was out and about on the Web last week, checking out the competition. It turns out that cookie bouquets are a popular item on the search engines. I thought it would be nice if we carried those.
Then I started investigating the cookie bouquet sites. One wanted 90 bucks for a dozen cookies. Another was asking $79. These are large by cookie standards, and hand-decorated to boot, but I still find it a great stretch to charge that much, plus shipping, of course, for a dozen cookies.
If you're thinking of sending someone cookies, it's because that person likes cookies. Wouldn't you rather send them a lot of pretty cookies than a handful dressed up to look like flowers?
Go check out our offerings from Supercookie. You can send three tubs of our mini-cookies, around 69 cookies total, for less than you'd spend for one dozen of those bouquet cookies. That includes shipping, and the last time I left a tub of these on my desk I had to hide it after an hour to keep my coworkers from eating them all.
Then I started investigating the cookie bouquet sites. One wanted 90 bucks for a dozen cookies. Another was asking $79. These are large by cookie standards, and hand-decorated to boot, but I still find it a great stretch to charge that much, plus shipping, of course, for a dozen cookies.
If you're thinking of sending someone cookies, it's because that person likes cookies. Wouldn't you rather send them a lot of pretty cookies than a handful dressed up to look like flowers?
Go check out our offerings from Supercookie. You can send three tubs of our mini-cookies, around 69 cookies total, for less than you'd spend for one dozen of those bouquet cookies. That includes shipping, and the last time I left a tub of these on my desk I had to hide it after an hour to keep my coworkers from eating them all.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Start Hoarding Those Hi-Hos
Bad news if you live in the northeast: A fire in Wayne, New Jersey has disabled power to a plant owned by Interstate Bakeries. Conservative estimates are that the plant won't be up and baking for five days, setting the stage for the Great Twinkie Drought of Ought-Five.
Should you find your snacking interrupted, the Keebler folks would like to remind you that their reliance on elven technology ensures a constant supply of cookies to your local grocer. Or you could try our new Biscotti Sampler, which contains four flavors of delicious gourmet biscotti for just $9.95. I'll confess my bias on this product, because I'm hooked on the Chocolate Hazelnut.
Should you find your snacking interrupted, the Keebler folks would like to remind you that their reliance on elven technology ensures a constant supply of cookies to your local grocer. Or you could try our new Biscotti Sampler, which contains four flavors of delicious gourmet biscotti for just $9.95. I'll confess my bias on this product, because I'm hooked on the Chocolate Hazelnut.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
From Joy to Despair
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the London transit bombings and their families. Such acts have no place in civilized society.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Our Privacy Policy
A few interesting stats this morning courtesy of my subscription to Internet Retailer:
Because a site's Privacy Policy was unclear,
Because a site's Privacy Policy was unclear,
- 64% of customers decided not to purchase
- 67% of visitors decided not to register
This comes from a new Harris Interactive survey conducted for a string-of-words think tank associated with another string-of-words think tank and Deloitte & Touche LLP. The survey also found that 20% of respondents were victims of identity theft and 87% were aware of recent consumer data thefts.
Since this is an issue with so many of you out there, I'd like to restate our Privacy Policy in the simplest language possible:
We don't share your information with anyone. Ever. For any reason. Except to complete your transaction.
That means we need to pass your credit card to a third-party authorization company and give your shipping address to FedEx, UPS, or the Postal Service to deliver your products.
When you order from us or register as a customer, we do add your name to our mailing list so that we can tell you about new products, specials, and seasonal gift ideas. Our mailing program is managed through Vertical Response, a leading provider of e-mailing services that maintains aggressive antispam policies. If you wish to unsubscribe, just click the link at the bottom of the e-mails we send and you'll never receive the e-mail again.
In short, we value you too much as a customer to ever jeopardize our relationship with you. We treat your information with an abundance of care and concern, as if it was our own.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Can We Agree on the Vichysoisse to Start?
The G8 is off to a less than auspicious start, with national pride taking a hit over French President Jacques Chriac's comments about British cuisine. Setting a tone of optimism and cooperation that is sure to be the hallmark of this week's meetings, Chirac was quoted as saying of the Brits, "We can't trust people who have such bad food."
I'll take filet mignon over fish and chips, thank you, but Chirac went a little too far when he claimed that mad cow disease was England's sole contribution to European agriculture.
German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder one-upped the French president by insulting Scotland, which plays host to this year's G8 summit, saying, "I am not a friend of salmon and I hope I get a decent steak."
Apparently the message of Saturday's Live8 concerts is lost on these gentlemen. My advice to the chefs at Gleneagles is to serve nothing for the duration of the summit, then see who feels like complaining.
