Apprentice Challenge - Grooming Brand

If you’ve seen the penultimate episode of the apprentice, you’ll know that when charged with creating an affordable luxury consumer brand, one team went for Male Grooming. Leading with brand ‘Modern Gentleman’, it felt like a brand that would die in the market, even though it did win the task.

Given that I ripped it apart on Twitter all the way through, I thought ‘put your money where your mouth is Lodz’ and decided to create my own male grooming brand, complete with name, product range, and concept for brand, pack, flagship store and marketing.

So, without further ado, I present to you…..

Agrestahl  - Yes, the name is wanky, I couldn’t think of anything better. It comes from Agrestal, meaning natural, with the H used to create a harder sound, evoking thoughts of steel and strength, with a slightly Teutonic/Nordic feel, with these concepts to be reflected through the brand.

We've got wood.

Core Concepts: Natural, honest, clean, ‘star ingredients’, strength, humane, premium. (all products and company to be BUAV approved)

Product range (starting off with a few, core products before expanding)

         Each product of product group is to have a ‘star’ ingredient, a natural ingredient with proven results, which can be reflected in the literature/branding/store.

          1-2-3 shave – a trio of products for pre-shave, shave and post shave. The star ingredient to the 1-2-3 shave is tea-tree, given its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, and it smells nice. Step one is an oil in a 50ml pump bottle, step two, a low foam shave gel in a 100ml top down ‘tottle’ and step three, a light moisturising balm in a 75ml screw-cap bottle, similar to those Clinique use for these. The three different packs and sizes will help emphasise the flow of 1-2-3

  Day cream/moisturiser– 7AM.  Night cream/moisturiser – 11PM (using the times is to emphasise the day/night aspect with a different brand language to that of traditional day/night creams, increasing differentiation from traditional and female brands. Both in 75ml tottles, one top up, the other down to reflect the difference further. The star of 7AM is vitamin E, the 11PM stars Shea Butter.  

      

   Body wash – Nordic wood. – a 200ml bodywash with strong pine and cedar woody scents, using star ingredient hemp seed oil to moisturise. (‘Sapling’ travel size also available)

         Toner – tonic water – an alcohol free toner with chamomile as the star, 200ml screwtop.

         Styling – Kaolin, the matte clay product named after its star ingredient, and Brasilia, a firm hold paste wax with a star ingredient of Brazilian Carnauba Wax. (Both 50ml tubs)

  

Fragrance

I’ve separated this out as I want this to be the standout product line. Channelling the smaller, more exclusive fragrances, these are ‘no nonsense’ fragrances with clear branding.

·         Citrus

·         Wood

·         Oriental

·         Fruit

·         Floral

·         Ocean

With one fragrance representing a style/group, the branding is not lifestyle or aspirational, but simple and reflective of high-end fragrance houses, but also very easy to understand. All available in a 100ml ‘splash’ or 50ml EDT spray. The rear of each bottle and pack gives fragrance notes.

Something like this, but better lit. 

 Brand colours – Bold naturals; leafy greens, soft yellows, black and white, hints of silver.

Store – Spacious and airy, logically laid out with zones for shave, face, body, hair, fragrance and accessories. Star ingredients (either genuine example or proxy) encased into the wall next to product, alongside ingredient listing. Short glass floating shelves, recessed and top lit, one shelf for each product. Light ‘barley field’ yellow for the walls with Nordic forest full wall print at rear. Light wood floor. Fragrances to be displayed prominently in an ‘experience island’ in the centre of the store with sample bottles on base-lit glass platform, with imagery below to reflect the fragrance notes.

Future diversification products – Eye Gel, ‘solution’ products –( anti-aging, anti-acne, dry skin, oily skin, sensitive skin,)  shampoo and conditioner, Deo, scrubs, masks etc (I’d like to detail them all, but they didn’t on the apprentice and nor shall I)

Packaging – No stickers, all to be printed on in the corporate font. Fragrance to be in clear glass bottles, all else in 60/40 white and black, solid black at the top (40%) with company logo on, white (60%) at the bottom with all product details on. Each product ‘group’ e.g shave, body to have a distinct colour to differentiate. Must come from similar palette.

Target consumer – A, B, C1,C2 socioeconomic groups, males aged 16-55, above average grooming spend.

I would go on and try and do more of a business plan, but this has taken me over an hour to come up with and write already. I quite enjoyed putting this down, I'd love to hear what you think, or even better, why not give it a go and come up with a brand of your own? 

