Well, that was an experience.
High tea 100ft high in the sky. Elevated above the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Accompanied by no less than the typical Manchester weather… Peeing down with rain. BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP US! Nope. Up we went, and you know what… It was ACE!
If you ever get the opportunity to dine at height, elevated by a crane, I urge you to do it. Even if you’re scared of heights. Karen, the lovely PR guru was petrified. But she joined us. She did it. It was entertaining to watch her get through it… But she said afterwards that she thinks she actually overcame her fear of heights. How amazing is that? She really did #EMBRACETHENEW!
So yeah, this was a flashy PR event and once again I feel lucky to have been invited. But, this was different to usual PR events. Roberts offered us an experience.
An experience that I think matches their relaunch and rebrand very well indeed. It was new. It was out there. It was different. And it was fun.
Watch the video above for a full idea of what the experience was like (yes, that is Sally from Corrie!)
So here’s a summary of my thoughts on the rebrand, concept and event…
The rebrand and packaging
Overall, I like the quirky boldness of the rebrand. The chicken did confuse me a little. And still does to an extent. Especially when Chairman Robert revealed that the ad agency who designed the rebrand admitted the chicken has no story. No other significance other than to deliver key messages. But I guess that’s just not my kind of marketing; as I’m a sucker for a great backstory. Other than that, I think the rebrand is pretty on point, even if it is a little whacky!
There’s no colour palette as such, other than just all the colours. But if that’s what it takes to capture the eye of their target audience and compete in such a heavily saturated market, I’m OK with that!
Key new products
For me, the stand-out new products are the spicy rolls. I feel like these really do bring something new to the table, and the best thing? They actually are spicy.
If you know me personally you’ll know I’m always going on about one of my pet hates. As a lover of chillies and spice, I can’t stand it when something is labelled as ‘hot’ or ‘spicy’ and just does not deliver. I love it when restaurants or brands have the balls to make something *actually* spicy if they say it is. So I commend Roberts for this bold and spicy move! They are yummy!
Now I’ve told you my thoughts on the new range and rebrand, here are some images of the High Tea at the Etihad Stadium where we dined at over 100ft in the air!
Dining in the sky
The team who ran the operation were fab, and the Robert’s team on board were amazing too. They were talking us through all the dishes, topping us up with tea and being our onboard photographers! What a lovely bunch!
The *new* Robert’s Bakery food on board
The high tea on board was a selection of Roberts Bakery new products and some things they put together for the occasion.
On the bottom tier of the tea stand were slices of Robert’s bloomers topped with all sorts of yumminess. My favourites were the creamy wild mushrooms and crispy bacon on their ‘mightily malted’ bloomer. And the chorizo, feta and rocket on white bloomer. Oh, and the Stilton, walnuts and pear on seeded bloomer, too!
They were all bloomin’ gorgeous actually, although the chicken on didn’t capture my attention as much.
Tier two was their never-seen-before savoury bread. My favourite was the marbled red pesto and pink peppercorn with a cheesy goats cheese centre.
As it was a typical Manchester freezing bloody cold day, the goat’s cheese was a bit hard… but I reckon at home, at room temperature, it would be absolutely divine. Fellow foodie blogger and friend Sophia loved the fresh courgette, mushroom and turmeric mini loaf which was lovely, too!
The top tier was a right little treat. Scones and copious amounts of clotted cream. One was lemon and orange, the other a sticky toffee scone with soft fudge and sticky dates! Delicious.
Other treats
We also got to try their new ‘fun buns’ – gin and tonic infused toasted tea cakes. Now, these split the table. I thought they were a bit bitter, and they were sort of a halfway between a teacake and a hot cross bun. Anyway, they weren’t to my taste but everything else was delightful! Including the tea!
Overall we had a great time and this really was an experience to remember. Thanks so much to the Robert’s Bakery team for inviting us along.
Look out for their bold, new products in the supermarkets on your next visit and try some of their new items for yourself. Let them know what you think using the hashtag #EmbraceTheNew and give them a follow on Twitter @RobertsBakeryUK and Instagram @robertsbakeryuk. 😋