I'll take filet mignon over fish and chips, thank you, but Chirac went a little too far when he claimed that mad cow disease was England's sole contribution to European agriculture.
German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder one-upped the French president by insulting Scotland, which plays host to this year's G8 summit, saying, "I am not a friend of salmon and I hope I get a decent steak."
Apparently the message of Saturday's Live8 concerts is lost on these gentlemen. My advice to the chefs at Gleneagles is to serve nothing for the duration of the summit, then see who feels like complaining.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Freshness Under Attack
Some food for thought found its way to my Inbox this morning, courtesy of the nice folks at Internet Retailer. Michigan State's Last Mile Supply Chain Center ran a survey asking people what they thought about online grocers.
The news isn't good. 200 customers of three online grocers were surveyed, and they said that the grocery sites have become harder to use since 2003, and one grocer was faulted for a site that loads slowly. (I'd link, but it's a subscription-based article.)
The article closed with this cheerful thought: "The study also found that customers believed that the quality of products available online had declined at each retailer compared to products purchased directly from their stores."
Now the key word in that sentence is believed. The food from both sources could have been equally good, but if the customer perceives a difference, that's a problem. Though the details of the study haven't been published, I'll go out on a limb and say we're comparing unprocessed foods like meat and produce and not cans of soup.
If you're selling food, I think there are three things that need to be stressed, in this order: Quality, freshness, and taste. I don't think you get as far as taste in the customer's mind until he or she is satisfied that the quality and freshness standards have been met.
I've said before that Americans take freshness for granted, and in the case of an established relationship with a brand or seller, I believe that's true. However, we are trained from childhood to seek out fresh foods, and even though that process may slip into a subconscious acceptance of something familiar, it's waiting like a coiled snake to hit the panic button when a product seems a little off. One bad bag of chips might not keep a customer from coming back, but it gets the hackles up, and a second bad bag is the end of the trust.
In the case of online food sales, not only do we have the basic concerns of providing quality, freshness, and taste, but the additional need to promote, sell, and deliver what is essentially a blind item to our customers, understanding that any glitches or imperfections in our online and delivery systems can negatively impact the customer's perception of our products.
In other words, if the site loads slowly, is frequently offline, or offers substandard features, we can inadvertently trip the freshness trigger in the customer's mind, following the rationale of, "If they can't get this right, then how good can the food be?" Add in some shipping delays--the one aspect of this business that we can never control--and you've got a customer with diminished expectations evaluating the product. Even if the product is perfect, the hassle of getting it can lead the customer to conclude that it isn't that good.
Now add the friends and family factor. Unhappy customer tells everyone she knows about her disappointment, and their own freshness triggers trip. The result is wary eyes looking at online catalogs.
As food retailers, it is an obligation to deliver the best possible experience online and in the customer's home, so that we can minimize any shipping problems we encounter. That means responding to customer concerns about our sites in a timely and supportive manner, so that we can all benefit from increased customer confidence.
The news isn't good. 200 customers of three online grocers were surveyed, and they said that the grocery sites have become harder to use since 2003, and one grocer was faulted for a site that loads slowly. (I'd link, but it's a subscription-based article.)
The article closed with this cheerful thought: "The study also found that customers believed that the quality of products available online had declined at each retailer compared to products purchased directly from their stores."
Now the key word in that sentence is believed. The food from both sources could have been equally good, but if the customer perceives a difference, that's a problem. Though the details of the study haven't been published, I'll go out on a limb and say we're comparing unprocessed foods like meat and produce and not cans of soup.
If you're selling food, I think there are three things that need to be stressed, in this order: Quality, freshness, and taste. I don't think you get as far as taste in the customer's mind until he or she is satisfied that the quality and freshness standards have been met.
I've said before that Americans take freshness for granted, and in the case of an established relationship with a brand or seller, I believe that's true. However, we are trained from childhood to seek out fresh foods, and even though that process may slip into a subconscious acceptance of something familiar, it's waiting like a coiled snake to hit the panic button when a product seems a little off. One bad bag of chips might not keep a customer from coming back, but it gets the hackles up, and a second bad bag is the end of the trust.
In the case of online food sales, not only do we have the basic concerns of providing quality, freshness, and taste, but the additional need to promote, sell, and deliver what is essentially a blind item to our customers, understanding that any glitches or imperfections in our online and delivery systems can negatively impact the customer's perception of our products.
In other words, if the site loads slowly, is frequently offline, or offers substandard features, we can inadvertently trip the freshness trigger in the customer's mind, following the rationale of, "If they can't get this right, then how good can the food be?" Add in some shipping delays--the one aspect of this business that we can never control--and you've got a customer with diminished expectations evaluating the product. Even if the product is perfect, the hassle of getting it can lead the customer to conclude that it isn't that good.
