We're looking healthier than ever

Hip hip hooray, three cheers for us...and you.

Sorry for the self love (we have given you lots too) but we're feeling rather chuffed with ourselves at the moment.  We just did a review of our sales this year and they are up, up, up.  Hooray!

Sales of Simply Nectar are more than 25 per cent higher this year than they were last year.  Good huh?  And we have you lovely lot to thank for that so THANK YOU VERY MUCH.  We're glad you're loving Simply Nectar and we hope our drinks continue to keep you smiling especially through the warm and sunny (fingers crossed) summer months.

Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

These sales figures come at the perfect time because there has been a lot of talk recently about how well soft drinks companies are doing at the moment.  Earlier this month, for example, Food Manufacture reported that sales of soft drinks were on the up. You can read the piece here:

http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Business-News/UK-soft-drink-sales-grow-5-to-14.5bn

Also specific drinks companies,  AG Barr (makers of Irn Bru) for instance, have been reporting on their sales figures.  We therefore thought we'd jump on the bandwagon and have a look at our own numbers and, sure enough, we've also been doing well ourselves.  And not just well but really well.

Jeremy, the big boss, believes the rise in sales can be attributed to how healthy you lot are becoming nowadays.  In fact, his actual words were: “The increase in sales this year is phenomenal and I’d say this is definitely due to all our wondeful customers becoming increasingly health conscious.  They are demanding Simply Nectar because it is free of additives.  What’s more, rising media coverage is making consumers progressively more aware of the high sugar content hidden in many soft drinks.

“People are becoming better informed about what they should and shouldn’t be eating and drinking, and as such are able to make healthier choices i.e like buying Simply Nectar!  The pure ingredients and the goodness of the drinks are exactly why it is such a high end product and why sales are rising.”

Well said Jeremy.  We couldn't agree more.

 

So there we have it.  More and more people are obviously loving the taste of Simply Nectar - and who could blame them huh?  Let's just hope the weather stays great so you can all enjoy our Mediterranean drinks in the glorius British sunshine.

Simply sales,

Simply Nectar

We need you - and not just one of you but two of you

What On Earth and Simply Nectar are growing and we need your help to do so successfully.  In fact, we’re expanding so much that we have not only one but two new job vacancies.  Check us out!

We are seeking two confident and experienced members of kitchen staff – one for a kitchen team member role and the other for a kitchen team supervisor role.  If you’re passionate about producing excellent organic food products and are interested in joining our fun loving team please get in touch.  You can send your CV and covering letter to Tara - tara@whatonearth.co.uk

Kitchen team member – day, evening and night shift

Responsibilities:

• Food preparation and manufacture of products in accordance with general and product HACCP, SALSA food safety practices and health and safety rules and regulations
• Ensure work stations are clean and hygienic at all times
• Adhere to personal hygiene policy
• Ensure all waste is disposed correctly and put in appropriate recycling bins provided
• Adhere to company quality control system and conduct testing prior to release of product
• Ensure appropriate “use by” and “best before” date label is attached to each product according to specification
• Ensure that if applied in the kitchen, an appropriate shelf life date is used
• Produce food up to company spec, ongoing quality control and informing/reacting to any changes to raw ingredients that might affect quality and change of recipes
• Strictly follow deadline for the daily production as specifies by Supervisor/ Manager
• Follow the recipe and method stated on the production card

Kitchen team supervisor – night shift

Responsibilities:

• Supervise food preparation and manufacturing of products in accordance with general and product HACCP, food safety practices and health and safety rules and regulations
• Ensure all staff adheres to personal hygiene policy
• Perform HACCP checks on a daily basis and keeping correct record of such checks
• Ensure all waste is disposed correctly and put in appropriate recycling bins provided
• Adhere to company quality control system and conduct testing prior to release of product
• Ensure appropriate “use by” and “best before” date label is attached to each product according to specification
• Informally train staff on: equipment use, recipes, process notes, basic hygiene rules, all other aspects of production; record such training and keep record of it
• Check the stock levels (weekly) of granola and muesli, reporting shortages to Production Manager
• Ensure all ingredients and WIP is stored appropriately, labelled and rotated
• Ensure that if applied in the kitchen, an appropriateshelf life date is used
• Produce food up to company spec, ongoing quality control and informing production manager of any changes to raw ingredients that might affect quality and change of recipes
• HACCP and QC records keeping
• Ensure all orders are completed, ensure stock checks are made and recorded
• Ensure FIFO system is well maintained and carrying out QA checks

Who we are looking for:

• Quality experience working in busy catering industry-preferred experience of food manufacturing industry
• Good knowledge of industry standards (HACCP) & CIEH Food safety level 3

If you have the necessary experience/qualifications and are interested in either of the roles please apply by sending your CV and covering letter to tara@whatonearth.co.uk for immediate consideration.

We are an equal opportunities employer.  Due to the high number of responses we receive, if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks please consider your application as unsuccessful.  Sorry about that guys.  We do try our best but Tara is a busy woman!

We look forward to receiving those applications.  Good luck.

Simply vacancies,

Simply Nectar

Eggs, asparagus, stories and limericks...and a competition

Every day seems to be dedicated to some cause or another, most of which you have probably never heard of.  For example yesterday (8 May) was apparently “Have a Coke Day” and 7 May was ‘National Roast Leg of Lamb Day’ – obviously.  Why on earth these days exist and who created them I’ll never know, but at least they provide amusement and events the world over.

