SS24 Campaign

The SS24 campaign from Runner’s Need was centred around the key message of ‘Wherever your happy place, we’ve got the kit to get you there.’ The campaign focused on two personas; I wrote the copy and content for Katie, from why running in the outdoors is her happy place to why she chooses Runner’s Need as her kit specialist.

Persona Content

The campaign focused on two running personas. I wrote a persona blog that focused on Katie’s running journey, how she chooses her kit, and encapsulated the campaign message ‘Wherever your happy place, we’ve got the kit to get you there’. I also wrote email copy support this campaign messaging.

Sailboat Chocolate: An Interview with Chantal Coady OBE

This interview was conducted in November 2020 to promote Fortnum & Mason 99% emission-free Sailboat Chocolate.

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An Interview with Chantal Coady OBE

From the creation of Ruby Chocolate to Baked Bean flavoured truffles and exceptionally crafted Handmade English Chocolate - Fortnum’s has proudly been at the forefront of chocolate innovation for decades. Our latest project combines our penchant for exploration, our love for chocolate and our commitment to sustainable change in a unique way. 

In 2019 Chantal Coady OBE - sustainable chocolate expert, founder of Rococo Chocolates and long-term friend of Fortnum’s - shared the exceptional work of The Grenada Chocolate Company, based on the Caribbean island of Grenada, with us. The company is a small co-operative of Organic cocoa farmers who work with the ‘Farm to Bar’ model to create delicious chocolate that supports their local economy and ensures well-paid jobs for local farmers.

With the remarkable idea of shipping this sustainable chocolate from Grenada to our Piccadilly home using nearly zero emissions, the Sail Boat Chocolate project was born. Now, in 2020, this exceptional chocolate has travelled in engineless sailing boats, on horse and cart and in our very own electric vans to reach our Piccadilly store - you can read about its entire journey here.

Chantal joins us to discuss her journey into chocolate, the inspirational work of The Grenada Chocolate Company and the importance of this project.

What led to your passion for chocolate?

“It goes back to my early childhood – when chocolate was a really special treat. I’m one of five children, so it felt like I never quite had enough chocolate. And then there was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – the book of course, as the film hadn’t yet been made – and I dreamt of living in this fantasy world of chocolate, with chocolate rivers and sweets growing off trees. I had a rather wild imagination.” 

What led to you setting up Rococo Chocolates in 1983?

“I had a friend who sold chocolate in a department store. One day I was waiting for her to finish a shift when I was approached by a buyer and asked if I wanted to sell chocolate too. I jumped at the chance – not only was it a job but I would also be selling chocolate! It was an amazing experience and I learnt a lot from it.

The chocolate was the best you could get, at that time, but I felt there was a gap in the chocolate market for bringing the magic of it more to life for the customer. This led me to set up Rococo Chocolates at the age of 23 – the more people told me that I was crazy for wanting to set up a chocolate shop, the more determined I was to do it.”

What is so good about Single Estate Chocolate?

“While smaller amounts are made, they have very singular, bright characteristics. It is also to do with the soil – I personally prefer something that comes from a smaller piece of land and is more traceable. There is also nowhere to hide when it comes to Single Estate – If the beans are not good, and every other stage of the process is not good, then it won’t result in a wonderful piece of chocolate.”

How did you get involved with The Grenada Chocolate Company?

“Mott Green, a co-founder of The Grenada Chocolate Company, sent me a sample of their chocolate in 2002. When I tasted it, I knew that it was something very special. We started talking regularly and he became an amazing mentor for me. He sadly passed away in 2013. Without him, I don’t think I would be in the place that I am now.”

Why is the ‘Farm to Bar’ chocolate-making model so important? 

“In Grenada [in the Caribbean], where Sail Boat Chocolate is grown, the small farmers are independent and the island has been emancipated from slavery. There is now a level of infrastructure and education there which means that there are now no children working on the land and farmers are being fairly paid. On that small island, it has evolved a long way with the help of this model.”

What makes this model more sustainable?

“This is quite a new movement, only really in the last 20-30 years – championed by Mott Green [who founded The Grenada Chocolate Company with Doug Browne and Edmond Brown]. The ‘Farm to Bar’ model cares for the farmer and ensures that they are paid well – it’s not just the people who own the land that benefit, but the people who farm it too. The chocolate is made in the same location as where the beans are grown, making it traceable from beginning to end.