Now add the friends and family factor. Unhappy customer tells everyone she knows about her disappointment, and their own freshness triggers trip. The result is wary eyes looking at online catalogs.
As food retailers, it is an obligation to deliver the best possible experience online and in the customer's home, so that we can minimize any shipping problems we encounter. That means responding to customer concerns about our sites in a timely and supportive manner, so that we can all benefit from increased customer confidence.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Cakes on Holiday
If you're looking for Original Boston Coffee Cakes, please be patient. The company is taking the week of July 4 off, so we've temporarily marked all their products as Out of Stock in our system.
Their products aren't displayed on our site right now, but they will return on July 6. In the meantime, could I suggest some nice croissants?
Their products aren't displayed on our site right now, but they will return on July 6. In the meantime, could I suggest some nice croissants?
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Summertime and Other Acts of God
The nice folks in Chicago have been putting up with some extreme heat. Most people don't like heat waves, and cheesecakes like them even less. As a result of the temperatures and expected severe weather, I've been advised by JR Bakery that they will be unable to ship any cheesecakes today. They expect to resume shipping tomorrow, and in the meantime, all of the cakes from Bittersweet Pastries are available for overnight delivery.
There's no way to plan for these events, short of asterisking every page in the site with the text, "Excepting Acts of God." That's a term your insurance agent might use if you file a claim after lightning hits your house.
We rely on the expertise of our partner bakeries to determine when shipping is and isn't feasible. Up here in the Boston area, I know how disruptive blizzards can be, but I'm lucky enough to have a regional Post Office sorting center a short mush up the road. If they tell me that our products won't get out in time, I'll hold off on shipping.
We make every effort to deliver on time because we know how important that is to our customers. If you ever place an order that we cannot ship due to weather or other extreme conditions, we will let you know and work with you to find either an alternative on our site or a competitor who can meet your needs.
There's no way to plan for these events, short of asterisking every page in the site with the text, "Excepting Acts of God." That's a term your insurance agent might use if you file a claim after lightning hits your house.
We rely on the expertise of our partner bakeries to determine when shipping is and isn't feasible. Up here in the Boston area, I know how disruptive blizzards can be, but I'm lucky enough to have a regional Post Office sorting center a short mush up the road. If they tell me that our products won't get out in time, I'll hold off on shipping.
We make every effort to deliver on time because we know how important that is to our customers. If you ever place an order that we cannot ship due to weather or other extreme conditions, we will let you know and work with you to find either an alternative on our site or a competitor who can meet your needs.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
4th of July Shipping
Just a note today to let you know what's happening with the upcoming July 4 holiday. Since the 4th falls on a Monday, any order placed after 2PM on Thursday, June 30, will not be shipped until July 5, unless Saturday Delivery is chosen.
Our partner bakeries will be closed on Sunday, July 3, and Monday, July 4.
Then it's business as usual until Labor Day.
Our partner bakeries will be closed on Sunday, July 3, and Monday, July 4.
Then it's business as usual until Labor Day.
Monday, June 27, 2005
But is it antibacterial?
In a happy Dickensian moment, the good folks over at Pew Research have released their annual survey on how Americans feel about the press. The summary's long and dense, just the thing to dive into on a Monday morning.
Really, Pew guys, Monday morning? I've got to spend a few minutes chafing at Harry Knowles' foaming middleschooler drivel over at Aint It Cool News just to remember that I can read. If you want me, and the rest of weekending America, to decipher sentences such as "By wide margins, more Americans give favorable than unfavorable ratings to their daily newspaper (80%-20%), local TV news (79%-21%), and cable TV news networks (79%-21%), among those able to rate these organizations," then release this stuff on a Tuesday.
This gets Dickensian because I'd planned all along to talk about the genius marketing that catpulted Fox News Channel to the top of the cable news ratings, and mention why your bleach might be lying to you.
Here's a couple of interesting points from the Pew survey: 42% of those surveyed said news organizations "stand up for America"; 40% said news organizations are "too critical of America"--that's kind of their job, you know; and 72% say that news organizations tend to favor one side.
I hope the marketing department at Fox News gets hefty bonuses that let them afford those waterfront mansions that are so popular with the kids, because they've earned them. Getting almost three quarters of America to agree on anything is an accomplishment in itself; doing it to boost ratings is genius.
And they did it with three little words: fair and balanced. When Fox News hit the air on October 7, 1996, CNN already owned the lion's share of cable news viewers. Fox offered a programming alternative by stressing commentary over reporting, and started spreading those three little words around.
