what's your favorite fresh&easy product?

I'm increasingly struck by the number of people who let us know what their favorite fresh&easy products are.....and how many different products they talk about.

Before we'd opened our first store, one of the big questions was whether people would accept our own brand products, which made up nearly 50% of our assortment.

It was one of the key reasons we built a "kitchen table" into each of our stores, so that people could try our products and make their minds up themselves.
It was also why we kept our packaging simple, so that you can see the product for yourself.

So it's good to hear how many different products are striking a chord with our customers.

Our Hummus gets a mention quite a lot (the Lemon & Cilantro is my favorite), many of the prepared meals from our own kitchen (including the Beef Lasagne and the Sheperd's Pie!), many of our ready to eat salads (also prepared fresh in our own kitchen), and the quality of our meat. But then there's also our Gelato (especially the Roasted Banana), our Kettle Chips, our Mountain Trail Mix, our One Huge Hunk (of chocolate), our Pure water, and of course our award winning wines - Reflexion, our own brand Rioja which was given 91 Parker points, is my particular favorite.

As well as how they taste, many comment about what great prices they are, and the fact they have simple ingredients, with no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives (except where absolutely necessary), and no added transfats. Our Mashed Potato, from our own kitchen, is a case in point, just have a look at its ingredient list...

Of course, not every product has worked, but we listen, and we're adding to our assortment all the time - we've recently announced another 200 products before the end of the year.

My own personal favorite?

Ahi Tuna Poke, from our fish cabinet - a Hawaian dish, I often have it for lunch.

But enough about me, tell me, what's your favorite fresh&easy product?

fresh&easy goes to Hollywood

I spent Thursday evening at our store on Hollywood Boulevard.

We're holding a free acoustic concert series there, in the courtyard, every thursday evening in September, in association with indie103.1. This one featured Nico Stai, while the next 3 feature Anya Marina, Meiko, and Greg Laswell respectively.



Indie103.1 seemed a natural partner to work with. Like fresh&easy, they don't seem to conform to the conventions of their industry.

I find they play an eclectic assortment of music, rather than the normal mainstream fodder, with a remarkable number of new artists. Steve Jones (of Sex Pistols fame) lunchtime show is just not like anything else I've heard on the radio, whilst Joe Escalante in the morning is essential listening on the way to work. They'll quite happily play the Clash (one of my all-time favorites), Radiohead (need I say more), someone I've never heard of, and a bit of Glen Campbell! At times, they'll even sound like talk radio.



Similarly, at fresh&easy, we don't fit under a conventional label. We offer the quality and freshness associated with a speciality market, yet our prices are more akin to a discounter. Our stores are much smaller than a supermarket, so you can get in and out easily, yet you can get all your regular shopping there. And we have our range of chilled prepared meals, fresh from our own kitchen, like little else.

Quite how indie103.1 evolved I have no idea. But fresh&easy simply came from asking all kinds of people what their ideal shopping trip would be, and then trying to deliver it.

That we're different to anything else is exactly why we exist. And that, surely, is how it should be.....