Ideal gift for coffee lovers as Nescafé Dolce Gusto launches Neo, its next generation 'Coffee Shop at Home' experience

Neo's proprietary technology and home-compostable pods create the brand's best coffee quality and most sustainable system to date

Nescafé Dolce Gusto has launched Neo, the brand's next generation coffee machines and pods. Neo combines high quality, cutting-edge technology, and sustainability to create the ultimate coffee shop at home experience. In a Nestlé first, Neo's new range of coffee pods are paper-based, home compostable and use 70% less packaging (by weight) than currently available capsules.

With its new proprietary and patented coffee system, refined over five years at Nestlé's R&D Centre for Systems in Switzerland, Nescafé Dolce Gusto Neo delivers high-quality coffee, in a compostable pod, with no compromise on taste. 

Its proprietary SmartBrew™ technology combines three brewing methods so consumers can enjoy, high-quality espressos, coffeeshop-like americanos and drip-style coffees, in one single machine, at the touch of a button and in the convenience of their homes. Neo automatically recognises the pod, adapting the brewing method to each selected coffee.

Neo's paper-based pods are certified as suitable for composting, both home and industrial, by TÜV Austria, an international certification body. These new pods are made from 1g of paper certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) suppliers with a compostable biopolymer lining, even thinner than a human hair, to help protect Nescafé Dolce Gusto's Neo coffee quality and freshness from oxidation. As with all Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffees, Neo is 100% responsibly sourced.

David Rennie, Head of Nestlé Coffee Brands, said: "Nestlé is a relentless innovator in the coffee category. We are continuously looking to bring consumers new experiences, variety and quality in their coffee, in a sustainable way. With Nescafé Dolce Gusto Neo, we have created the perfect combination of a great coffee experience, new coffee system and packaging, all in one."

Arnaud Deschamps, Head of Nescafé Dolce Gusto, said: "In a time of rapid change, we see increasing expectations about coffee variety, versatility, personalization, and sustainability, with no compromise on quality and taste. With Neo, we have designed a 'Coffee Shop at Home' experience that aims to meet the expectations of today's most passionate coffee lovers. Every aspect of Neo has been carefully considered - the machine technology, the user interface, the coffee and our first home-compostable paper-based pods. Neo represents the long-term future of our brand."

Julia Lauricella, Head of Global R&D Center for Systems and Coffee Machines, said: "Whenever we develop a new system, we need to harmonize its three key elements for the perfect in-cup result: the product, its packaging and the machine. We carefully select the coffee, and together with the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, choose and design the packaging to protect it, and develop the machine to ensure the perfect synergy during extraction. For Neo, our teams tested over 200 novel material structures before perfecting the paper-based pod. Our proprietary SmartBrew™ system tunes the extraction parameters for each beverage, and you can even personalise your cup through the connected application."

Thanks to the ability to connect the machine to a smartphone, consumers can personalise their coffee preparation at a distance. Nescafé Dolce Gusto's loyalty programme offers rewards and personal recommendations adapted to the consumers profile each time a coffee is prepared.

The coffee machine itself is made of 50% recycled plastic (for non-food contact parts) with the thermoblock (which heats the water) made of 85% recycled aluminium. It's designed to be more convenient to dismantle and repair, with an A++ energy class rating, and a switch-off eco-mode.

Neo is launching in Brazil this year with plans to expand to more countries over time. The new paper-based capsules are entirely produced in Nescafé Dolce Gusto's factory in Montes Claros, Brazil. Montes Claros is the first Nestlé factory to receive Nestlé's internal sustainability certification 'Triple Zero' for three dimensions: water, waste creation and greenhouse gas emissions. Nestlé will invest more than CHF 50 million (R$300 million) in Brazil's Montes Claros factory to support the Neo launch.

nestle.com

Savvy UK shoppers to stock up on blankets, heaters, and other energy-saving items during Black Friday

UK shoppers plan to seek out hunt energy-saving bargains before Christmas, including blankets and small space heaters, on Black Friday this year. 