Now as someone who once made a living as a journalist, I can tell you that there's no such thing as a "biased" newsroom. Reporters, real reporters who aren't of the Nancy Grace opinion-first school, take their commitment to evenhanded coverage very seriously. Saying that a news channel is "fair and balanced" is akin to saying "water quenches thirst."
And nowhere in that "fair and balanced" statement does Fox suggest that other news outlets are skewing the news. But if you're CNN or the New York Times, you know that somewhere, someone is asking that question, and you can't answer it by saying, "Well we're not."
All you can do is point to the obvious bias in shows like the O'Reilly Factor and say, "How fair and balanced is that guy, Fox?" Which feeds right back into the marketing loop, because now the people who agree with O'Reilly are saying, "You know, Fox is really fair and balanced, because O'Reilly isn't on CNN."
Fox can answer the biased question by pointing to Alan Colmes and Greta van Susteren. Meanwhile poor Wolf Blitzer is trying to do the kind of evenhanded journalism he's done for years and watching his viewers head for Fox.
A couple of years back, one of the bleach companies stuck the word "antibacterial" on their bottles and went as far as to commission a computer-animated TV commercial that featured two bottles of Brand X bleach complaining that their labels didn't have the word "antibacterial." Never mind that all bleach is antibacterial--that's kind of its job, you know--the company that gets out first gets to make the claim.
I'm accepting bids from the likes of Aquafina and Perrier for the rights to "It quenches thirst." And if the research is right, I might change our slogan to "1-800-Bakery.com--Baked in ovens."
Really, Pew guys, Monday morning? I've got to spend a few minutes chafing at Harry Knowles' foaming middleschooler drivel over at Aint It Cool News just to remember that I can read. If you want me, and the rest of weekending America, to decipher sentences such as "By wide margins, more Americans give favorable than unfavorable ratings to their daily newspaper (80%-20%), local TV news (79%-21%), and cable TV news networks (79%-21%), among those able to rate these organizations," then release this stuff on a Tuesday.
This gets Dickensian because I'd planned all along to talk about the genius marketing that catpulted Fox News Channel to the top of the cable news ratings, and mention why your bleach might be lying to you.
Here's a couple of interesting points from the Pew survey: 42% of those surveyed said news organizations "stand up for America"; 40% said news organizations are "too critical of America"--that's kind of their job, you know; and 72% say that news organizations tend to favor one side.
I hope the marketing department at Fox News gets hefty bonuses that let them afford those waterfront mansions that are so popular with the kids, because they've earned them. Getting almost three quarters of America to agree on anything is an accomplishment in itself; doing it to boost ratings is genius.
And they did it with three little words: fair and balanced. When Fox News hit the air on October 7, 1996, CNN already owned the lion's share of cable news viewers. Fox offered a programming alternative by stressing commentary over reporting, and started spreading those three little words around.
Now as someone who once made a living as a journalist, I can tell you that there's no such thing as a "biased" newsroom. Reporters, real reporters who aren't of the Nancy Grace opinion-first school, take their commitment to evenhanded coverage very seriously. Saying that a news channel is "fair and balanced" is akin to saying "water quenches thirst."
And nowhere in that "fair and balanced" statement does Fox suggest that other news outlets are skewing the news. But if you're CNN or the New York Times, you know that somewhere, someone is asking that question, and you can't answer it by saying, "Well we're not."
All you can do is point to the obvious bias in shows like the O'Reilly Factor and say, "How fair and balanced is that guy, Fox?" Which feeds right back into the marketing loop, because now the people who agree with O'Reilly are saying, "You know, Fox is really fair and balanced, because O'Reilly isn't on CNN."
Fox can answer the biased question by pointing to Alan Colmes and Greta van Susteren. Meanwhile poor Wolf Blitzer is trying to do the kind of evenhanded journalism he's done for years and watching his viewers head for Fox.
A couple of years back, one of the bleach companies stuck the word "antibacterial" on their bottles and went as far as to commission a computer-animated TV commercial that featured two bottles of Brand X bleach complaining that their labels didn't have the word "antibacterial." Never mind that all bleach is antibacterial--that's kind of its job, you know--the company that gets out first gets to make the claim.
I'm accepting bids from the likes of Aquafina and Perrier for the rights to "It quenches thirst." And if the research is right, I might change our slogan to "1-800-Bakery.com--Baked in ovens."
Friday, June 24, 2005
Don't Be So British
The good folks in the UK, it seems, like to buy their food in stores, and spend twice as much at specialty shops--like the muffin man's shop on Drury Lane--as they do on online groceries. Freshness is paramount, and it's worth noting that a lot of Europeans visit markets or grocery stores daily, while Americans make a weekly sojourn to the supermarket to restock the refrigerator.
