Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging and design launches:
- Chill at the revamped Protea Fire & Ice Cape Town
- Wolftrap Rosé launches
- TV moves the news, and
- A sleek new chair range from Woodbender.
Hot new hotel revamp
Cape Town’s Protea Fire & Ice ‘evolution’ is complete — gone are the gimmicky themed-loos and coffin-themed smoker’s room (so apt, though). Enter a herb garden in the dining room and cool new chill spaces with designer lighting and a milkshake bar (the adult, alcoholic variations were a hit with the media — personally, I can recommend the Amarula one).
The distinct shark ‘cage’ and ‘cable car’ lifts remain, however, as does the ‘lava’ carpeting which I always thought gave the long passages a rather dark ‘cave-like’ feel. Intended or not.
There’s a new glass bar framed by ice and the bar area boasts a coffee station with “java jockeys”.
The hotel has always been known for its burgers and milkshakes, but the menu boasts new additions such as a salted caramel and popcorn milkshake, triple-espresso milkshake shots, and a breakfast burger. There’s even a Red Bull Bloody Mary dispenser for those who need a “hard kick-start to the day,” says GM, Janneman Britz.
According to Protea Hotel director of sales, marketing and revenue, Danny Bryer, the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice is evolving to meet the more sophisticated needs of its “millennial” guests, who want spaces that meet their specific needs: aspirational, technology-friendly, uncluttered.
“We started off eight years ago with a concept hotel in Cape Town that got famous very quickly because it was the quirkiest hotel the country had ever seen. The themed unisex toilets got more column inches than many celebrities and at the time it worked. But as a brand we’ve had to grow…”
The third Protea Fire & Ice will open in Menlyn in Pretoria early-2015.
A new Rosé with bite
Wolftrap, a wine described as “exceptional value for money” by Platter’s 2014 Wine Guide, has just released its 2014 Rosé. Produced by the Boekenhoutskloof Winery in Franschoek, 2012 Winery of the Year, the premium wines also include the popular Porcupine Ridge range.
Described as a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, it is a “fresh, crisp, bright, dry wine” with a “juicy red berry fruit” flavour. It also comes with a legend…
As the story goes, a wolf trap was discovered on the farm when Boekenhoutskloof Farm was founded. But, while there are known to be leopards in the mountains, no signs of wolves were ever found!
The Wolftrap Rosé complements the other two Rhône-style Wolftrap wines: The Wolftrap White: Viognier Chenin Blanc Grenache 2013, and The Wolftrap Red: Syrah Mourvèdre Viognier 2013. All three Wolftrap wines are packaged with screw cap closures and retail nationally at leading liquor stores and grocers for around R40 per bottle.
Media that travels well
Transit.TV by Provantage Media Group now has a captive audience of over 7 million commuters, according to Provantage MD, Jacques du Preez, and to deliver the latest news, Transit.TV has strategically partnered with Reuters, Sowetan and Sunday World.
“When reworking the Transit.TV channel offering, we kept in mind that Transit.TV is not like a favourite channel at home — the audience sees the screens because they are in a taxi, at a taxi rank or at a train station. The aim was for the content to create an emotional connection with the audience in order to ensure the efficacy of advertising. Audiences want to be entertained, they want humour and they want strong creative that has an impact. The content needs to make it worth their while to engage,” explains Du Preez.
Transit media is one of the few media growth channels in recent years, not only because 19.8 million people commute by taxi and train in South Africa, but also because of sophisticated transit developments such as the Gautrain and MyCiTi and Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) systems.
These chairs stack up
To optimise space, Cape Town-based bentwood furniture manufacturer, Woodbender, has released the stylish and minimalist Parklane stacking chair for corporate dining or conferencing options.
The handmade-in-South-Africa chair can be stacked five high; has a rounded leg which is currently on trend; is manufactured with solid bentwood components; and comes in two different fabrics to create contrast.
The sleek chair comes standard and also with a showwood top option, which helps protect the fabric.
Shelf Life is a weekly column by Louise Marsland on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 19 of her more-than-25-year career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. Until its cancellation, she edited the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper. She is currently the publishing editor of industry trendwatching portal, TRENDAFRiCA,for consumer insight, research and trends in Africa.
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