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The Bake Off opportunity

Sir, C4 will be looking to recoup its investment with sky-high costs for advertising and endorsements (‘Bake Off move to Channel 4 brings big opportunities for brands,’ thegrocer.co.uk, 13 September). This could lead to over-exposure and consumers turning off, if the ‘home-baked’ feel of Bake Off gets too commercial. Clever brands will minimise the above-the-line investment with content creation strategies that engage consumers using Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. However, competition will be tough and only the most creative campaigns will gain traction.

Michael Bennett, Pelican PR, via thegrocer.co.uk



Stop supply chain waste

Sir, From your analysis of UK supermarkets and their approach to reducing food waste (‘Who is winning the war on waste,’ 10 September, p28), it’s encouraging to see the majority are now considering the supply chain as part of their strategy. According to Wrap, 1.9 million tonnes of food in the UK is lost within the supply chain alone. In-store initiatives, such as ensuring misshapen foods do not go to waste, are clearly a huge step in the right direction, and the next step is to ensure all produce lasts the journey with no risk of perishing due to, for example, a slight variance in optimal temperature. The sheer complexity of the supply chain makes the reduction of food waste within it a much more complicated challenge, but now more than ever, and with the internet of things, the technology exists to overcome it.

Jason Kay, chief commercial officer, IMS Evolve



Dash blow to retailing?

Sir, While convenience and speed do have their attractions, I have to wonder about a world where people no longer even have to turn on their laptop to buy stuff, they simply press the Dash button (‘Amazon in a hurry to grow grocery sales with Dash,’ 3 September, p14). There is the risk of narrowing down consumer choice to only those brands that can afford to send out Dash buttons. Are we heading towards a world where an increasing proportion of baskets are made up of an ever decreasing number of brands, all delivered through Amazon? What does this mean for the rich variety of independent and supermarket brands? And as more consumer brands start to sell direct to consumers, is Dash a step on the road to the eventual disintermediation of retailers?

Dan Murphy, partner, Kurt Salmon UK

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