That's not the sort of thing I want to read in the morning, because it leaves me feeling that I could put the word "fresh" in giant botalic text all over every product page and none of these Bretons would care. We don't sell to England, so it's not my problem, but should I really take comfort in the notion that Americans are less concerned with the freshness of their food?
We seem to be more concerned about what's in our food than how new it is. Organic foods are gaining shelf space at Target, and grocers nationwide are watching sales disappear to specialty retailers who offer organic products.
We're also less afraid to try new things now, which will make Mom happy.
For what it's worth, I think we take freshness for granted. Walk into any supermarket and take a look at the produce aisle. Here's a row of open refrigerator cases in stuffed like a Roman baccanalia with fruits and vegetables in a carnival midway of colors chosen just as much for their mouthwatering appearance as their food value.
No need to ask if it's fresh, because it looks fresh. Once the consumer stops worrying about whether vegetable X is good, they're free to ask if it's good for them. This flies in the face of our brave new world of genetically modified and cloned superfoods, and I'll be amazed if the introduction of said superfoods doesn't drive organic food sales even higher.
There's no preservatives in our Croissants, by the way. They're probably not good for you in the same way as, say, a fresh garden salad, but I'm going to go eat some anyway.
That's not the sort of thing I want to read in the morning, because it leaves me feeling that I could put the word "fresh" in giant botalic text all over every product page and none of these Bretons would care. We don't sell to England, so it's not my problem, but should I really take comfort in the notion that Americans are less concerned with the freshness of their food?
We seem to be more concerned about what's in our food than how new it is. Organic foods are gaining shelf space at Target, and grocers nationwide are watching sales disappear to specialty retailers who offer organic products.
We're also less afraid to try new things now, which will make Mom happy.
For what it's worth, I think we take freshness for granted. Walk into any supermarket and take a look at the produce aisle. Here's a row of open refrigerator cases in stuffed like a Roman baccanalia with fruits and vegetables in a carnival midway of colors chosen just as much for their mouthwatering appearance as their food value.
No need to ask if it's fresh, because it looks fresh. Once the consumer stops worrying about whether vegetable X is good, they're free to ask if it's good for them. This flies in the face of our brave new world of genetically modified and cloned superfoods, and I'll be amazed if the introduction of said superfoods doesn't drive organic food sales even higher.
There's no preservatives in our Croissants, by the way. They're probably not good for you in the same way as, say, a fresh garden salad, but I'm going to go eat some anyway.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
When Marketing Attacks
Note to the good folks over at Snapple: Check the weather report before you try to erect the world's largest frozen treat. If I'm not mistaken, this is the largest dessert-related disaster to hit a major city since molasses spilled across Boston's North End back in 1919. Nobody was hurt in New York, but some witnesses reported that Snapple spokesgal Wendy was seen floating away in a strawberry-kiwi river.
Meanwhile, our friends at the FDA are close to giving food and milk from cloned animals the go-ahead for consumer sales. I'll confess that I find the concept of cloned food, or food from the descendants of cloned animals, rather unappetizing. With the trend toward organic foods increasing in America, it'll be interesting to see how they market this stuff.
I just hope they don't use those damn dancing popups that appear on the Financial Times site. If you use Yahoo! Mail, you've seen them there as well. These are the "next generation popups" that appear in the same window and get in the way of the content by placing themselves on top of it.
The theory seems to be that we won't mind waiting a few seconds to look at an ad before we read what's on the page. The theory is garbage, and you can prove it yourself with this little experiment:
First, find a magazine and cut out a full-page ad. For best results, choose an ad for mortgage refinancing or prescription medication.
Next, find someone who's reading a newspaper. Family members will do, but for maximum effect, choose a complete stranger on the train or at the local Starbucks.
Wait until your victim--er, subject--turns the page in the newspaper. Reach over the top of the newspaper, and wave the ad over the page for a few seconds. Repeat each time the page is turned, or until the authorities are called.
Armed with the results of your research, sit up all night wondering who thought these ads were a good idea, and why reputable Web sites were foolish enough to allow them. When you give up in frustration (and you will), vow to stop using sites that display these ads.
Meanwhile, our friends at the FDA are close to giving food and milk from cloned animals the go-ahead for consumer sales. I'll confess that I find the concept of cloned food, or food from the descendants of cloned animals, rather unappetizing. With the trend toward organic foods increasing in America, it'll be interesting to see how they market this stuff.
I just hope they don't use those damn dancing popups that appear on the Financial Times site. If you use Yahoo! Mail, you've seen them there as well. These are the "next generation popups" that appear in the same window and get in the way of the content by placing themselves on top of it.