When chocolate is processed in first world countries, there is a lot of energy, water and fuel for transportation used. In Grenada, the focus is placed on supporting the local community and having a business model that works there locally for the benefit of local people. If there is also the possibility of shipping chocolate on an engineless sailing ship then that really helps to spread their market further in a sustainable way.”

What excites you most about the Sail Boat Chocolate project?

“Working with Fortnum’s and putting a spotlight on the world of sustainable shipping. It is a small niche but if we can get people thinking more about our attitude towards shipping and the consumption model that we have – and if people consumed less chocolate that was better quality – then we can allow the planet to rebalance itself in many ways. That was Mott’s vision – to create fantastic chocolate but also to get it to market in a sustainable way.” 

What is your favourite type of chocolate?

“Something quite pure and dark – allowing all of the beautiful flavour notes to come through. I prefer thinner chocolate, as it is easier to eat. I love fruity profiles – Trinitario, the bean that Sail Boat Chocolate is made from, really hits the spot with its exceptional flavour and fruit notes.

There is a lot of focus on the percentages of chocolate, but you can get really good chocolate that isn’t a terribly high percentage. It’s helpful to compare it to wine – you probably wouldn’t go to the supermarket and compare all of the percentages of alcohol on the back of a bottle, you’d compare the origins and taste profiles of each wine. I think people need to approach their chocolate more in that way.”

What is your favourite chocolate pairing for our Sail Boat Chocolate?

“White tea is a great pairing, as it will keep your palate very clean. Port, Whisky and Rum are fantastic as well. Alcohol goes very well – the higher the alcohol level, the more it will make the chocolate sing.”

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Interview Qs and Editing: Rebecca Tyers
Originally published here.

Introducing 99% Emission-Free Sailboat Chocolate

This piece was written in November 2020 to tell the story behind Fortnum & Mason’s 99% emission-free Sailboat chocolate.

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Wave-Riding, Solar-Powered, Fairly Farmed Chocolate

Produced in the Caribbean by the world's first 'Farm to Store' craft chocolate makers, our new naturally grown and certified organic Sailboat Chocolate is 99% emission-free. And as the name may suggest, it has been on quite the journey to reach us in Piccadilly...

At Fortnum’s, we are working hard to do more things more often to create long-lasting, sustainable change. Shipping is a major polluter – responsible for around 2.5% of global carbon emissions – which is why we set out to transport this remarkable chocolate all the way from the Caribbean to Piccadilly using as few emissions as possible. That meant by sailboat, electric van and even as a passenger on a horse and cart too.

You may be wondering why it’s not 100% emission free? By law, ships need to carry marine diesel petrol in the event of an emergency, which is why we cannot call this 100% emission free chocolate – but read on to discover the twists and turns in the glorious journey our Sailboat Chocolate has made across sea and land to arrive safely in Piccadilly using nearly zero emissions.

The journey of our Sailboat Chocolate slates starts on the Caribbean island of Grenada, where a small co-operative of organic cocoa farmers is transforming the cocoa-chocolate system one bean at a time. The Grenada Chocolate Company is an Organic Cocoa Farmers’ and Chocolate-Makers’ Cooperative with a radical new business model that resulted in the first “Tree to Bar” chocolate this century, adding all the value to the local economy in the village of Hermitage, St Patrick's. Each farmer is a shareholder in the company and is paid above the standard rate, with their factory workers being paid double the going rate for equivalent jobs.

On unique volcanic terroir in lush, managed rainforest, the chocolate was produced where the Trinitario cocoa beans grow, allowing the Co-operative to do its own fermenting and create incredible complex flavour profiles.

The beans are then processed in a solar-powered factory. While cocoa beans are normally shipped across the world to be made into a bar, Grenada Chocolate Company use zero emissions to craft their chocolate and beans that are fresh, rather than months or even years old. 

Once 350kg of chocolate, in 25kg blocks, had been made by Grenada Chocolate Company it began its first stint on the wide-open sea on an engineless sailing boat called Tres Hombres. Manned by FairTransport, the chocolate sailed from Grenada to Den Helder in the Netherlands, but its days at sea were not over yet. Once it had reached Den Helder it began its second voyage on T/S Britta, with Silvery Light Sailing, to Carlingford Lough in Ireland.

Now that the chocolate was safely in Ireland it began its journey to NearyNógs on the Mourne Coast – one of the oldest chocolate makers in Ireland. A passionate team of volunteers heeded our call and transported the chocolate to Killoween, on the Mourne Mountains shoreline, using traditional Drontheim rowing boats. 

