DELIENTO

This blog shows a progression through a developing a business idea about edible insects and the journey towards creating the Deliento Brand.

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The Deliento Stall

After a year of hard work researching, designing, planning, re-planning, creating and promoting, the Deliento stall with the XXV Degree Show is finally complete!

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Vinyl Patterns

After looking at my stall with my tutors, we talked about how the area was a large expanse of wood and that it needed something to break it up. For example, using some of my designs running down the sides of the shelf units. After much discussion, I then came up with the idea to cut out the leaf pattern, which is part of the Deliento branding, out of white vinyl. This has subtly broken up the expanse of wood and created a stronger link between Deliento’s branding and the stall structure.

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Logo sign

This is a sign that I created using a laser cutter. It’s created a clean and professional look that ties in with the rest of the stall, but still creates an impact. It’s also a constant visual of the Deliento Logo, as the logo on the large screen fades in and out.

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Setting Up the Stall

Time spent arranging and organising all of the items that I brought to display on the stall. I arranged, re-arranged and de-cluttered several times and got advise from others to create the best overall impression of the stall.

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When you buy a Cooking with Deliento Starter Pack you will find inside...

An ingredients list of exactly what you need for the Recipe

The exact amount of insects needed for the Recipe

A limited edition Deliento Tea Towel

These tea towels have be intricately branded by myself using a digital embroidery machine. I wanted to create an item for the pack that could be kept and also used which would be a constant reminder for the consumer of Deliento.

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XXV

Throughout this year my peers and I have been working hard to create this years Art and Design Degree show at Birmingham School of Art. My part within the show was to be the Chair of the Exhibition committee. My role has been to get the ball rolling with the show, fundraising, to communicate with all of the students to make sure that things are running smoothly and to also notify people about news on the show. I have also been a part of the marketing team which involved creating and looking after the social media pages as well as creating the invite for the private view which is shown above. As well as that I’ve been a part of looking after the finances for the show, which lead me to open a bank account, keep a detailed record of all incomings and outgoings and expenditure for materials and equipment. Being a part of this show has, not only developed my practice, but has also taught me many new things that I wouldn’t have expected to learn. For example, I’ve never opened a business bank account before and now I have that real world experience, which will be received well with potential employers, sponsors, etc.

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Why Should We Be Eating Insects?

I have created this video for the large screen within the Deliento Stall at the degree show, acting as a digital backdrop. It has been edited to be on a loop and played without sound as I want it to make an impression but not to distract them completely. This is one of the tools that I will be using to persuade people to try cooking and eating insects. By offering up a few fascinating facts about edible insects it will spark some curiosity and lead people to talk to me about the subject or even just look into what entomophagy is all about!

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Constructing the Deliento Stall in the Degree Show

When organising how my stall would work within the show, it became apparent that using a projector to show the big screen video wouldn’t be possible in the space that I was given. Therefore, I decided to use a large TV provided by the University. It’s, unfortunately, on an unattractive stand and, as you can see in these photos, I decided to create a surround that matches the style of the rest of the stall. This situation has worked to my advantage, as the addition of the TV surround as well as the artificial grass has brought together stall and created an isolated space that replicates a pop up shop, which is what I am ultimately aiming for.

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Twitter Success

After starting a Twitter page for Deliento, it’s been a great way to be in touch with the entomophagy community and make connections with people who can help me develop my business and promote my brand. For example, a company called BugsFeed got in touch with me to find out more on what Deliento is about. They also wanted to know more about my Parmesan Thins with June Beetles recipe and they’ll soon be publishing an article about Deliento on their website. Another example is that my Honey and Oat Malt Loaf with cricket flour recipe caught the eye of a business called Mophagy, which sells a range of cricket flour. They talked to me about how they could support Deliento and what they could do to work together with me on developing my business and my recipes. Overall, creating a Deliento Twitter account has been a success and has opened up some great opportunities for me.

Make sure you follow me @deliento  to keep updated with the entomophagy movement and Deliento’s latest news.

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Assembling the Cooking with Deliento Starter Packs

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Ingredients Cards for the Cooking with Deliento Starter Packs

Each of these designs are ingredients cards that are included in the Starter Packs. They show what ingredients are needed for the particular pack’s recipe. The design closely matches the outer packaging for consistency and each of the ingredient illustrations we’re digitally drawn by myself and are completely original. These cards will also be available on their own as a ‘leaflet’ for consumers to take away from the Degree Show without the logo, as I’ve bought a logo stamp especially for these cards and I will be stamping them as people take them away. This will only be done at the degree show, which is good way to encourage people to pick up one up. An exclusive keepsake always draws people in, because of our need to have something to remind them of a good/interesting memory.