The theory seems to be that we won't mind waiting a few seconds to look at an ad before we read what's on the page. The theory is garbage, and you can prove it yourself with this little experiment:
First, find a magazine and cut out a full-page ad. For best results, choose an ad for mortgage refinancing or prescription medication.
Next, find someone who's reading a newspaper. Family members will do, but for maximum effect, choose a complete stranger on the train or at the local Starbucks.
Wait until your victim--er, subject--turns the page in the newspaper. Reach over the top of the newspaper, and wave the ad over the page for a few seconds. Repeat each time the page is turned, or until the authorities are called.
Armed with the results of your research, sit up all night wondering who thought these ads were a good idea, and why reputable Web sites were foolish enough to allow them. When you give up in frustration (and you will), vow to stop using sites that display these ads.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
I don't like Mondays
With all the emphasis on keeping commerce running in this technological age, you'd think Monday delivery would be a simple thing. It's not, at least if you're dealing with baked goods.
Shipping companies promise the world on time or to get the business of shipping done, just as long as you don't ask them to do it on a Sunday. Here lies one of the last bottlenecks between the business world as it was and the always-open retailing environment of the Web.
We used to have these things called "weekends" when stores closed early and people didn't shop. E-commerce may have changed our buying habits, but the shippers still like their Sundays off. Not a problem if you're throwing books or software in a box. Big problem if you're trying to ship birthday cakes or deliver something for a Sunday holiday like Father's Day or Mother's Day.
Because we ship some of our products overnight to ensure freshness, and because UPS and FedEx are closed on Sunday, we can't deliver those products on Monday. That's reality for everyone in e-commerce land, but it hits us a little harder.
The U.S. Postal Service has stepped into the breech somewhat, offering Sunday delivery from regional sorting centers. If one of our partner bakeries happens to be near one of these, it's a great deal, but most of them aren't. I think it's a matter of time before UPS or FedEx steps up and adds Sunday drop-off and delivery to their schedule. With an increasing number of perishables appearing in online stores, and with customers clamoring for faster delivery, we could see those extended shipping hours within two years.
Until then, we can't deliver some products on Monday.
Shipping companies promise the world on time or to get the business of shipping done, just as long as you don't ask them to do it on a Sunday. Here lies one of the last bottlenecks between the business world as it was and the always-open retailing environment of the Web.
We used to have these things called "weekends" when stores closed early and people didn't shop. E-commerce may have changed our buying habits, but the shippers still like their Sundays off. Not a problem if you're throwing books or software in a box. Big problem if you're trying to ship birthday cakes or deliver something for a Sunday holiday like Father's Day or Mother's Day.
Because we ship some of our products overnight to ensure freshness, and because UPS and FedEx are closed on Sunday, we can't deliver those products on Monday. That's reality for everyone in e-commerce land, but it hits us a little harder.
The U.S. Postal Service has stepped into the breech somewhat, offering Sunday delivery from regional sorting centers. If one of our partner bakeries happens to be near one of these, it's a great deal, but most of them aren't. I think it's a matter of time before UPS or FedEx steps up and adds Sunday drop-off and delivery to their schedule. With an increasing number of perishables appearing in online stores, and with customers clamoring for faster delivery, we could see those extended shipping hours within two years.
Until then, we can't deliver some products on Monday.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Good News, Bad News
Rumors are flying that the good folks at Google have an alternative to PayPal in the works. If anyone from the Googleplex happens by here, drop me an e-mail, as I'd love for our site to be part of the beta. I love Google, and not just because they bring the most customers to our site.
Google is a triumph of well-thought-out design. I respect that in the same way I respect the Mac OS. Yahoo ought to have learned something about building a better web page from Google by now. Why they insist on leading search results with paid sponsorship is beyond me. It's confusing to the user, which benefits neither the advertiser nor Yahoo as a search engine. Move paid search results aside, please, and let me click on them by choice, not by accident.
Meanwhile, the DMOZ folks suspended their Site Submission Status forum rather quietly a month ago. So quietly, in fact, that I wasn't aware of this until today, when I went looking for it. I'll take a wild guess that this has a lot to do with the general negativity toward DMOZ these days. With allegations of corruption and favoritism hanging heavy over the Web, this is not the tactic to take. It's the equivalent of turning off the phone at customer service because you don't want to listen to the complaints.
Guess what, DMOZ? That's part of being in business. I could question the decisions others have made to vest so much importance in an all-volunteer project. But in business, we operate on trust, and the real fault lies when someone makes a promise that they cannot keep. DMOZ should either reestablish transparency with its users and get things back on track or shut down.
