POPS new ice pops

We already have cocktails

Sir, In your article ‘Alcoholic ice cream: just the cocktail?’, it was cited that the next trend would be mixing alcoholic popsicles with actual booze. But why get an alcoholic popsicle in the first place? The same effect could also be achieved with more traditional sorbets mixed with alcohol.

When considering this category, it’s important to differentiate between ice creams with alcohol flavours and frozen cocktails. Surely, if consumers feel the need to dip their popsicles in shots or liqueurs, they are looking for something stronger? Why not offer it to them directly?

Vincent Carrie, founder/MD, Tipsy Penguin





Supply chain technology

Sir, The recent breakdown of the KFC supply chain underlined the complexity behind delivering perishable goods quickly and with cost restraints.

It will be interesting to see how emerging technologies, such as blockchain, would be able to facilitate smart supply chains that are more responsive and provide early warnings.

Within our agri-tech cluster we are seeing many interesting companies with technologies that would improve the management of value chains.

One application is smart contracts that will help to improve resilience and productivity. For example, Map of Agriculture helps producers gain insights into customer requirements based on years of data collated from thousands of farmers. Meanwhile, After the Flood uses machine learning to create a dynamic interpretation of live data, and Applied Blockchain is using blockchain technology to create a time-stamped, tamper-proof record of all transactions or ‘data events’ that occur between participants on an agri-food network.

Dr Belinda Clarke, director, Agri-Tech East





Don’t bucket women!

Sir, We’ve started to see brands and ad agencies making strides in championing women in marketing, but there is still a long way to go. Asos’ recent activewear launch was a great example of a brand understanding real women.

It’s easy for brands to bucket all women as one type, but of course they are far more than one homogenous group. Brands and retailers must take the time to understand them, not just bucketing them as ‘mums’ or ‘women’ when targeting. This will also help brands stop gender stereotyping in campaigns.

Katie Streeter-Hurle, partnership & campaign director, Threefold

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