According to new research announced by quantilope, the research platform that automates advanced research methodologies, over a quarter (28%) of shoppers plan to buy products to help save on their energy bills this winter, while a third (34%) will look for basic essentials for themselves or their family.

quantilope surveyed 400 consumers in the UK (and a further 400 in the US) to understand more about their Black Friday shopping habits and how they plan to pay for their purchases.

A quarter of consumers will avoid Black Friday this year, with the majority of these avoiders saying there's nothing they need to buy on a Black Friday deal (64%). Almost half (46%) think Black Friday is over-hyped and one in ten say it causes them stress. 

The rising cost of living is clearly having a major impact, with a quarter of those abstaining from Black Friday shopping saying inflation has impacted their discretionary spending.

Alex Hall, Associate Director at quantilope, believes shoppers are looking to Black Friday as a way of saving money in more ways than one. “It’s a time when people usually look for deals on gifts for themselves and their families ahead of Christmas. 

"While this still holds true this year, we’re also seeing substantial metrics for those stocking up on basic essentials, items for the household, and even energy-reducing items. This might signal the start of a changed perception about Black Friday.”

The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ generations

According to quantilope’s research, younger shoppers are planning to use ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) services, perhaps so that they don’t miss out on any Black Friday bargains that could save them money in the longer term. 

While around a quarter of all consumers (26%) plan to use BNPL in the UK, this rises significantly among younger generations, with 40% of Gen Z and 36% of millennials planning to do so.

This is backed up by new research from McKinsey & Company, which indicates BNPL services are becoming increasingly popular as the cost of living crisis worsens and people turn to shopping on credit. It also states that millennials and Gen Z are more likely to use BNPL in the coming months.

“This is further evidence that the current economic climate impacts what shoppers buy and how they plan to pay for it. But what’s really interesting is that as well as people planning to buy on no interest credit services like BNPL as well as credit cards, cash is also still a common form of payment. Despite the rise in contactless payments, one-in-four shoppers in the UK are planning to pay for their Black Friday purchases in cash”, adds quantilope’s Alex Hall.

The Real Bamboo Company has new sustainable baby gift boxes!

Top bamboo wood specialists, The Real Bamboo Company, has a selection of gift boxes in time for Christmas – but suitable all year round.

High on their list of best sellers is the Bamboo Baby Gift Set, containing a selection of premium bamboo products just perfect for little ones.

This is a gift set that will be received with real pleasure, and you’ll give it knowing it’s helping fight global warming, too.

Bamboo really hits the sweet spot. The products are a delight to handle, look beautiful and are supremely sustainable. Bamboo is an ideal alternative to plastics. 

As a raw material it grows quickly, so it’s infinitely renewable, and all items can be recycled when they're eventually used for the last time.

In this gift set, the babygrow is a revelation. Its soft and cosy texture is similar to silk and ideal to help a baby relax and sleep easily. Bamboo fabric is also exceptionally skin-kind; in hospitals it is the product of choice for clothing premature babies. 

"Other items are more obviously bamboo, likes the carefully crafted spoon set and plate, while the baby wipes share some of the remarkable gentle touch that comes with the babygrow.

The Real Bamboo Company’s Baby Gift Set, is available at £39.99, and includes

Zipster Babygrow

Bamboo Plate

Bamboo Spoon set

Biodegradable Baby Wipes from Cheeky Panda

Baby toothbrush

Baby Shampoo + Shower Gel

These are beautiful and very thoughtful products which are 100% ideal for Christmas.

You can easily make your purchases online from the company’s website and select the babygrow of your choice from a range of 19 different designs.

In fact it is this flexibility which is one of the company’s strengths. While many retailers of bamboo products usually adhere to a single product type and a limited range, The Real Bamboo Company selects the best of the best from many different environmentally responsible suppliers, really taking the chore and effort out of your shopping.

And behind the choice of these products is a real drive to supply high quality sustainable goods that carry value now and also for the future. 

Using this highly renewable and versatile of natural materials helps reduce our use of plastics and bamboo comes with many other good properties.

Bamboo clothing has excellent moisture wicking qualities, so it stays comfortable to wear.

