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Adjusting to Fit Consumers Needs Author

A 22-year-old senior in
10/30/2020 0 Comments
college who enjoys
cooking and studying
how people
communicate.

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2020
It’s no secret that we are in the middle of a global pandemic right now. Many businesses are suffering 2021
and adapting to fit not only the needs of their own, but also of their consumers. There has been so ALDI
much concern for identifying what is safe, and where the largest risks are in regards to leaving your BlueApron
home. Grocery shopping is something that has been in question from the beginning of the pandemic Chef
in March. To move away from risking exposure, many consumers started looking into alternatives to Cook
grocery shopping by getting them delivered or going through a grocery pickup. Grocery delivery and Delivery
pickup are still both relatively new, but I feel like every time I go to the store, there are more and more Food
reserved parking spots for grocery pickup. A few stores who are implementing at least one of these Foodie
services include ALDI, Walmart and Hy-Vee. Plus, I am seeing more apps like Shipt and Dumpling pop Food Network
up. Food Network Star
Grocery Delivery
Over the summer Target, my everyday go-to, took their crack at grocery pickup. They tested it out in a Grocerypickup
couple locations before bringing it to the Midwest. By Christmas, their goal is to have grocery pickup Grocery Store
available in over 1,000 stores. As there is a service fee for most of these kinds of services, Target is Growth
going to charge $10 per order. They are also giving customers the option to pay an upfront fee of $100 Influencer
for a year-long of unlimited orders. Online sales are on the rise, and Target’s team is keeping a close Jyll Everman
eye to see how they perform amongst their competitors. Looking through the lens of a Target PR New
professional, this was a good move for them to make considering the circumstances at hand because Openings
it shows how they care about their consumers and that they want them to remain safe. By Pickup
implementing a pickup system, customers can still confidentially utilize Target’s services, and in a Subscription
perfect world, Target will not lose out on sales. Target
Thanksgiving
I have mentioned this before in a previous blog, but I do not have my own car on my campus. Thanksgiving2020
Therefore I have actually used Shipt before to deliver groceries to my apartment from Meijer. The Turkey
whole process was hassle free! My shopper was a strong communicator, so I was in the loop the entire
time. I would highly recommend trying out a delivery or pickup service, especially right now. When
could a better time possibly come?
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Thanksgiving On Your Doorstep? Oh the

Opportunities!
10/30/2020 0 Comments

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Google Image
search.

The holiday season is surely the best time of the year. There is lots of family time, listening to music,
traditions of rewatching A Christmas Story before bed, gorgeous snowy weather, and delicious food.
Let’s be real though, for as much fun as this time is, sometimes it is rather hard avoiding holiday stress.
Hosting family for a holiday meal entails so much preparation. In my house growing up it was always
an all hands on deck ordeal. This guide tells you exactly when you should start the different elements
of a Thanksgiving meal to help alleviate some of the stress. But have you ever wondered to yourself,
what if there was an easier way?

Well good news! Thanks to Blue Apron, there is! Blue Apron is a meal delivery service that brings a box
full of fresh ingredients necessary for complete meals with recipe cards directly to your house. This
company targets people who have tight schedules, and do not have a lot of extra time left in a day to
cook a meal from scratch. However, they still value healthy eating. Blue Apron works on a subscription
system, and there are different levels depending on how many servings and prices. For the first time
ever, Blue Apron is offering a complete Thanksgiving meal for eight delivered directly to your house.
All you have to do is follow the foolproof instructions and cook the food. All of the recipes are
formulated for an easy process by their team of professional chefs! Could Thanksgiving get any easier?

Meal delivery kits are currently trending as there is a growing market for them. In order for Blue Apron
to raise awareness for their brand, they have turned to influencers. For those who are not familiar with
influencers, or maybe you have heard the term but are not really sure what they are, influencers are
individuals who have a partnership with a brand to which they share similar goals and interests. The
whole goal is for influencers to show off the products and encourage their followers to engage with
the brand they are representing. A way that Blue Apron is standing out is that they are not only
reaching a broad audience through their own socials, but they are actually researching and targeting
specific audiences through social media. This article shows how Blue Apron picked three different
influencers who are a part of three different communities on Instagram. They are Miss. Mustard Seed
for entrepreneurs, Drea Evans for parents, and Jillian Rippolone for diabetes. This was a smart move
on Blue Apron’s part because each of these women already have an established community of
followers who trust what they say, and are more likely to interact with Blue Apron.