  Agrestahl

Much Love,

Lodz 

Restaurant Review - Lasan Birmingham

Firstly, I have to say a HUGE congratulations to my significantly better half Miss Drifted Snow White, who recently completed the last exam of her degree. Feel free to tweet her a big well done :)

In celebration of this, I decided to surprise her with a trip to a restaurant we’ve had our eye on for a while, Lasan in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. (It was a surprise until she guessed/worked it out, anyway)

If you’ve not heard of it, Lasan is a high-end Indian restaurant, brainchild of Aktar Islam, who you may recognise from shows such as Great British Menu and Gordon Ramsay’s F-Word. Aktar and Lasan have won many awards, so I was hoping for an excellent meal.

Immediately upon entering, we were both pleased. The restaurant is clean and airy, well styled and with a few choice touches that mark it out as an Indian restaurant.  Service from start to finish was exceptional. We were welcomed warmly and looked after very attentively, though the place was not particularly busy that night. 

To drink we selected a bottle of ‘The Stump Jump’, a fresh, fruity South African white with a hint of acidity on the finish, which complimented the food well. A reflection of the service was that the wine was held on ice by the staff and served to us (always preferable to leaving the bottle at the table)

First, we were served poppadoms with three sauces – there’s not a lot you can say about poppadoms, but these were without a hint of grease, and the sauces were solid (I focussed on the mango chutney because I love the stuff)

This was followed by an amuse bouche of ‘pani puri’ balls of fine puffed wheat with chickpea and a chilled tamarind jus inside. Really nice and refreshing, and really got the tastebuds fizzing.

For starters, MDSW had sweetcorn and onion Pakora with what tasted like a spiced tomato based chutney with hints of ginger. Crisp, sweet and tasty, these were the best pakora I’ve ever tasted.  However, I won the starters. I went for the Afghani Lamb, which is described as ‘Tandoori roasted free range Cornish lamb chop and soft gilouti lamb pattie spiced with nutmeg. Served with lightly pickled red onion and green herb chutney.’  I will remember that lamb for a long time to come. Perfectly spiced, cooked to perfection and presented well too. An elevation of the humble lamb chop to art, I could happily eat this every day and never tire of it.

This is the only picture of my actual meal you can get. I dived in to everything else too quickly!

For mains, I was spoiled for choice, but settled on the Dum Ki Biryani, ‘Goat and basmati rice cooked together in sealed pot with yoghurt and mint. Spiced with cardamom, mace, and dum masala served with Lucknowin gravy.’ Which I accompanied with a Tandoori roti. I was rather non-gourmet, settling on ripping out chunks of roti and stuffing with biryani topped with the sauces and taking big yummy bites. The way I INSIST it tastes best. Subtly spiced, the biryani needed the gravy to give it depth, but it was not overpowered, and was a delicate taste of refinement, which you rarely see in your average biryani.

MDSW chose the Kukkar Makhani, ‘Punjabi style, chicken tikka marinated with hung yoghurt, tandoori masala, roasted in tandoor then simmered in light tangy tomato, honey and cashew nut makhani sauce.’ She chose well too, the sauce was delicious but didn’t overpower a brilliantly cooked bit of chicken. In her words ‘it sucked up the sauce before gently releasing it back’. Soft, flavoursome and moist, a perfect foil to the makhani sauce. Her side was a peshwari naan, which I didn’t try, but am assured it was excellent.

We contemplated dessert, as I really wanted to try the chai panna cotta, but alas, we were stuffed, and retired home with smiles on our faces and food babies in our stomachs.

I have previously heard Lasan called ‘an exceptional Indian restaurant’, but that almost feels like a disservice, as what Aktar Islam has created is far removed from your average curry house. Lasan is AN EXCEPTIONAL RESTAURANT, and it serves Indian food. It doesn’t court Michelin stars with fusion and pretension, but rather takes some of the best the subcontinent has to offer, cooks it with expert precision, and serves it in a brilliant atmosphere with great service.  We’ll be back as soon as we can afford it, and I encourage anyone to go. 

Website: www.lasan.com

Twitter: @lasangroup

Food: Modern Indian

Price: Budget up to £100 for two with wine.

Verdict: Simply Amazing.

