Do low alcoholic drink options compare?

New Year’s resolutions, (especially as an attempt to cut down our drinking consumption) are a bit like babies. They are fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain. As consumers look to embrace a healthier lifestyle this year and our MPs give guidance on alcohol intake, the channel growth for premium quality, lighter style alcoholic drink options is set to increase in 2012.

As most experts within the drinks industry would agree, implementing change to a traditional-minded sector is never without risk, especially within the off-trade. But as an active supporter of Drinkaware, it’s good to see that Sainsbury’s has taken on the challenge with a move to increase Responsible Drinking this year. 

As a collaborative initiative, Sainsbury’s is working with Drinkaware, Diageo and Heineken with the aim of giving consumers a better understanding of alcohol units and calories across a wide range of wines, beers and spirits which will also include sampling, enabling customers to try lighter wines and alternative serve sizes of spirits and beer. Aiming to double sales of lighter alcoholic wine by 2020, Sainsbury’s responsible drinking campaign will highlight the variety of lighter style wines that are available (abv of 10.5 or less).

But do these low alcoholic options compare? Honestly, yes. It’s a great alternative to its big brother and bound to appeal to an increasingly health conscious and savvy consumer.

Posted by Shelly Murphy

The Return of the Big Breakfast

This week we were interested to read about the soft launch of the Hawksmoor breakfast menu (reviewed here by uber blogger Eat Like a Girl). Hawksmoor, famous for London’s greatest steaks, has decided to open its Guildhall restaurant for breakfast from 7am. You may wonder if steak would be a popular choice first thing in the morning, but judging from the reviews so far, Londoners are quite happy to abandon their muesli and go for something with a bit more iron.

When you consider that lots of breakfasts (especially at the weekend) contain plenty of meaty fare such as black pudding, sausage and bacon it’s not a huge leap of the imagination. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, McDonald’s recently launched its Breakfast Wrap – a tortilla wrap containing egg, hash brown, bacon and a sausage patty. Handy and portable it may be, but it’s not exactly healthy. Nor does it particularly adhere to the Government’s new ‘Responsibility Deal’ – a voluntary initiative for brands to reduce sat fat and salt which McDonald’s is part of. However, our view is that it’s all about choice (even we’ve been known to eat last night’s pizza for breakfast). Hawksmoor and McDonalds couldn’t be more different, but whether it’s because food lovers have so much choice they want breakfast time to work harder, or if we’re looking for comforting indulgences when times are hard, one thing is for certain; the big breakfast is back.

Posted by Lynne Shirley

Is eating the new black?

With London Fashion Week in full swing restaurants seem to be falling over themselves like Naomi Campbell on Vivienne Westwood platforms to tempt even the most calorie controlling fashionista with specially created LFW menus. From the Stephen Webster Bijoux Afternoon Tea at the Langham to beef carpaccio and baked salt crust sea bass at Babbo, admittedly most menus heavily focus on champagne (or in the case of J Sheeky even low calorie Pol Roger) but we here at Phipps obviously welcome every opportunity to indulge in some native rock oysters, mackerel ceviche or calamari with spicy cucumber, especially if it comes with a side of celeb spotting at Massimo. Mind you, how times have changed. Not long ago the fashion world was rocked by the ‘size zero’ debate and stick-thin models. These days models are eating, and today the latest pictures from the catwalks are competing for column inches with health secretary Andrew Lansley’s announcement at the UN that ‘obesity is the new smallpox’. Who says fashion is pure la-la land?

Posted by Toby Schuster