MELLOW YELLOW

I’ve always been fascinated by exotic saffron, so often referred to as ‘worth its weight in gold’. Actually, ounce for ounce, good quality saffron costs more than gold and it’s the world’s most precious spice. Harvesting saffron is a labour of love. From planting and picking the flowers, to plucking the tiny golden filaments (stigmas) at the heart of the flower and drying them to make the spice, it’s a centuries-old, handcrafted process.

 

Saffron is famed for its use in cooking. Its distinctive flavour and aroma comes from the deep golden ‘threads’ or dried stigmas of the beautiful purple flower, Crocus sativus. But now, thanks to The Naked Pharmacy there is a new way to access the wonder of saffron – in convenient supplement form.

 

Saffrosun is a best-selling product in The Naked Pharmacy range. It was developed to address the pressures of modern-day life, to benefit those who feel‘out of balance’ psychologically or emotionally, and struggle with frequent tiredness and poor-quality sleep. TNP says it contains the world’s strongest, premium grade Saffron stigma extract, sourced from La Mancha, Spain, and is combined with Vitamins B6, B12 and D3, known to promote brain function, energy levels and vitality. 

 

Saffrosun contains three primary active components:  Crocin, Saffranal and Picrocrocin. These fall within a subclass of carotenoids known as Lepticrosalides, which have been clinically proven to improve psychological balance, address tiredness and help you feel rested and refreshed on waking.

 

The Naked Pharmacy (“honesty, transparency, integrity’”) is run by founder Kevin Leivers (below), a clinically trained holistic pharmacist with a sound expertise in new product development for natural pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. The TNP brand ethos is focused on offering innovative evidence-based natural products augmented by expert pharmacist advice.

 

Find out more and see TNP’s other amazing products including skin care, weight management, immunity and cardiovascular health at www.thenakedpharmacy.com

 

 

Ice cream heaven

Booja-Booja organic ice cream is the most delicious, innovative and artfully presented on the market. Now, they've now launched a new dairy-free range  with sumptuous flavours like Caramel Pecan Praline, Chocolate Salted Caramel, Raspberry Ripple and Hazelnut Chocolate Truffle. Read all about it in my homage, below,  in  Natural Trade News, the retailer magazine published by Natural Trade Brokers

Superfood superwoman!

What a brilliant company Creative Nature is. Founder Julianne Ponan bought an ailing business (at the age of 22!) and within 18 months, assisted by operations manager Matthew Ford, she had taken it into profit. Now, five years on, the superwoman of superfoods has just added two great gongs to her groaning mantelpiece of awards: The Guardian Small Business Showcase Leader of the year and the Innovation category in the FamilyBusinessPlace Awards! 

This is  a piece I wrote for the Natural Trade Brokers’ retailer magazine just before she and her team scooped the Guardian one.

Back in the skinnies!

Well, here’s a tip for the summer. A favourite pair of jeans have been languishing at the back of the cupboard, but thanks to The Lemon Detox they’re now back on show. TLD is the quintessential cleansing treatment – fresh, simple and convenient to use.  Just mix the Madal Bal Natural Tree Syrup with fresh lemon juice, water and a pinch of cayenne pepper to make a delicious drink, rich in nutrients and minerals that help support a fast.  (What’s more, look at that beautiful tin!)

 

Purists can opt for full fasts of between five and ten days, through to one day at a time on the popular 5:2 regime (six to eight glasses of the Lemon Detox drink per day provides 500-600 calories).  

Or, there’s my version, the ten-day ‘relaxed’ when you have a good lunch and miss supper, and lose two or three pounds at least. But stay away from the hooch, too, or that’s cheating. Find out more at www.lemondetox.com or #lemondetox  

OUT OF AFRICA

 
 

In my book, you can’t beat Aduna for supreme brand identity: vibrant, exotic packaging, pure, ‘superfood’ ingredients and a sound, ethical rationale. 

 

Born out of co-founder Andrew Hunt’s therapeutic three year spell in the Gambia (his advertising background shines through in the brand’s creativity) Aduna has a clutch of a awards including Global Sourcing Council’s Innovative Sourcing Award, which they were presented at the UN Headquarters in New York; Baobab Superfruit Powder and Baobab Raw Energy Bars were both winners in the 2015 Great Taste Awards, and the company won a sizeable cash injection from Richard Branson as a finalist in  Pitch to Rich contest.

 

Aduna has also made a huge impression on Deputy Editor Wizard, (below). He’s in the process of writing to them to request a Superfood variant that’s suitable for felines.