It helps with temperature regulation too, so it is warm when the weather’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. As it grows, bamboo absorbs more carbon dioxide than cotton or timber, and releases more oxygen back into the air. It’s a completely natural and biodegradable material – and it makes beautiful products.

Alice Horgan, Director at The Real Bamboo Company, says: “Bamboo is beautiful, versatile and very sustainable. It’s a great alternative to harmful plastics. Knowing this, why wouldn’t you buy it? Everything we sell has an ethical origin, and it’s good to know that by using bamboo we can help reduce the impact of global warming.”

The Real Bamboo Company’s Bamboo Baby Gift Set is available at £39.99 , plus shipping, from their website at https://www.bamboo-company.co.uk.

Be on trend with a Wild Woodland Christmas

Cosy, rustic, contemporary and charming: Just a few ways to describe one of the season’s biggest Christmas decorating trends according to leading online homewares destination, Wayfair - introducing Wild Woodland.

Embracing an abundance of natural fresh and dried foliage, a colour palette of tonal greens, earthy neutrals and touches of frosty snowy whites come together to create a soothing, enchanting look.

Wild Woodland is inspired by nature, connecting us to the outside world even in the cold depths of winter.

Wayfair’s Resident Style Advisor, Nadia McCowan Hill explains what it's all about: “The trend captures the essence of woodland charm, but its overall simplicity displays how easy it can be to give your home a harmonious festive makeover. 

"Incorporating greenery into decorating schemes will instantly lift a room, but the complimentary tones in this look of comforting oatmeal, verdant greens and pale woods help foliage displays take centre stage."

wayfair.co.uk

Deck the Stalls: Triton launches national search for UKs most festive bathroom

Tinselly taps, reindeer-inspired baths? Christmas tree toilet seats? If that kind of thing sounds like your ideal, then please read on!

Because Triton Showers is calling for fans of Christmas to submit their seasonal bathroom looks, in a search to find the UK’s most festive bathroom.

Christmas-lovers have until 11.59pm on 12 December to send in their Santa-inspired decorations, to be in with a chance of winning Christmas gifts for the big day. 

The winner and four runners up will also win an eco-bathroom bundle, helping them enter the new year with a cleaner, greener conscience.

The competition was launched after research commissioned by Triton, which discovered one in five of us admit to adorning every single room in their house, with nearly a quarter claiming they usually spruce up the bathroom to some degree or another.

The survey of 2,000 adults also revealed that we'll spend around £40 on fairy lights, ornaments, little trees and scented candles to add festivity to the lavatory. Other adornments likely to make an appearance in the toilet include wreaths, tinsel, stockings and festives towels and bathmats.

Ashley Cooper, who is the MD at Triton Showers, said: “Christmas is a time of year wet Brits like to go all out with decorations. Where people would once adorn a tree in the living room, add a wreath to the front door or hang tinsel around the fireplace, now they’re looking to spread the festive cheer across the whole home, bringing Christmas joy into even the most unusual spaces.

“To celebrate the rise in Father Christmas-inspired stalls, we’re searching for the UK’s most festive bathroom. Whether it’s an inflatable elf to share your shower with, a candy cane toilet brush, or a singing Santa: we want to know!”

To enter, Christmas fans just need to submit a photograph of their festive bathroom in the comments of Triton’s Deck the Stalls Facebook post. Alternatively, submissions can be made on Instagram by uploading a photo of their bathroom with the hashtag #DeckTheStalls and tagging @tritonshowers in the post.

For further information, please visit: www.tritonshowers.co.uk/deckthestalls 

T&Cs apply. 

The winner will receive a £300 Love2Shop voucher and an eco bathroom bundle, worth £34.99. Four runners up will win an eco bathroom bundle each.  

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is open Friday 18th November 2022 Monday 2nd January

The UK’s most iconic festive event will be making its grand return this Christmas to celebrate its 15th edition in London’s Hyde Park. Opening on Friday 18th November 2022, this year's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is set to be the most magical one yet as we look back on 15 years of festive fun.