I have never personally ordered from Blue Apron, but I sure want to in the near future!

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Finding Success in 2020

10/2/2020 0 Comments

Photo credit to the Weebly photo search engine.

I have to say, grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities. I genuinely look forward to when it is
time to go to the store. This could spur from not having my own car on campus, but there is
something about going grocery shopping that makes me happy. I prepare myself by making a list of
general necessities such as produce, plain yogurt, cheese, bread, milk; the boring items. What I do not
plan out is all of the extras! Walking up and down the aisles sparks my creative chord and I come up
with meal plans from what I find during that particular trip. This strategy normally drives whoever I
am with nuts, but it is the best way to do it. Living in Bloomington-Normal gives me an array of
choices when it comes to grocery shopping, but ALDI is hands down my favorite place to shop at.

ALDI has recently developed a strong reputation for extremely reasonable priced, quality items.
Before, ALDI was seen as a budget-store, and for a while it was not considered cool to shop
there. Even my dad was someone who was anti-ALDI until he was tricked into eating ALDI snack mix.
He literally used to call himself an ALDI Snob, but now goes at least twice a week, if not more often. A
misconception among a lot of people is that ALDI does not provide products that are held to high
standards just because they are not a name brand. The reality of it though is that ALDI pays less for
their marketing in efforts to keep production costs low and to keep employee’s salaries high. There is
rumor that many of ALDI's products are made in the same factory as some name brands. ​

ALDI is rapidly growing, and the burden of the pandemic has not slowed their success. By 2021, the
cooperation plans to open 70 new stores. This is huge because many stores are struggling to keep
their doors open beyond this year. Additionally, ALDI is not making a big deal about this achievement,
which I think says a lot about their humble reputation. ALDI really does make the effort to stick by
their word to provide products of value, while keeping prices low and it is paying off. If their
customers were not happy with the way the stores were operating, there would not be a push for
expansion.

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Cooking Classes: COVID Style

10/2/2020 0 Comments

Photo credit to Google Search Images

​One of my favorite childhood memories is convincing my mom to let me stay up “just a little longer”
so I could squeeze one of her favorite shows in, Worst Cooks in America. Since I wanted to avoid
going to bed, rather frequently I would ask if I could watch it with her. When I was lucky, she said yes!
From doing so, I ended up finding a new interest for watching cooking shows. I was introduced to
basic cooking skills, I saw how people problem-solved, and l learned strategies on how to work on a
deadline. A few top picks from my TV repertoire growing up consisted of Hannah Montana, Gilmore
Girls, and Chopped. So, you can probably guess how geeked I was to find out that I had an opportunity
to take a virtual cooking class with Jyll Everman, a previous Food Network Star contestant. Jyll was on
Season 7 of the show on the Food Network. As she did not win, she did make it quite far into the
competition.

​Jyll’s cooking class was a three-part series ran by Illinois State University’s University Program Board.
These classes were held via Zoom, and better yet, they were free! The UPB even took time to gather
ingredient lists for each menu item, wrote out the recipes step by step, and posted all of the
information you would need to Facebook. This way, if you chose to cook along with Jyll, you were
ready to go. I decided to just watch and take notes.

Jyll was so personable through her cooking, which I appreciate. I felt like I was hanging out with an old
friend as she spoke, and she welcomed questions. She taught us how to cook a Tuscan tortellini soup,
cheesy biscuits, and cannoli dip from scratch. Oh my lanta; my mouth was watering the entire hour!
Jyll gave us her personal tips on how to cut certain vegetables, how to know when a pan is hot enough
to add food into, and to never salt anything until the very end. We even got the inside scoop of her
time at the Food Network!

Having the opportunity to learn from a chef firsthand from the comfort of my apartment was an
opportunity I can’t take for granted. Sure, it was not in person, but 2020 is weird; we need to find the
little joys in life! Plus, this class was so interactive, it almost did not matter. It is so cool seeing what
adjustments the events and entertainment industry is making during such a strange time.