A passionate team of volunteers brought the chocolate to the shoreline using traditional Drontheim rowing boats

From the shoreline, it began a bumpy ride on horse and cart across 5.9 miles to NearyNógs. As Ireland’s first bean to bar chocolate makers, NearyNógs Stoneground Chocolate Makers craft exceptional confectionery in their solar-powered factory overlooking the Irish Sea. Our Sail Boat Chocolate was broken down into slates, tempered and packaged in recyclable, biodegradable packaging before the final leg of its adventure to Piccadilly.

It began its return journey, en route to our Chocolate Wonderland, by horse and cart on its way to Rostrevor. It was then transported from the Mourne Mountains shoreline, once again, by volunteers in Drontheim rowing boats headed in the direction of Carlingford Lough. Here it was met by a beautiful sailing boat, Klevia, whose white sails powered the chocolate by wind to Port Penrhyn, in Bangor, North Wales.

As the final leg of this sustainable journey was entirely on land, we sought our very own Fortnum & Mason electric vans to deliver our exquisite Sailboat Chocolate home to Piccadilly.

Now, you can play your part in this exciting story by visiting us in Piccadilly and trying it for yourself. Once you do, we're sure you'll agree that it is every bit worth the journey – thanks to the fine flavour Trinitario cocoa with ascending levels of cocoa solids, each one with different tasting notes too.

Whether as a unique gift for a friend or as a treat for yourself, this is chocolate like no other. You might call it chocolate on a mission. 

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Words: Rebecca Tyers
Originally published here.

Store Windows Copy

To highlight the exceptional variety of tea sold at Fortnum’s, we featured famous teas in the windows in February 2020. I wrote the copy for each window, highlighting the flavours, usage and, origins of each tea.

This copy was written in February 2020 and displayed in the Fortnum & Mason windows along Piccadilly.

Images: Natasa Leoni and Rebecca Tyers
Words: Rebecca Tyers

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The Story Behind Our First Flush Darjeeling Tea

This piece was originally published in 2019, and updated in 2020, to tell the story behind Fortnum & Mason’s First Flush Darjeeling tea.

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Our First Flush Darjeeling is unique from any other tea that we produce.

Every spring the First Flush represents the beginning of a new season of growth in Darjeeling, India. The First Flush is the name given to the first leaves that are picked every Spring - these leaves contain the deepest flavour and highest quality of the year.

After waiting all winter for new growth, the first growth of the new season often leaves only between 14 - 21 days – usually between February and March – for pickers to harvest the very best of the newly grown tea leaves. While the tea itself is wonderfully serene to drink, the immense journey these little leaves must go through before reaching the cup is what makes this tea so beautifully rare.

The expertise of the tea connoisseurs at Badamtam Estate, where our Darjeeling is grown, gives them the unique ability to know exactly when the leaves are ready to be picked. Equally, they need use only their trained eyes to decipher what is of the highest quality.

The challenging conditions in which the tea leaves are grown is what gives them their deep, fresh flavour. The tea pickers rise at dawn in the hopes that the sun will break through the clouds above the mountainous valley and encourage the leaves to grow.

While beautiful to behold, these mountainous conditions mean that the Darjeeling tea leaves grow in incredibly steep terrain, with high altitudes and extreme elevations. These harsh growing conditions bring out a juicy, floral flavour, while the leaves that are picked later – during monsoon season – are grown in far easier conditions and, in turn, have less of a full and flavoursome taste.

Turning Leaf into Tea

After the bud and two leaves are picked they are laid out to wither overnight. The next day the leaves are rolled out, creating the slight twist of the leaves, and they are then laid out to oxidise.

While First Flush Darjeeling tea is a wonderful green colour, it is in fact a black tea. It is a highly unique skill to know exactly how long the leaves need to be oxidised, as if they are left too long the flavour of the tea will change entirely.

The leaves are then dried and sorted into different tea grades, with only the very best of the bunch going into our First Flush Darjeeling caddies. While thankfully there is no short supply of many of our famous teas, Darjeeling is unique in that it is grown in rather small quantities. Around 550 million kilos per year of Assam are grown, for example, while around only 10 million kilos of Darjeeling tea are grown each year.

How to Brew

Our First Flush represents many things – the emergence of Spring, the incredible resilience of the tea leaf and the unique expertise that are needed to grow such a remarkable tea.

While wonderfully unique, treat this beloved brew as you would your other favourite Fortnum’s blends – no milk, brew at 90 degrees and don’t forget to serve with your favourite biscuit alongside.

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Words: Rebecca Tyers
Originally published here.