Celebrating the ticket launch on 28th July, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland will be kicking off the year's festivities early with a surprise appearance by Santa Claus in Hyde Park. Morning joggers, commuters and park-goers are in for a surprise as Santa arrives on the iconic Serpentine Pond via pedalo! 

Disembarking ‘on land’ inappropriately dressed for the summer in full Santa get-up, he’ll be joined by an elf assistant. The festive duo will get the word out about Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s return to passers-by by gifting refreshing ice lollies with a Hyde Park Winter Wonderland twist...mulled wine ’poptails’ and gingerbread ice lollies.

Open daily from 10.00am – 10.00pm, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland will bring back Christmas with a plethora of amazing new and returning attractions, including the UK’s largest outdoor Ice Rink, an exciting new Magical Ice Kingdom, Bar Ice experiences, thrilling Zippos Christmas Circus and Cirque Berserk shows, the Giant Wheel and a bigger Real Ice Slide with an extra lane! From high adrenaline to family favourites, there’s something for everyone at this year's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.

Six brand new attractions welcome the 2022 opening to ensure fun for the whole family. Here’s a sneak peak of some of the activities which all aim to entertain at great value prices:

• Rides that are sure to give customers a thrill include the Aeronaut Starflyer, which is the world’s largest transportable Starflyer, the brand-new Après-ski Party Funhouse, The Time Machine, Canadian Mountie Funhouse, the unique Discovery plus the return of Dr Archibald with a new immersive VR experience.

• The Magical Ice Kingdom returns with a brand new creative where customers can explore 500 tonnes of sculptured ice including secret passageways, the snow-tunnelled ice slide and the crystal carriage of the Ice Palace.

• Bigger and better for 2022, the Real Ice Slide returns but now with 6 lanes!

• Santa Land where all days are merry and bright is offering a great new family value package which lets you enjoy 4 Santaland rides for just £10. Start planning the ultimate family day out.

• Get the best value for games and buy the Winter Wonderland Game Coins in advance for fast and easy playing. These can be redeemed at any game stall onsite showing the Coin symbol.

• Explore the new street food areas across the site to eat, drink and be merry under the festive twinkling lights.

For those looking to get a head start on their festive plans and lock in the city’s most magical Christmas experience, tickets and pre-bookable rides, games and attractions are on sale from 28th July 2022 onwards.

“We’re so excited to be bringing the UK’s largest festive event back this Christmas as we celebrate our 15th anniversary.” said Suzy Griffiths, Winter Wonderland Event Director for IMG. “This year we want to bring people together to celebrate the amazing memories we have made over the last 15 years and make new magical memories to last a lifetime. That’s what the festive season is all about and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a fun-filled family tradition that guests love to mark down in their calendars as far ahead as July!”

Get Christmas 2022 in the calendar with tickets available to purchase starting 28th July from hydeparkwinterwonderland.com.

Open Friday 18th November - Monday 2nd January, 10.00am – 10.00pm (open every day except closed on Christmas Day)

To ensure the most memorable experience, all Hyde Park Winter Wonderland visitors will require a timed entry ticket. The event will be offering off-peak (free), standard (£5), and peak (£7.50) entry tickets, with all advance online tickets for entry, attractions and rides remaining the same as 2021 prices. Many off-peak entry times remain free and in addition, when guests spend £25 online ahead of their visit, their entry fee is waived. We recommend that you pre-book your tickets ahead of your visit for the best value.

The event will have multiple entry times, but once inside visitors can stay as long as they like:

• Morning entry times: 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Afternoon entry times: 12:00pm – 14:00pm, 14:00pm - 16:00pm, 16:00pm - 18:00pm

• Evening entry times: 18:00pm – 20:00pm, 19:00pm - 21:30pm

For further information please visit: www.royalparks.org.uk.

So, what can you see? 

The UK’s largest outdoor Ice Rink, an exciting new Magical Ice Kingdom, 80’s Après-ski theme Bar Ice, thrilling Zippos Christmas Circus and Cirque Berserk shows, the Giant Wheel and a bigger Real Ice Slide with an extra lane this year! There really is something for everyone at Hyde Park Winter

Wonderland - from families looking for some festive fun, to out-of-towners visiting the Capital this Christmas, to adrenaline junkies, the after-work crowd and more.