Not only is it the days that are devoted to causes, though.  There are also months and weeks and possibly even years that have some special dedication.  This month alone is apparently one of six things.  These are:

• Local and Community History Month
• National Egg Monthy
• National Salad Month
• National Chocolate Custard Month
• National Asparagus Month
• National Share a Story Month

Also this week is National Herb Week and next week is National Doughnut Week AND National Sandwich Week.

Now, I can’t imagine that anybody really knows how to celebrate these so called special dates, and even if there should be any celebrations at all.  But we at Simply Nectar (and at What On Earth) say there should be a celebration occurring.  Please feel free to delve into as much salad, chocolate custard and asparagus as you want all month long – within reason of course.  We don’t want to be held responsible for any problems eating these foods could cause!

There are two dates in particular that we’d like you to celebrate with us.  These are:
1)  National Share a Story Month
and
2)  Limerick Day (12 May 2012)

We want you to do one of two things (or do both if you fancy it).  Firstly we’d love to hear your stories so please do email/tweet/Facebook us with some funny stories.  These can be related to anything you want – as long as they make us laugh.

Secondly, we want you to write a limerick about Simply Nectar to celebrate Limerick Day on 12 May.  Again you can do it anyway you want.

The people who enter the funniest story and limerick will win some Simply Nectar drinks.

Get those creative hats on boys and girls.  We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Send the stories to laura@whatonearth.co.uk, tweet them to @simplynectar or add them to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SimplyNectar  You can even comment on this blog with them if you fancy it.

Simply creativity.

Simply Nectar

Our new intern

Name: Anissa Selmani or Nissou
Age: 18
Occupation: Trainee in WOE and I study International trade and Management inToulouse.

Where are you from?I currently live in Toulouse, south of France. People call my city “PinkCity” because of its wealth in art monuments, most of which are built in red brick.  I live in Toulouse because of my studies but I am from Lavelanet in Ariège, which is near the border of Spain.  I go home at the weekends.  It is a lovely area with lots of natural beauty.

Do you enjoy living in Toulouse and where do you like best?The two places I love most in Toulouse are Capitole de Toulouse and Quai de la Daurade.  In these beautiful places I can spend my time reading, watching people, listening to music and having fun.




Courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / freedigitalphotos.net



 

How long are you in London for?
I’m in London for 2 months.

How are you finding London so far?Rainy!  But London is beautiful and it always surprises me.  The streets, buildings, people, everything is different and the city amazes me.  The people I’ve had a chance to meet are friendly, nice and cool, but also quiet!

What were your first thoughts on London when you arrived?Again, rainy!  At first I did not realise I was inLondon– it didn’t register.  I’ve always wanted to come here to discoverLondonand learn more about the city.  I look forward to doing that.

Is this your first time in England?Yes! I’m so happy to be there!

What will you miss most about France while you are away?My Mum, my bed and my best friend!  No seriously, except my mom and Nawel my bestfriend, I don’t feel I will miss France too much because every day I am discovering news things so I don’t have time to miss anything.

France is known for its cheese.  Do you like cheese?Not all of them, but I have my favourite! Try it, it’s called “Leerdammer”. Oh my, I have never tasted a cheese like this.

What is your favourite and least favourite food?Simply, I love a good plate of pasta with grated cheese and also the couscous my mum makes.  I really don’t like ham or fish.



Courtesy of Laura Collins



 

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?Like all people my age I’d like to go to theUSA.  But I loveLondon, it seems a really free city.  I have found Londoners to be more open minded than French people.

If you were an animal what would you be and why?A cat. I don’t really know why, but I love cats. They look so cute and I love it when they come to me for a hug.

Do you know any jokes?My laugh is a joke, so I don’t have to add anything more. Aha!  Indeed my laugh is very communicative and cheerful.

Can you speak any languages and if so, what?Oh yes. I speak English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Occitan, Spanish, and some words in others languages.

What would be your dream job?I’d like to work in human resources or a role in which I’ll be in contact with people. I really love people.  I like getting to know them, helping them and generally just listening to them.

How was your first day?I was afraid and fearful that I wouldn’t understand what people said to me or asked me to do. But now, it’s ok. Everyone puts me at ease. I have my desk, and people are really nice with me.

Do you like Jeremy?Yes, he’s good with me. He’s really respectful and friendly with his employees. I’m just waiting to see him secretly speaking French.  I know he can speak it a bit!

Does Rolf scare you?No, he makes me laugh. He looks funny but I don’t really know him yet.

Do you like Laura?
Yes, a lot. She has patience with me. And she tries to understand my English, aha.
I love the whole What On Earth team and even though I haven’t spoken with everyone yet, I will do as soon as possible

Which of the What On Earth products would you most like to try?Maybe, for my birthday, I’ll try one of the cakes! I think chocolate cheesecake would be the best.

Which of the Simply Nectar flavours do you want to try?Peach. It’s my favourite fruit so why not?

Simply Nectar is made in Provence.  That’s in France!  Have you been there?Yes, it’s not so far from Marseille.  I know this area. It’s really beautiful.

If you were to launch a new flavour of Simply Nectar, what would it be?Hmm, maybe Cherry or Lychee.

What do you expect from this internship?To be more autonomous and to learn how a company works. I want to help the company, learn their knowledge and share my knowledge with them. I also plan to work hard and do my utmost to satisfy everyone.