| The "Great Taste Awards" are lauded as the "Oscars | | | | hear. |
| of the Food World" - and in many respects they are. I | | | | Certainly the "Great Taste Award" sticker on the |
| was recently privileged to sit on one of the judging | | | | product's packaging may well help, but there are still |
| panels at the Great Taste Awards at the Real Food | | | | vast tracts of the food-buying public that have never |
| Festival. (All the judges give of their own time | | | | heard of the "Great Taste Awards". If you have a |
| completely free of charge to do this, by the way, | | | | great-tasting product, the best way of achieving good |
| despite the entry fees generating a revenue of | | | | sales through the general public is by being very |
| £125,000 - I am sure there are some published | | | | generous with tasting samples. Many of the |
| accounts of where this money goes!) | | | | independent retailers are as keen as mustard on |
| Whilst there is clearly some degree of subjectivity on | | | | tasting products in their shops - indeed this is one of |
| which products go forward, the method is broad | | | | their points of difference with the multiples. Ensure that |
| enough to allow the shining lights to shine. Having said | | | | your products are the ones being tasted. |
| that there was a product in our group that I thought | | | | Secondly ensure that the packaging and brand reflects |
| was excellent, but the other judges in my quartet had | | | | the quality of the product inside. This will involve |
| tastes too conservative to recognize a superb | | | | spending some money, folks! You would be amazed |
| product. Overall though, I came out of the process a lot | | | | at the number of products that pass through my office |
| less cynical about the awards than I went into it. A | | | | that are great-tasting, but I know that sales will be pitiful |
| small percentage of the entered products (less than | | | | because they look like some-one has knocked |
| 10% from our group) go forward to further judging and | | | | together the packaging on a seven-year old computer |
| some of these are thrown out at the second stage. | | | | and printed the label in their bedroom. Don't let your |
| Last year only 1.5% of products earned the coveted | | | | packaging stop people buying what could be a great |
| Three Gold Stars. | | | | product. |
| So, great! The Great Taste Awards work. But the | | | | Thirdly ensure your products are talked about. Take on |
| tragedy of them is really amongst the small producers | | | | a PR company, get in the food magazines and get |
| who think that once they have a gold award of any | | | | talked about at dinner parties throughout the land. |
| description their future is secure. Wrong! Only really the | | | | By all means, spend the £25 per product |
| Supreme Champion gets any level of free marketing, | | | | entering the Great Taste Awards, but be prepared to |
| the other "winners" nothing to speak of in terms of | | | | spend a lot more than that to make your Great Taste |
| anything that the members of the public would see or | | | | Award Gold turn into real gold! |