Google is a triumph of well-thought-out design. I respect that in the same way I respect the Mac OS. Yahoo ought to have learned something about building a better web page from Google by now. Why they insist on leading search results with paid sponsorship is beyond me. It's confusing to the user, which benefits neither the advertiser nor Yahoo as a search engine. Move paid search results aside, please, and let me click on them by choice, not by accident.
Meanwhile, the DMOZ folks suspended their Site Submission Status forum rather quietly a month ago. So quietly, in fact, that I wasn't aware of this until today, when I went looking for it. I'll take a wild guess that this has a lot to do with the general negativity toward DMOZ these days. With allegations of corruption and favoritism hanging heavy over the Web, this is not the tactic to take. It's the equivalent of turning off the phone at customer service because you don't want to listen to the complaints.
Guess what, DMOZ? That's part of being in business. I could question the decisions others have made to vest so much importance in an all-volunteer project. But in business, we operate on trust, and the real fault lies when someone makes a promise that they cannot keep. DMOZ should either reestablish transparency with its users and get things back on track or shut down.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Just the (Nutrition) Facts, Ma'am
The good folks over at the USDA have gone and updated the food guide pyramid again. The big difference between this one and the last one is that you can't tell how many servings of food group X you're expected to ingest without telling them your age, sex, and how little exercise you get each day.
I'm supposed to get 7 teaspoons of oils a day, which I guess I'll mix into my coffee. I should also "Aim for at least 4 whole grains a day," whatever that means. There goes my Atkins diet, and I feel the shadowy influence of the Wheat Foods Council at work here, especially given that the Council links to the Food Pyramid in the first paragraph of their FAQ.
It's been a tough couple of years for wheat, what with the low-carb craze driving bread sales lower than the Nile in the dry season. But I'm tired of these special interests nosing their way into every government program. I don't see anything saying how much pork I should eat. Probably because they spent their money on a nifty pork website instead of lobbying the Department of Agriculture.
I'm also at a complete loss as to how much Chocolate Almond Decadence Cake I should consume. Bakers never did have a good presence on Capitol Hill. Breads make the list, of course, and we'll be adding more of those very soon.
I'm supposed to get 7 teaspoons of oils a day, which I guess I'll mix into my coffee. I should also "Aim for at least 4 whole grains a day," whatever that means. There goes my Atkins diet, and I feel the shadowy influence of the Wheat Foods Council at work here, especially given that the Council links to the Food Pyramid in the first paragraph of their FAQ.
It's been a tough couple of years for wheat, what with the low-carb craze driving bread sales lower than the Nile in the dry season. But I'm tired of these special interests nosing their way into every government program. I don't see anything saying how much pork I should eat. Probably because they spent their money on a nifty pork website instead of lobbying the Department of Agriculture.
I'm also at a complete loss as to how much Chocolate Almond Decadence Cake I should consume. Bakers never did have a good presence on Capitol Hill. Breads make the list, of course, and we'll be adding more of those very soon.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Another Blog on the Web, Part II
...we don't need no validation...we don't need no xml...
Here's a new way to lose your job: write a blog. Amid the sob stories here from people who should have thought twice and blogged once are some of those nifty statistics we all thrive on: 8 million adult Americans have blogged, and 32 million Americans read blogs.
In other words, everybody's doing it. It's a latter-day Macarena. You're not cool if you don't Blog. Can I call you sometime? Not until I get an RSS feed and a PageRank of 6? I guess you do need your standards.
Everybody's doing it is the worst marketing philosophy out there. Someday I'll sit down and really complain about message overload and how it's wrecking everyone's day, but for now, I want to focus on the bandwagon approach to marketing.
I performed last night at a club in Cambridge called the All Asia. (Call to ask about karaoke. They'll tell you they don't have it.) It's one of those joints where you can't see through the windows because they're covered in flyers hued across the Staples copy center colored paper rainbow, proclaiming the imminent arrival of bands for the next month.
Everybody tries to scream out from their meager 8 1/2 by 11 piece of window. As a result, nobody does. The more outrageous the artwork gets, the more it succumbs to Dadaist reality. Like a downtown wall covered in graffiti it becomes harsh and ugly, repellant even as it tries to invite.
Why volunteer to be part of that noise? Because everybody's doing it. Never mind that those flyers seldom put a person in a seat. Everybody's doing it.
Wouldn't it be better to do something else, to break away from the clutter and find some new way to reach the audience?
Can't be bothered with that question. I've got to make another flyer.
Here's a new way to lose your job: write a blog. Amid the sob stories here from people who should have thought twice and blogged once are some of those nifty statistics we all thrive on: 8 million adult Americans have blogged, and 32 million Americans read blogs.
In other words, everybody's doing it. It's a latter-day Macarena. You're not cool if you don't Blog. Can I call you sometime? Not until I get an RSS feed and a PageRank of 6? I guess you do need your standards.