Gunky Monkey sugar scrub by Betty Buff

Hi again! A little while ago I was approached by @A1betty on twitter, owner of bettybuff.co.uk – an independent manufacturer of sugar skin scrubs. They have recently launched ‘Gunky Monkey’ a line of scrubs aimed more at the male market. As soon as I saw the logo images I was interested, and I was lucky enough to receive some 50ml samples pre-release to try!

The Brand

The brand has a sort of hybrid modern/vintage feel going on. A slight channelling of Soap and Glory, but not really in the extreme. The gunky monkey brand is definitely more masculine, with a more modern look, and a great cheeky mascot that will appeal widely. The ethos is definitely on UK made, independent and natural, with the only ingredients being sugar, vegetable oil, evening primrose oil, and natural fragrances such as peppermint or Lime and Ginger.

The Product

A sugar scrub is something I’ve never really looked at before, being honest. My first impressions were not overwhelming. They’re a bit light on fragrance, but this is to be expected as the key factor is the right balance of the product, and the increased peppermint or lime and ginger elements would alter the texture. I also think I may have been spoiled by Original Source’s strong mint and lime products.

When I put it on, it immediately clicked. As a hockey player I spend winter weekends sanding the skin off my joints and other areas, and so have some rough skin most of the time. This helped scrub away and leave the skin feeling soft, without being too abrasive – the sugar dissolves away slowly so you’re not going to rub through to the bone.

The best way I can describe it is swarfega for the digital age. It’s a tough scrubbing product for a post-industrial man. And it works beautifully. It’s something I will be keeping on the side of the bath for a good scrub in tough areas.  Incidentally, given the swarfega reference, it is GREAT at getting oil and grease out of dirty hands. I had a load of brake dust on my hands, and some gunky monkey and a little soap got them sparkling again!

My only trepidation is that it feels like I could make it myself. It’s sugar and a few other bits. With this simplicity I don’t think they will be opening up a ‘laboratoire’ any time soon. However…. Would I make it myself? No. For the same reason I don’t make my own fruit juice. It’s not difficult, but why not let somebody who is great at it do it? Not to mention that businesses like Betty Buff do testing, comply with EU standards etc etc. It’s a good product at a good price, and shows great initiative in tough times, which I admire.

The Vitals

Website Bettybuff.co.uk

Twitter @a1betty

Price £8/250ml (5 times what's in the shown sample sizes)

Elevator Pitch 'Super Sugar Scrub Solves Sore Scraggy Skin. Alliteration is fun.' 

Review - The Bluebeards Revenge shave cream

Hi there! It’s been a while since I introduced you to The Bluebeards Revenge, so if you need a refresher, click here

I had a few issues with the product initially, but it turned out it was the razor I was using, rather than the cream. Even with a dodgy razor it performed admirably, but with a new sharp model, it's been a revelation. I’ve been using The Bluebeards for a few weeks now, and will be using every drop of it! So why is it good? Keep reading.

a VERY good choice! 

Initial thoughts

I love the packaging and aesthetic of the product, and it’s unashamedly manly, but in a tongue in cheek way rather than in a sexist way. Reminds me a little of the old Yorkie campaigns, but with a pirate twist. The design is bold, and any of the accessories, including the lovely ‘Doubloon’ brush would look great on the cabinet. 

Don’t forget to brush!

A note on the brush – it’s HIGHLY recommended. It lifts the bristle, exfoliates the skin and foams the cream. Not only that, but it’s manly and harks back to a forgotten era of barbering. You can apply the product with your hands too, but for best results, get the brush.

What is it?

The product is a premium shave cream (PRICE) with an added edge that it actively prevents regrowth. It is aimed squarely at us chaps who suffer from the ‘bluebeard’ – tough rugged bristle that could cut glass, and won’t stop growing. To quote the copy, it’s not for members of the bum fluff brigade! (It is also allegedly excellent on ladies’ legs, but I love it too much to let @msdriftedsw get her hands on it. Sorry hun!)

Overall

I’m a big fan. I’ve got sensitive skin but tough manly bristle (grrr) and this gives a great shave every time. It’s a different type of product to what I usually use so my frame of reference is small, but I still think it’s a terrific product. The fragrance is neutral and smells like it’s good for your skin, rather than being perfumed. I’ve yet to see any real results from the ‘decelerine’ that is meant to slow beard growth, but I shall update you on that as I work my way through the tub. this may take me a while, as a little really goes a long way!

