Melton Times - Count On These

Melton Times has just done a fab feature in their Taste supplement (21 May 2009) all about Count On It labels and their future in the States. Here's what they said...
A Businesswoman who used her experience as a mum as a springboard to success is going from strength to strength. Lyndsey Young, who was nominated for a Melton Times Green Business Award in 2008, came up with an invention call Count On It - fridge and freezer-friendly stickers with dates that scratch off.
It was recently taken up by Lakeland and ITV's Amanda Holden has put her name to the product.
Lyndsey said "Once you've opened a jar or packet .... this is way to remember when it was opened and help cut down on waste."
And now Lyndsey hopes to break into the American market using Amanda's newfound fame State-side. Amanda, a judge on 'Britain's Got Talent' who will soon also be presenting 'The Early Show' in the USA, juggles a hectic lifestyle caring for her two-year old daughter Alexa.
She said: "These labels are fantastic - I put them on everything from pasta sauce to Alexa's leftovers. I love giving Alexa fresh, wholesome food, but because of my busy lifestyle, I need to keep track of when I opened stuff. These labels do the job for me".
Count On It labels are available from Lakeland shops or online at www.lakeland.co.uk or www.count-on-it.co.uk.

Britain's Got Talent judge, Amanda Holden can Count On It.

It is clear to see why Simon Cowell chose Amanda Holden to be one of the judges on the brilliant, Britain’s Got Talent. Not only is Amanda grounded in the real world, she also has got an eye for spotting a winner, as she proved when she gave the phenomenon that is, Susan Boyle, the thumbs up. Another winner Amanda has been quick to spot is Count On It® food freshness labels, the scratch-off label memory joggers that show when a product was first opened, stored or frozen.

Despite her life never been busier, mum to two-year-old Alexa and married to record producer, Chris Hughes, Amanda loves cooking for her daughter – but wants peace of mind when preparing her meals.

“These labels are fantastic – I put them on everything from pasta sauce to Alexa’s leftovers,” she said.

“I love giving Alexa fresh, wholesome food, but because of my busy lifestyle, I need to keep track of when I opened stuff – these labels do the job for me.”
Amanda also uses them for batch freezing. “Good nutritious food like fish pies and cottage pies can be made in advance and frozen, and these labels act as a check on when the food was first frozen – they are so simple to use but so effective, I’m beginning to wonder how I ever managed without them”.

Count On It® labels are on sale in Lakeland stores nationwide and are also available in Lakeland’s brochure and online at www.lakeland.co.uk. They are also available from www.count-on-it.co.uk

Lakeland’s Barbara Shepherd said: “Count On It® labels are one of a number of products we have introduced to help people reduce food wastage. We liked the no nonsense simplicity behind this product and how it can help people save money – foodies, mums and families will love it”.

For more ideas on how to get the best from your Count On It® labels visit www.count-on-it.co.uk

Another glowing endorsement - thanks Amy

I recently found this glowing endorsement from one of our lovely customers, Amy Lane on her blog, http://amylane.wordpress.com and thought I would share it with you, thanks Amy, I'm glad you like them.

How many of you have fridge full of half used jars of jams, pickles, sauces, salad dressings, mayonnaise etc. that you periodically get out, look at the label that says use within a month of opening, wrack your brains to remember when you opened it, and put it back deciding it’s best not to risk it? Then every few months have a clear out as you can’t fit anymore half used jars in there, wasting a load of food? Maybe you are all better organised than me, but up until a few months ago, this was definitely my routine!

Then I discovered ‘Count on it’ labels, bought a pack to try and now hardly ever waste food because I don’t know when I opened it. These little labels are brilliant - they have a surface that you can scratch off so you can record the day and month that you opened it (or if you are so inclined, the date it needs to be used by - man versus woman logic here!).

I use mine for all the jars in my fridge and also for leftover portions of food that I am freezing, my baking ingredients and home baked goodies destined for the freezer. As the surface can be scratched off in any place, I also scratch the initial of the child the food is for, as I often cook the baby food with less salt.

Another great thing about these labels is that they can be removed easily after use. I used to use plain labels and write on them with pen but they aren’t designed for this purpose and take a lot of scrubbing to remove them afterwards.

You can buy these great labels direct from the count on it website or from Lakeland and you can follow Lyndsey on twitter too.

Your Home magazine features Count On It labels

Your Home magazine, the 'Home of hundreds of great-value ideas for every room', www.yhmag.co.uk. has run a lovely little feature on Count On It labels in their Household Hints, Make Life Easy section. The feature which reads:
'What to look out for this month... These clever labels will remind you of when you opened jars and bottles stored in your fridge. Simply stick the label on and scratch off to mark the date you opened it and put an end to guessing whether products are past their best.'
Count On It labels, £1.95 for 25, Lakeland. Of course they are also available at www.count-on-it.co.uk. as well.

Discussions are also underway with other major high street retailers looking to stock Count On It labels ... we'll keep you posted.

Website revamped and relaunched

Count On It's website has now been fully revamp and relaunched ready for Count On It hitting the press and Lakeland's shelves in the new year. Thanks to Gary at Netronyx, the site is slicker and more user friendly and clearly shows the features and versatility of the product. The press campaign is well underway and with our new celebrity endorsement (more about this shortly), we are hopeful that Count On It will go from strength to strength. Feedback on site always welcome.

Photo shoot - Count On It get's the professional touch

Spent the day with photographer, John Hancock, taking photos of Count On It labels being used on a variety of products. Got some really nice shots, staged with fresh fruit, herbs, bread etc - all shot on Jenny's (PR lady's) black granite kitchen worktop. The photos are to be used in the press releases that Jenny is compiling and will be sent to all the regional press to let people know that Count On It is going to be at the East Midlands Food Festival. She has also been in touch with some consumer magazines to spread the news that Count On It is going to be launched in Lakeland in the New Year - so hopefully with the professional shots accompanying her releases, we will get some exposure - can't wait. Feels like the quite before the storm!

Lakeland - its official

Count On It food freshness labels, are to be on sale nationwide, online and in their Kitchen Ideas catalogue from January 2009. With such a great platform, the PR campaign is being developed to ensure that as many lifestyle and parenting press get to know all about Count On It and how it can help save food, time, waste and most importantly in our current climate - money. We are also taking a stand at the East Midlands Food and Drink festival on 4th and 5th October at Brooksby Hall, Melton Mowbray to ensure we keep up the local profile and benefit from the promotion from Teresa Bovey, local home economist, who is presenting at the event. October should be a busy time and I can't wait.

Lakeland - Count On It on shelves in January 2009