Everybody's doing it is the worst marketing philosophy out there. Someday I'll sit down and really complain about message overload and how it's wrecking everyone's day, but for now, I want to focus on the bandwagon approach to marketing.
I performed last night at a club in Cambridge called the All Asia. (Call to ask about karaoke. They'll tell you they don't have it.) It's one of those joints where you can't see through the windows because they're covered in flyers hued across the Staples copy center colored paper rainbow, proclaiming the imminent arrival of bands for the next month.
Everybody tries to scream out from their meager 8 1/2 by 11 piece of window. As a result, nobody does. The more outrageous the artwork gets, the more it succumbs to Dadaist reality. Like a downtown wall covered in graffiti it becomes harsh and ugly, repellant even as it tries to invite.
Why volunteer to be part of that noise? Because everybody's doing it. Never mind that those flyers seldom put a person in a seat. Everybody's doing it.
Wouldn't it be better to do something else, to break away from the clutter and find some new way to reach the audience?
Can't be bothered with that question. I've got to make another flyer.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Another Blog on the Web, Part I
...a blogspot in the online album...blogger, what else did you write for me?
I'm skipping the links today, tired as I am from laying awake in sweltering steam heat last night, wondering why anybody lives around here at this time of year. Massachusetts has two seasons: snow and steam, and we get about a week between them when it's pleasant.
This year, it rained for that week.
One thing I wasn't losing sleep over last night was this blog, even though every marketing company in America seems to think that should be my top priority. My inbox is full of this stuff.
Do you have a blog? Do you update every day? Are you syndicating in RSS XML to My Yahoo! and updating your posts 10 times a day? No? Then you're doomed! Everyone else is doing this! What's wrong with you? Why do you want to fail? Stop reading this and go write in your blog now or you'll never see a customer again!
I paraphrase, but the tone is accurate. Just once I'd like to see someone send me a flirty marketing pitch instead of this gloom and doom stuff. "Hey, nice site you've got there. Maybe I could come over and we could talk about it."
Instead it's Blog this and Blog that and Blahg Blahg Blahg. I remember when we called them "diaries." Life was simpler back then, in the halcyon days of 1998.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, only that this is the latest marketing panacea in a trend that predates the jpeg. Remember when everyone was going to need Java to succeed? Or when B2B was going to kick B2C off the Web? Or when wireless was the most crucial enterprise deployment platform? How many successful sites got to be that way by jumping from trend to trend? And what is it about e-commerce that makes everyone think we need a new set of rules?
There's a Chinese restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts, called the Kowloon. It's been open every day since the 1950s. The food's good, the drinks are wicked, and the Polynesian Room has to be seen to be believed. The businesses around them come and go, but they stay open, serving the same great food and drinks. They've proven immune to every diet trend and culture change. You'll be waiting an hour for a table on Friday or Saturday night.
They did all that without a blog. Go figure.
I'm skipping the links today, tired as I am from laying awake in sweltering steam heat last night, wondering why anybody lives around here at this time of year. Massachusetts has two seasons: snow and steam, and we get about a week between them when it's pleasant.
This year, it rained for that week.
One thing I wasn't losing sleep over last night was this blog, even though every marketing company in America seems to think that should be my top priority. My inbox is full of this stuff.
Do you have a blog? Do you update every day? Are you syndicating in RSS XML to My Yahoo! and updating your posts 10 times a day? No? Then you're doomed! Everyone else is doing this! What's wrong with you? Why do you want to fail? Stop reading this and go write in your blog now or you'll never see a customer again!
I paraphrase, but the tone is accurate. Just once I'd like to see someone send me a flirty marketing pitch instead of this gloom and doom stuff. "Hey, nice site you've got there. Maybe I could come over and we could talk about it."
Instead it's Blog this and Blog that and Blahg Blahg Blahg. I remember when we called them "diaries." Life was simpler back then, in the halcyon days of 1998.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, only that this is the latest marketing panacea in a trend that predates the jpeg. Remember when everyone was going to need Java to succeed? Or when B2B was going to kick B2C off the Web? Or when wireless was the most crucial enterprise deployment platform? How many successful sites got to be that way by jumping from trend to trend? And what is it about e-commerce that makes everyone think we need a new set of rules?
There's a Chinese restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts, called the Kowloon. It's been open every day since the 1950s. The food's good, the drinks are wicked, and the Polynesian Room has to be seen to be believed. The businesses around them come and go, but they stay open, serving the same great food and drinks. They've proven immune to every diet trend and culture change. You'll be waiting an hour for a table on Friday or Saturday night.
They did all that without a blog. Go figure.
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