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Cooking With Deliento Starter Pack Designs

These are the designs for the Deliento Starter Pack Sleeves. I’ve brought in the pattern work borders to be in-keeping with the Deliento brand. I’ve also changed the colour of the logo and surrounding artwork to suit the recipe e.g. chocolate cake = a rich reddish-brown. I’ve also included some small insect trails within the design, as I’ve had feedback that my designs don’t include enough insects. This lead to some confusion on what exactly I was selling. Therefore, these little illustrations of the bugs, inside each pack, is a small reminder that this is an edible insect product. These products will only be prototypes, but more detail will need to go into the information on the back to meet food packaging regulations. These sleeves will wrap around square cardboard boxes, I chose to use cardboard as this conveys the eco-friendly and sustainable look that I’m hoping to achieve. The size of the box is 126x126x55mm.

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Cooking with Deliento Starter Pack Idea

There are many suppliers of edible insects all over the world which is fantastic. However, many people, who have never experienced cooking or eating this rediscovered food source, might be put off buying insects due to lack of knowledge of what to do with them. These people need guidance on how and where to start. Therefore, I want to create a product that does this.

My idea is to create ingredients starter packs. I came up with this idea after seeing an advert for a company called Hellofresh.com. They create ingredients packs for everyday recipes containing all of the fresh produce that you’d need for one of their recipes. I will have a range of these packs, one for each of Deliento’s recipes.

Each pack will contain the specific amount of insects that you would need for that particular recipe. As well as, a piece of merchandise, such as a tea towel or apron etc. and a shopping list of all of the other ingredients needed for the recipe. The packs will work alongside the Cooking with Deliento videos. People can buy a pack and follow how to make the recipe via the online video.

This product will make it easier for people to start cooking with insects and give them a taste of the delicious possibilities of edible insects which will hopefully spark excitement about entomophagy.

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Degree Show Plan

This is my plan for the Deliento Stall at the degree show, I created it on google sketch up so that I can accurately represent my vision of what I plan to put into the degree show. I want to create a space that people can walk around and experience what Deliento is about. I will be replicating the look of a stall that you might see in a food convention or fair, such as the BBC Good Food Show. There will be extra finishing touches such as utensils, crates, pots of insects, etc. to add character and complete the look of the stall. I will decide on what extras will be added during the show build.

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Competitor and S.W.O.T Analysis

I am currently working on a business plan for Deliento and within it I’ve analysed my competitors to fully understand how to make my business stand out from the rest. I’ve also looked at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that I know what I need to improve within the business to make it more successful. I’ve also outlined my unique selling point to explain what sets my business apart from my competitors.

Below are highlights of what I’ve gained from doing this analysis:

There is a niche in the market for a ‘middle man’ to create a link between the suppliers and the consumers. This link enables people to understand what to do with edible insects when they buy them and stops people from being put off by the taste of a badly cooked insect.

There are other businesses that sell ingredients packs and I need to make sure that my packs stand out from theirs. Mine do have the uniqueness of being an edible insect product, but they are a fully functioning business that already has experience of promoting and selling their products.

I need to make sure that I do courses on business management to gain more knowledge on how to run this business successfully.

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Analysing the Cooking With Deliento Video Format 

Logo animation - This is a way of introducing the video in an intriguing way rather than a simple fade or wipe in transition. This gives the video and logo more character and it draws the viewer in.

Music Choice - The music suits the type of food being cooked in the video, i.e. Baking bread = light-hearted, fun and happy track

Font - The font is in-keeping with the logo and is also attractive and clear to read.

Border - It's in-keeping with Deliento’s visual branding that is repeated throughout nearly everything that Deliento does. It’s also a constant reminder of Deliento throughout the video and it gives a unique look to its common video format that is on trend at the moment.

Ingredients in Shot - When a new ingredient is brought into shot it’s always at a slower pace than the rest of the video as it gives the viewer time to process the instructions being given. Throughout the rest of the video the pace is at a high speed as this keeps the video short and snappy so that the viewer is continuously engaged.

Zooming - At some points the camera zooms in on certain actions throughout the video this allows the viewer to fully understand what is happening and know exactly how to do what is being shown.

Improvements

When cutting the video down between long processes e.g. kneading the bread for 10 mins has been cut down to the beginning and end of the process. This is done so as not to bore the viewer. These cuts and transitions need to be worked on so that they are smoother and flow together effortlessly.

More visuals of insects need to be shown within the video to really get the message across about what is being cooked and what Deliento is about.

The final shot of the food being eaten or cut up etc. needs more work and thought about making the food look really tasty.

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Cooking with Deliento - Honey and Oats Malt Loaf with Cricket Flour