Thinking Differently Hero: Leonardo Da Vinci

We couldn’t write a series about our ‘Thinking Differently Heroes’ and not include one of history’s most famous and influential thinkers: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time, Da Vinci’s talents far extended the reach of his paintbrush - even if that paintbrush did craft the Mona Lisa.

The illegitimate son of a wealthy nobleman, and with no formal education, Da Vinci became perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

Although he is known primarily as a painter Da Vinci in fact left less than 30 completed works, and during his life was known primarily as an engineer and inventor. He conceptualised the helicopter, the tank, and the calculator hundreds of years before they were officially ‘invented.’ He outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics, invented musical instruments, hydraulic pumps, reversible crank mechanisms, and even a steam cannon.

Even with his life choices Da Vinci thought differently – he was a vegetarian, very unusual for the renaissance era when banquets were very popular. But even his vegetarianism didn’t stop him from dissecting bodies to study anatomy and to map out where the human soul was located. Nor did it stop him from accepting a job as a military engineer, improving and inventing a variety of siege weaponry.

Even his art didn’t escape his experimentation. Rather than sticking with established techniques Da Vinci played around with the mix of his paints and canvas. He was one of the first artists in Italy to use oil paints instead of egg tempera, enjoying the freedom it gave him to rework a painting even creating his own recipe for oil paints.

In almost every area of his life he thought differently, assessing problems from different angles and looking for new solutions. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest minds ever to have lived – and so sir, we at Modern Milk salute you!

Modern Milk: Now in a Tesco near you

We’re pleased that so many people have told us that they enjoy Modern Milk on our Facebook page, but this isn’t enough for us! We’re working hard to make sure that everyone who wants to buy our fabulous flavours has the opportunity. So we’re delighted to announce that, as of last week, Banana & Honey and Coffee & Vanilla are both available at 270 selected Tesco stores across the country! And if you pick up a Tesco in-store magazine you’ll save yourself 30p with the voucher inside!

And, if that wasn’t exciting enough, for the next few weeks you may even get to taste Modern Milk when you do your grocery shopping. Tesco will also be offering samples of both flavours across a selection of their stores, so checking the list below for a date near you.

If you are a Chocolate & Caramel or Strawberry & Raspberry fan don’t be disheartened about your favourite flavour being absent from Tesco’s shelves – try Banana or Coffee instead, we promise that they are just as delicious! Don’t forget that all four flavours are still available at selected McColl’s stores.

Check out our full list of stockists on our website and if your local store doesn’t stock your favourite Modern Milk, why not ask them to get some in? And make sure you sign up to our Facebook page to keep up to date with all the latest news: www.facebook.com/modernmilk

Where to sample Modern Milk in Tesco stores this week:

Thursday 27th January:

Amersham
Ashford Crooksfoot Extra
Basingstoke
Bedford Cardington Road
Bishops Stortford
Borehamwood Extra
Bournemouth Extra
Brent Park
Bristol East Extra
Brooklands Extra
Cambridge Bar Hill Extra
Cheshunt Extra
Culverhouse Cross Extra
Dover
Eastbourne Extra
Hastings Extra
Lunsford Park Extra
Northampton South Extra
Pitsea Extra
Prestwich
Purley Extra
Southend Extra
Surrey Quays
Swindon Extra
Weston Favell Extra

Saturday 29th January:


Bristol Goldenhill
Broadstairs Extra
Cambridge Newmarket Road
Chorley Extra
Crawley Hazelwick
Edgbaston
Fulbourn Cherry Hinton
Gallions Reach
Gillingham Kent
Gloucester
Halifax Aachen Way
Hemel Hempstead
Irlam Extra
Kidderminster
Lowestoft Pleasurewood
Newport Gwent Extra
North Shields Extra
Nottingham Carlton
Osterley
Peterborough Extra
Ponders End Extra
Pontypridd
Reading Extra
Sheffield Abbeydale
Stroud

Thinking Differently Heroes: Alastair Cook

The Ashes triumph still has England buzzing, and whilst the England cricket team played spectacularly it is a young man from Gloucester who has been credited with most of the glory.

It’s hard to believe that a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and the Metro, and a trained saxophonist who has contributed to the score for a children’s animated TV series, is the same man who holds the record as the only Englishman to score seven Test centuries before his 23rd birthday.

During the five tests of the 2010 – 2011 Ashes, 26 year old Alastair Cook set a new world record for the total number of batting hours during a five-test cricket series. His 36-hour cumulative stint at the crease also shattered an English record which also takes into account six-test series. The Ashes series also saw Cook reach 5,000 test runs across his career, as well as become England’s second highest series scorer ever.

Phew.

However, not only is Alastair Cook a fantastic cricketer, but unlike a lot of young men who are thrust into celebrity at a young age, he has chosen not to wholeheartedly embrace the limelight. So whilst England is still celebrating the sensational victory over Australia and the Aussies are licking their wounds, the man credited with the Man of the Series award is thinking about his next challenge: lambing season at his quiet farm in Bedfordshire.