 

Aduna is a new brand in the portfolio of Natural Trade Brokers. The eye-catching image above is lifted from my front page of their magazine, Natural Trade News.

Deputy Editor Wizard

Deputy Editor Wizard

LOW-SLUNG ICONS

Dukes dog in the lobby_ex.jpg

I love cats. Cats are independent, characterful and easy to maintain.  But there is a certain dog that melts my heart. You can get them smooth-haired, longhaired or wirehaired. You can scoop them up and carry them around. Because they’re German, they’re very well made.  Who’d want a drippy labrador when you can have a quirky dachshund!

 

The discerning Dukes Hotel in St James, London agrees. In their lobby is a very handsome and much admired bronze dachshund sculpture – a real ‘sausage dog’ – by artist Richard W Boardman, who’s animal forms combine a highly developed sense of aesthetics and humour. (As you can see, Richard’s dachshund is watched over by the hotel’s gallant namesake.)

 

Richard tells me that for several years the hotel didn’t have the pooch fixed down, and he often went ‘missing’. Apparently, guests would take him into the breakfast area and perch him next to their table or chair. If I’d known, I’d have returned with a very large handbag!

Richard Boardman and friend

Richard Boardman and friend

 

The Dukes Hotel (which even has a dappled Cognac and Cigar Garden) is a perfect spot to meet up, stay, or host a corporate event.  Those lucky enough to stay in a suite, and who are very small, will be presented with ‘Dukesy’ this soft, furry toy version of the bronze guy in the lobby.  

 barrett@wizardwords.biz  www.wizardwords.biz

 

barrett@wizardwords.biz  www.wizardwords.biz

Owzat! →

An amazing new product has just won first prize for Best New Concept at the World Food Innovation Awards in London. I’ve already reviewed it, as it's a new brand in a client’s portfolio (Natural Trade Brokers), but thought I’d to spread the word as it’s really pushed the envelope.  It’s an energy bar called Crobar (this gets weirder) and the makers, Gathr, wanted to set themselves a challenge to change people’s perceptions.

 Well, they’ve succeeded and then some: Crobar contains flour made from crickets! Tasty nuts, seeds and fruit are also in the mix and paleo-friendly Crobar is free from gluten and dairy as well as added sugar. So very wholesome indeed. “In fact” says Gathr, “crickets are as high in protein as beef, but lower in fat. They contain twice as much iron as spinach, and only 10g of crickets contain your daily dose of Vitamin B12.”

 OK you vegans you need to look away now as yes, Crobars are crafted from those chirpy little bugs. But here’s the case for:  Crickets are not only high in protein and iron, they could be the answer to the ever increasing protein demands of the future, as according to Gathr, they emit 80 times less CO2 than cattle and require a twelfth the amount of water. So, as you munch away on a Crobar, you could be helping to save the planet. Prepare to be bowled over!

Email: barrett@wizardwords.biz   Website: www.wizardwords.biz

Denise Barrett

Denise Barrett

House of fun

Denise Barrett

Denise Barrett

Hi there, I’ve started 2016 in great style, with a brand new wizardwords website and blog, courtesy of Suzi, Emily and the team at Hullo Creative.  

To introduce myself, I’m Denise Barrett and I’m a freelance journalist and copywriter specialising in holistic lifestyle, but I’ll be blogging about anything that catches my imagination. From time to time, my Deputy Editor, Wizard (below) will be making a cameo appearance. It’ll keep him on his toes.  

Being a writer, like any job, has its pros and its cons. Cons? Copy deadlines that have no respect for your social life. Pros? Getting to road-test lovely products and attending press launches in fabulous venues. Recently, Holland & Barrett (sadly, no relation) put on an amazing event, ‘The House of Health’ at the Ice Tank in Soho. Spread over three floors, there were tempting presentations including Honestly Healthy chef, Natasha Corrett; Instagram star Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach) and delicious ‘free-from’ nosh from Amy’s Kitchen.

But it’s fair to say the bar was the star. Two lovely chaps, Ben (from the Outer Hebrides, I kid you not) and exotic-sounding Zoltan, brought their ‘58 Degrees North’ mixology genius to town from their Brighton base and dished out cocktails to die for. My favourite was a bespoke honey & agave margarita (it was medicinal.) And to round of the evening, a farewell ‘Deoch an Doris’ number, which is a quaint Scottish expression for one for the road. Fortunately, there was a handy new hangover cure in the H&B goody-bag, called Overhang. They’d really thought of everything!

  • House of Health was organized by Holland & Barrett’s PR company Pegasus Public Relations and they really pulled it off! 

Email: barrett@wizardwords.biz   Website: www.wizardwords.biz