Six brand new attractions welcome the 2022 opening to ensure fun for the whole family.

Here’s a sneak peak of some of the activities which aim to entertain all:

• Rides that are sure to give customers a thrill include the Aeronaut Starflyer, which is the world’s largest transportable Starflyer, the brand-new Après-ski Party Funhouse, The Time Machine, Canadian Mountie Funhouse, the unique Discovery plus the return of Dr Archibald with a new immersive VR experience.

• The Magical Ice Kingdom returns with a brand new creative where customers can explore 500 tonnes of sculptured ice including secret passageways, and a snow-tunnelled ice slide, before getting the perfect Instagram photos in a Unicorn-drawn crystal carriage

• Bigger and better for 2022, the Real Ice Slide returns, now with 6 lanes!

• Santa Land, where all days are merry and bright, is offering a great new family value package which lets you enjoy 4 Santaland rides for just £10. Start planning the ultimate family day out now!

• Get the best value by buying the Winter Wonderland Game Coins in advance for fast and easy playing. These can be redeemed at any game stall onsite showing the Coin symbol.

• Explore the new street food areas across the site to eat, drink and be merry under the festive twinkling lights.

The event is sponsored by IMG.

Let Curious Rose Help friends and family feel warmer and cosier this Christmas

We all know it’s free to put another layer on, or cuddle a friend (two friends, if it’s really parky). As the nights draw in, however, we want increased cosiness and we are looking to traditional methods of keeping warm. 

This is where that old stand-by, the hot water bottle, comes into its own. 

And we at That's Christmas feel that these will make absolutely perfect Christmas gifts this year.  

Cost comparison

It currently costs nearly £2.50 an hour to put the central heating on (based on gas at 10.31p per kWh, with a 24kW boiler). 

By comparison, it costs roughly 4.37p to boil a litre of water (3kW kettle for 2.5 minutes, at 35p per kWh for electricity). So that’s a cost of pennies, compared to heating the whole house, literally under 2% of the cost!  

And a hot water bottle will stay warm for at least a couple of hours, and can sit on your lap or up your jumper, whatever you are doing. 

Even cheaper is the newcomer to the party, the microwave wheat bag. For a 500g wheat bag, it costs 1.17p to microwave for 2 minutes (based on a 900W microwave, at 35p kWh of electricity). One of these will stay warm for over an hour, and is a safer alternative to boiling water for children or elderly people.

Climate concerns

It's important to hold onto our values about the environment when choosing a new hot water bottle, or wheat bag, or even a jumper for that matter. Polyester fur, and polyester fleece, are two of the worst culprits for shedding microfibres into the oceans (never mind that polyester is made from fossil fuels, in unregulated working conditions, and transported from China with a carbon footprint any Yeti would be proud of).

Wool is the perfect natural solution.

So, what you need is wool. It’s a natural by-product of healthy sheep farming, it actually stores carbon during its useful life, and breaks down into the earth very quickly once discarded. It is durable, naturally anti-bacterial, and its structure repels stains. 

It only needs airing, not washing very often, which again reduces energy costs. And of course, wool holds the heat, which makes it perfect for hot water bottles.

More excitingly, wool can be dyed a range of gorgeous colours, and knitted in hundreds of different patterns. Whether traditional or trendy, a good bit of knitting combines design and function perfectly. Just what we need in a cold spell, especially with a recession round the corner.

Curious Rose design and knit colourful hot water bottles, using only pure lambswool. Their yarns are dyed in Yorkshire, and knitted in the Midlands, sticking with traditional methods for a proudly British product.

Their microwave wheat bags (in a delightful hot water bottle shape) are made using pure wool blanket fabric, which gets softer and softer the more you cuddle it. They even do a range of brightly coloured alpaca snuggle socks, perfect for surviving the (cold) winter in style.

Learn more at www.curious-rose.co.uk.