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Getting to Know Trader Joe's Cousins

9/18/2020 0 Comments

When I was seven years old, I begged my mom to take me to the orthodontist to be evaluated. With
an upper left snaggletooth, I was basically the poster child for orthodontic work. Every few weeks my
mom and I took rides into Glen Ellyn to get my wires tightened. I never looked forward to it, but I
always knew something good would come out of the appointment. After every trip to the
orthodontist, my mom would take me to Trader Joe’s!

Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite companies to support. Personally, I have never had a poor
experience at one of their stores. This is a company that values strong customer service and the
customer’s needs are always put first. The employees engage with customers, always have smiles on
their faces, and are more than happy to help anyone at any time. Trader Joe’s as a whole creates a
friendly atmosphere to shop in. This is why I was surprised to see Trader Joe’s in the headlines over
the summer.

The majority of the products sold in a Trader Joe’s store are of their own brand. They have a variety of
choices in their products, including international lines. The Mexican cuisine branding is called Trader
José and Italian products are referred to as Trader Giotto’s. Trader Joe’s has had these products named
this way for years as a part of their marketing. It was not until recently during the current Black Lives
Matter movement that these titles were questioned. An adolescent created a petition to have Trader
Joe’s rebrand these lines.

Trader Joe’s responded and said they were aware of the petition, but have no plans in place to change
anything. This is just one incident of how they were perceived from the public. It is important to note
that having fun with naming their products does not reflect on how the company's treats any
employee or customer. This petition was made purely on how they were seen, not on the company’s
innocent actions.

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Five Simple Pantry Essentials

9/18/2020 0 Comments

Dorm Food. Those are two words I honestly am ok with never hearing again. Was it all bad? No. Is it
something that I crave when I get hungry? Absolutely not. Part of what makes a meal good is a solid
foundation to it, which a lot of dorm food lacked. Many times by implementing some of these simple
pantry essentials into your meals, it can make a world’s difference. These are some of the pantry
essentials every home chef should keep on hand in order to take their food to the next level.

1. Olive oil - I love olive oil. I use it for everything. I use olive oil to cook down vegetables before
putting them into sauces. Additionally, I pop my own popcorn on the stove and I prefer olive
oil over other oils. Olive oil does not leave a strong oily taste to the popcorn, plus it is also a
healthier option! Double win. Check out this article to find out the differences between olive
oil and vegetable oil.
2. Onions - The vegetable that is known to make you cry, I promise, makes everything taste
better. One of my favorite things to do when I am grocery shopping is to purchase a couple of
premade items to have on hand for nights that I have a busier schedule to save time out of the
kitchen. I like adding fresh onions to items such as heatable pulled pork to make it a step up.
3. Garlic - Minced garlic is my go to for many meals. It is so good roasted on the stove and makes
a great addition to sauces, marinades for meat, and to top off flatbreads with.
4. Salt - You can get as fancy as you want when it comes to salt, but you do need to have some to
work with. Options can range from kosher salt, sea salt, and most commonly, table salt. You
can see here the 12 types of salt you can purchase to use in your cooking! I personally like to
use sea salt in cooking, but use table salt when baking.
5. Pepper - Just like salt, you can get fancy with pepper. I personally like just the kind you can
shake while cooking, and then cracking fresh peppercorns on top of completed meals.

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It's Nice to Meet You!

9/18/2020 0 Comments

Hello everyone -

My name is Kellie, and I am from a suburb just west of Chicago named Lombard. In 2017, I packed up

my childhood room, and moved to Normal, Illinois to attend Illinois State University. The time I have

spent in Normal has been a whirlwind. It is so strange to think my time at ISU is almost completed, but

the future excites me. As my graduation approaches this upcoming May, I will be on the hunt for jobs in

promotions and event planning. Ideally, I will become an Event Coordinator at a venue planning

weddings, reunions, bar mitzvahs, Sweet 16’s; you name it. I currently intern at WZND Radio. This is

Illinois State University’s student-operated radio station. I serve as the General Manager who oversees

everyday operations and the board of directors.

I hope this blog serves as a resource for those seeking the in’s of cooking. I am in no way professionally

trained, but my mom did give me full reign of our kitchen starting at eight years old! I love tweaking

recipes and playing with ingredients in my refrigerator to see what I can create. In addition to tips and

recipes, I will be blogging about the changes and news in the food industry through a communication

lens.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

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