If Fortnum's can keep bees on its roof and sell the hyperlocal honey they produce, it stands to reason that other purveyors of food should be able to make the most of their rooftops in a similar way. Enter London grocer Thornton's Budgens, which just began selling organic produce grown in a rooftop garden of its very own.

Dubbed Food from the Sky, the rooftop garden project is a collaboration between Thornton’s Budgens, The Positive Earth Project and the local community. In late May, a crane lifted up the necessary materials onto the roof of Budgens' Crouch End store, including 10 tonnes of compost, fencing, trees and over 100 pallets. The project is collaborating with the heritage seed library to grow a number of endangered species of food; it also plans to run food growing workshops on the roof and provide seeds from the harvest free of charge to residents and schools. The garden's first organic fruits and vegetables just went on sale in Budgens, all grown and harvested by volunteers. All proceeds from the not-for-profit venture will be put back into the project; plans for the future include the addition of chickens and top bar bee hives.

As urban areas continue to sharpen their focus on sustainable and local production, it's not hard to imagine food retailers large and small setting up rooftop farms of their own, buoyed also by consumers' love for a good still-made-here story. Other grocers around the globe: what about you?

Website: www.thorntonsbudgens.com/social-environment/food-from-the-sky
Contact: andrew.thornton.tle@gmail.com

Spotted by: market.se via Maria Dahl Jørgensen

The locavore movement may be focusing new interest on locally produced food, but regional farmers, ranchers and fishermen continue to struggle to find a market for their products. That's as true in the Pacific Northwest as everywhere else, which is why Portland, Ore., nonprofit Ecotrust created FoodHub.

Launched late last year, FoodHub aims to increase food trade in the Pacific Northwest by connecting food buyers of all types and sizes with local farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food manufacturers. For food sellers, FoodHub offers an easy way to let buyers know what products are available and how to make contact to complete a sale. For food buyers—including local restaurants, public schools, grocery stores, caterers, universities and hospitals—FoodHub provides a robust database of food products that are available. Customizable search features allow a buyer to hone in on the exact product specifications they're seeking -- “pallet quantities of Northwest-grown certified organic black eyed peas,” for example. After paying an annual membership fee of USD 100, both buyers and sellers can create detailed online profiles; FoodHub's message center, meanwhile, streamlines communications.

Deborah Kane, vice president of Ecotrust’s Food & Farms program, explains:“FoodHub is designed to be a one-stop-shop for the chef who needs six dozen artichokes for a menu special, the baker looking for a local source for flour, or the large institutional food buyer whose purchasing power could significantly stabilize a family farm.”

Currently, FoodHub is open to food buyers and sellers of all types in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. However, Ecotrust intends to make the FoodHub platform available to qualified partners in other parts of the country as well. One to emulate in other parts of the world?

Website: www.food-hub.org
Contact: connect@food-hub.org

Spotted by: Anna Brones

We don't have exact numbers for you, but for a large percentage of soccer fans, beer is an essential part of the game experience. Preferably cold beer. Which is why Dutch brewer Grolsch is stepping in to lend a hand to anyone whose fridge breaks down during this year's World Cup.

Customers can call the Koelkast Hulplijn (fridge hotline) and Grolsch will deliver a loaner fridge to tide them over. It's a fun example of the trend our sister site dubbed brand butlers—brands finding new ways to serve customers, usually free of charge and not directly related to sales. We're just slightly disappointed by the campaign's fine print: loaners were only made available to the first 40 people to call before June 19th (the World Cup runs from June 11th through July 11th). Something to keep in mind if you're planning a brand butler campaign of your own: unnecessarily strict limitations won't do your generosity justice ;-)

Website: www.grolsch.nl/koel/

While instantly gratifying, buying ice cream from a vending machine isn't as fun as it could be. Which is why SapientNitro and Unilever created the world's first smile-activated ice cream vending machine. The underlying technology is sophisticated, but the concept is simple: consumers walk up to the machine, smile and are rewarded with a frozen treat.

When its motion detectors sense someone is near, the machine beckons them to come closer and interact. Using facial recognition technology, it can then recognize a person's age, gender and emotion, and measure their smile using a "smile-o-meter". If their grin is wide enough, they get free ice cream. Users can also opt to have a picture of their happy self uploaded to Facebook, which ties in perfectly with Unilever's brand message: "share happy". Currently being showcased at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the smile-activated ice cream vending machine will be rolled out at high-traffic locations across the globe over the next 18 months.

From security checkpoints that recognize eyes, to cameras that spot friends and family, machines are increasingly capable of smart interaction with humans. Throw in emotion and delight, and you'll create a memorable experience that knocks the socks off traditional advertising. One to have fun with! (Related: Ice cream factory in a vending machine.)

Website: www.sapient.com/en-us/SapientNitro/Work.html#/?project=157
Contact: www.sapient.com/en-us/contact-us.html

Spotted by: every-ware via notcot

Earlier this year we covered Destination Dinners and its meal kits designed to replicate dining experiences from around the world. Now a group of Chicago restaurateurs is planning to implement a similar concept in a sit-down restaurant that sells seating by the ticket and offers four menus per year.

Currently in development by the team behind Chicago's Alinea restaurant, Next Restaurant will select its menus “from great moments in culinary history – or the future,” as it's put on the site. “Our chefs will investigate, test, refine, and present authentic menu interpretations from cultures, places and times,” the team explains. Depending on the cuisine, meals will include five or six courses of food, beverage pairings and service. Perhaps even more interesting is that instead of reservations, bookings will be made more like a theater or a sporting event, via online ticketing. Tickets will be fully inclusive of all charges, including service, with pricing depending on the particular seating—Saturday at 8 pm will be more expensive than Wednesday at 9:30 pm, for example. In general, food will range from USD 40 to USD 75 for the entire prix fixe menu; wine and beverage pairings will begin at a USD 25 supplement. Two walk-in tables will be made available every evening, while subscriptions covering all four menus over the course of a year will offer both discount pricing and preferred seating. The team behind Next Restaurant is also building The Aviary, a “bar without a bar or bartenders” that will be situated right next door on Chicago's West Fulton Market. Both are planned to open this fall.

Similar in many ways to some of the “anti-restaurants” and supper clubs we've seen—the Stolen Supper Club, for example—Next Restaurant is notable for its explicit recognition that dining out isn't always just about food; often it's more about the experience. And by embracing its ticket-based model, it hopes to be able “to serve 4-star food at 3-star prices.”

Website: www.nextrestaurant.com
Contact: admin@nextrestaurant.com

Spotted by: Cagla Pakel