If you are a fellow bluebeard, and want something that will leave you smoother for longer, you MUST pick up a tub. If you are, to quote Arnie ‘a girlyman’ with a bumfluff beard, don’t bother – this is men’s stuff.

Vitals

Website: www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk

Price: £9.99 for 100ml

Retailers: The Bluebeards' Shop Men are Useless

Twitter: @thebluebeards

Recipe: Braised Pig's cheek with Parsnip three ways

Hi! So this weekend has been all about the swine. I cooked a pork Ragu on Saturday, went to @mangechester’s project pig BBQ on Sunday (more details on that on his blog) and did these lovelies on the Sunday.

Pig’s cheeks are dead cheap – I got mine from the supermarket for around 80p for two. The overall recipe is not exactly budget (there’s half a bottle of Malbec in there for starters) but you’d pay a lot more in a restaurant for this than you would at home.

You’ll need: (Serves 4)

For the cheeks:

4x Good sized pig’s cheeks, trimmed of fat

Seasoned flour, for dusting

Olive oil

½ an onion

½ a leek

1 small/medium carrot

1 stick of celery

1 clove garlic, sliced

100 g tomato purée

1/2 bottle dry red wine

400 ml brown (beef or similar) stock, or enough to cover

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

2 tsp caraway seeds

And for the rest:

A load of Parsnips (5-7 good sized ones)

Honey

Caraway seeds

Milk

Butter

Veg or sunflower oil.

Method

Toss the cheeks in some seasoned flour. Heat some olive oil in a large ovenproof pan and brown the cheeks. Remove from the pan and put to one side.

Chop all the veg into 1cm cubes (or thereabouts) and fry until lightly browned. Then add the tomato puree, give it a stir and begin to slowly add in the wine. I added it in about 1/3 of a glass at a time, allowing it to reduce each time. You should end up with a rich dark mix.

Pop your cheeks back in the pan and pour in enough stock to just about cover them. Add in the peppercorns and caraway seeds and bring to a light simmer.

Put on a lid or cover in foil and place in the oven for 4 hours – stir every hour or so and add more stock if it gets dry.

Cook until it looks like this.

Prep your parsnips – cut small batons for roasted, chunks for the puree and use a mandolin, or as I did, the poor man’s mandolin; a veg peeler to get thin strips for the crisps. Put it all into cold water to keep fresh while you wait.

The crisps can go on top cold so you can do them well in advance – heat enough oil to deep fry to 185 degrees centigrade in a pan, and quickly deep fry the strips until light brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen towel and set aside.

About 45m before serving, place the batons on a baking tray, drizzle over honey and olive oil, and a few caraway seeds. Place in the oven until golden brown.

I did 5 per person - you'll need more than this lonely looking bunch to serve 4! 

Put your parsnip chunks into a pan with equal parts milk and water, and boil until very tender and soft. Once this is done, blend with a knob of butter and some of the cooking liquid to a fine puree.

Remove the cheeks and sieve into a clean pan. Reduce it on a good heat until it’s thick enough. Season.

This stuff is AMAZING

To serve, put a spoon of parsnip puree on the plate, and nestle a cheek on top. Arrange your roast parsnips artfully to the side, and place a few parsnip crisps on top of the cheek. Serve with your sauce on the side, and the rest of that bottle of wine. 

Before Sauce...

After Sauce! And a cupcake for dessert, natch.

Wine was a bottle of Malbec i had hanging about, frame courtesy of @msdriftedsw and the cupcake, as much as I'd like to claim I made it, is an Oreo cupcake by the wonderfully talented Sugarbun Sisters (they are real sisters and everything) Check them out on Twitter or click to their website: http://sugarbunsisters.co.uk/ (bonus points if you call them the Sugarhill gang) 

I will post a wee update on this later on this week as I am going to serve the same cheeks in a different way :) 

Much Love,

Lodz 

Original Source limited edition

Hello there! Have you lost weight? You're looking sharp!

Original Source. you have to love them. Available everywhere, often on offer, fruity and fragrant, it's good quality for the everyman without the pricetag of The Body Shop et al.

I generally use their shower gels more than anyone else's, as I love the fresh fragrances, especially the zingy lime.

But last year, I fell in love. This sultry tropical number was a breath of fresh air.

Golden Pineapple Shower Gel (image courtesy of www.missdriftedsnowwhite.com )

WOW. This stuff was so good - you smelled fresh and fruity, but in a refreshing mature way. The way I imagine the man from Del Monte's briefcase smells.