Now that is really thinking differently.

Stay healthy by paying by cash!

In Modern Milk’s world we all like to look after ourselves and lead a healthy lifestyle. So we were interested to read that if we start paying by cash, it will help us stay healthy!

A study was recently carried out by the Journal of Consumer Research, who found that ‘shoppers’ found it painful to pay for products by cash, therefore stopping us putting the little extras, for example bad treats, into our shopping basket.

The report mentions, "Cash payments are psychologically more painful than card payments, and this pain of payment can curb the impulsive responses to buy unhealthy food items."

“How did they get to this conclusion?” we hear you ask (don’t worry we’re just as confused!)

Well...the researchers conducted an analysis of shopping behaviors of 1,000 households over a period of 6 months. The results showed that shopping baskets had a larger proportion of food items rated as impulsive and unhealthy when shoppers used credit or debit cards rather than cash.

So now that’s been explained, we guess we can see where they may be coming from. If you’re paying by cash, you will only be able to spend how much you have in your purse/wallet therefore the extra treats will not be a priority.

It may be something to think about and it will help save a few pennies too! Now that Modern Milk is available in McColl’s paying for a healthy pick me up will be easy with cash – one carton retails at just £1.29!

As we LOVE milk, we did also have to mention the baby Rhino called ‘Ebun’ who was in the news this week for drinking 20 pints of milk a day! Sweet!

Britain - a nation of grazers...

As a nation we all lead busy lives and more often than not people say they don’t have time to sit down and eat decent meals, however, a recent survey by Feasters reveled three-quarters of us are actually eating MORE than three meals a day!

The survey results showed seven out of 10 people no longer eat three meals a day with most preferring to snack instead. And half of Britons admitted they grazed on food due to boredom, and almost a quarter (23 per cent) described themselves as emotional eaters who turned to food at times of crisis. It also revealed that boredom played a key role for women and men, with 57 per cent of ladies and 40 per cent of gentlemen opting for a meal when the day was dragging.

Nicola O'Dwyer, of the food company Feasters, said: 'Our survey has given us an extensive insight in to the UK's snacking habits and, after looking at the results, it seems the days of having three square meals a day has long gone.

'Today's generation appear to prefer quick, convenient snacks over preparing a meal. This is far from surprising when you consider hectic work schedules, social lives and other activities, which fill up the day.

'However, the reasons behind the UK's snacking habits, including sadness, stress and boredom, are more shocking.'

So, if you do see yourself as a ‘snacking type’ and someone who would prefer to snack than eat three large meals r-e-m-e-m-b-e-r Modern Milk is now on sale at McColl’s!

Modern Milk now available in McColl’s!

So, following the launch of Modern Milk we have still been very hectic making sure everyone who wanted to try the product has got the chance to and we’re very pleased with the consistently good feedback.

The most exciting news is that Modern Milk is now available to buy in McColl’s stores across the UK! We would love for you to try it and get in touch and let us know your thoughts...

Remember, Modern Milk is a healthy chilled snack to fill you up when you’re feeling peckish and sluggish in between main meals. So whether you didn’t have enough time to grab breakfast, get the munchies mid morning and mid afternoon or are off to the gym after work and need a ‘pick me up’, Modern Milk is for you!

Think differently about milk...

Modern Milk has launched!

We’re back from Lunch! and Modern Milk has launched, with fantastic feedback! The trade show went really well, and we were delighted with the comments from show visitors about Modern Milk

It was a very busy couple of days, with visits to the stand so frequent that at times that it was a challenge to keep up with the demand for samples. All the flavours were popular, but Smooth Coffee with a hint of Vanilla was a clear winner– maybe because Steve, one of the Modern Milk team, was determined to change people’s perceptions of a coffee milk drink. Before long, lots of visitors (who said they really didn’t like coffee) were agreeing with him that it really wasn’t what they expected – it was delicious! Lush Banana and Honey was a morning favourite, with Milk Chocolate with a hint of Golden Caramel appealing more in the afternoon. Ripe Strawberry and Raspberry seemed to satisfy everyone at any time of the day!

We weren’t just speaking to potential stockists at the show – we also made sure we had time to brief the trade press. Our first piece of coverage for Modern Milk was out in Saturday’s Grocer, and more will follow.

We’ve taken a few requests from wholesalers to stock the product, but if you have any more, please do make sure you let us know so that we can make sure your preferred stockist is approached. If you left your contact details with us for more information, we will be in touch soon! If you can’t wait that long, check out our website for more information on the Modern Milk launch.

And, the final question from Lunch! - who won the iPad that we were giving away on our stand? Sadly the Modern Milk team wasn’t allowed to enter the draw, but we hear the winner is delighted with her prize.