CASE STUDY  Joe & Seph’s Gourmet Popcorn

Portfolio received an exciting brief from easyJet who were looking to entice their passengers by providing a unique range of artisan and gourmet products for sale and gifting on board.

Having kept a close eye on the products that were awarded Great Taste Awards, we were aware of the Joe & Seph’s brand and were fans of the delicious popcorn supplied in a snack pack format of 35g (or 32g for a cheese flavour).

 We reached out to the brand’s founder, Adam Sopher, and quickly discovered we shared a passion for not only good food, but for travel, and together we collaborated on a product that would specifically meet the needs of the airline’s brief.

In 2015, we were delighted to launch the 25g box for easyJet that fits neatly within a standard airline trolley – maximising use of the space on board and the opportunity for revenue. 

Once a product is listed Portfolio gathers feedback from the crew and airline buyers themselves. The only critique of the listed product was that it needed more salt; Joe & Seph’s listened to our feedback and created the Double Salted Caramel flavour. easyJet have loved and listed this product for the last 4 years running.

Joe & Seph’s then created their 23g sachet. Portfolio considered the complimentary market as a potential fit for Joe & Seph’s and we turned our attention to promoting the development of a 17g and a 7g pack, giving us a full range of options for on board retail and complimentary offering. 

Portfolio are in tune with the market place and continually seek to gain feedback and improve products and opportunities for both our customers and brands. 

CASE STUDY  Corkers Crisps

Portfolio started working with Corkers in 2013 and they quickly became our flagship hand cooked crisp brand. The crisps are made with their own variety of potatoes, Naturalos. These are only grown in the rich peaty Cambridgeshire fens and make perfect frying potatoes. 

Our main focus when looking to take Corkers to the skies was that crisps can be a fragile product and we didn’t want them to be crushed or damaged before they reached the customer. Together, we developed the 35g box to protect the handmade crisps and ensure that they reached each customer in perfect crunchy condition.

Since partnering with Corkers, we have also developed a 15g sea salt sachet which is ideal for snack boxes and the complimentary market. The size constraints of this small packet meant that customers could be faced with broken crisps when they opened them. To overcome this hurdle, Corkers even select smaller potatoes from the farm, so passengers still get whole crisps in every pack.

CASE STUDY  Bel Group

Bel is one of Portfolio’s most established, longstanding supplier partners, having worked together for over 10 years. 

Since Portfolio has been Bel’s representative within travel catering, we have included their product range in a number of different snack boxes for buy on board for low cost carriers in addition to complimentary for legacy carriers.  

Together, we faced the hurdles of the lengthy packing and distribution process that is standard within the travel industry. We noticed that the quality of the Bel foil wrapped cheese was being compromised due to the nature and length of the supply/distribution chain. 

In order to overcome this issue, we developed the Kiri cheese tub. The Kiri cheese tub went straight on board as a component within a snack box for a large, long haul complimentary contact. This particular contract was global success and supplied to our customer for over 3 years.

CASE STUDY  Mr Lees

Portfolio began working with Mr Lee’s Noodles in 2015, whilst this exciting ‘No Nasties’ noodle product was still in the early stages of development.

Our MD, Adrian, appreciated the ethos and values of Damien Lee and his mission to help time-poor people eat better food.  Adrian could easily see how this exciting and quality cup noodle had great potential in the travel arena.

Portfolio presented the product to a select number of our travel customers, trusted to give honest feedback. We quickly learned that that the pot size and associated price point would be a hurdle to the Mr Lee’s success in gaining an airline listing. 

The agile culture of the Mr Lee’s team meant that they reacted to the expert advice from Portfolio and a new, smaller pot was developed. We have now brought to market 3 flavours in the 62g travel pot. 

Since 2017, Mr Lee’s Noodles have been showcased as a headline brand partner of Portfolio’s at the annual World Travel Catering Expo and recent success has seen a new listing with TUI Group of the delicious Hong Kong Street Beef cup!