He say yes.

However this has now been discontinued, leaving me devastated. But time marches on, and a new summer edition has been launched for 2012, and it's another smasher.

I've already got through half a bottle of this - it smells divine, but doesn't have an overly strong fragrance, so you wont be walking around smelling like a strawberry all day - if that's your bag, the Body Shop version is a better shout.

I implore everyone to buy this - it smells great, leaves you clean and fresh and looks great on the side of the bath as well.

Original source are being jolly democratic too, bless them, engaging with social media to leverage crowd-sourcing and rationalise NPD strategy (ed. back in your box, marketing boy)


By which I mean, you can vote for the next one on Facebook!

Follow this link: THIS ONE and you can vote for the next edition, as well as comment, status and tweet all about it. I voted for Pecan and Butterscotch, but all of them sound pretty good. Not to mention, you can also win a bottle of the strawberry shower edition if you vote - winning

Make sure to let me know if you vote and what you vote for, and if you've tried either of the ones above. #teampineapple or #teamstrawberry?

Much Love,
Lodz

Lush lose the Plot

I’m sure we’re all familiar with Lush. They are very successful, highly regarded, and you can smell their stores from 500 metres away. In addition to this, they hold their commitment to ethics very strongly, and have opposed animal testing in all its guises since its inception. Hardly surprising for a company that formed as a splinter group from The Body Shop.   

This week they have somewhat stepped this up – I was in Manchester City Centre and they were encouraging me to sign a petition. ‘good for them’ I thought ‘a company that puts its money where its mouth is’. And then I got home and saw something that sickened me. And I mean REALLY sickened me.

As part of this campaign, Lush decided to commission some ‘edgy performance art’ By which I mean have a woman tortured to demonstrate what animals go through, violently injuring her. In the middle of the day. In their store. On Regent Street, London.

One of the few visualts of this horror show I am willing to post.

I would expect this from militant animal rights dickheads like PETA and SHAC. And don’t argue with me about them being dickheads. They are. They use militant tactics to impose their own views of ethics onto others.  But Lush? A company with over 600 stores in 43 countries? A company that many admire and respect? What on earth possesses them to take part in such a graphic, sick, twisted publicity stunt?

I truly feel that Lush have abandoned the moral high ground here and resorted to the lowest common denominator. Shock and awe may gain them a lot of publicity and column inches, but they have lost my respect, and that of many others.

Not only is it irresponsible to show such harrowing scenes in such a public environment where children and sensitive people could be observing, but it is condescending to suggest that we, the mere plebeians at the feet of the moral emperor, could not make a reasoned decision with the facts, but rather must be presented with gruesome images.

Is this what we are? Are we so dispassionate that we must be shown images from cheap horror movies in order to feel? I don’t think so. Give us the information, and any reasonable human will disagree with animal testing of cosmetics. Give us this cheap stunt, and we feel sickened, insulted, and disappointed.

Personally, I don’t think politics belong on the shop floor. I don’t want to be sold an opinion on animal rights when buying soap any more than I want a lecture on climate change when buying spark plugs. Companies the world over, treat us like adults please, not Guinea Pigs in a psychological experiment. You’re a retailer, not B.F Skinner.  

CK One On The Go

CK One. What a fragrance. As a grooming and fragrance fan as well as a Marketing grad, this stuff is a revelation in fragrance. Launched in1994, it was one of the first mass market prestige fragrances to be unisex and hugely popular. Not only that, but it was fairly cheap, smelled great (still does) and very available, in some territories even being sold in bars and clubs!


As the poster boy of the FMCG fragrance generation, CK One is instantly recognisable, but is now nearly twenty years old! Nonetheless, they continue to innovate, the latest addition being this lovely idea:

A thick credit card sized pack, CK One on the go is a tidy little 20ml bottle that is perfect for when you're erm.. on the go. It also makes a great contrast to the usual CK One bottles of up to 200ml in size.


Possible Uses

• Gym bag
• In the car
• When travelling (especially if flying)
• For nights out (cheaper than a spray from toilet man)
• In your desk

And I'm sure there are many more. Available for £10.50 from Fragrance Direct, it's a great buy for anyone with a busy lifestyle, and CK One is a fragrance that agrees with almost everyone.

Are you a fan of Calvin Klein fragrances? What do you think to this new pack style? What fragrance would you like to see in this format? Let me know in the comments :) 

Much Love,

Lodz