Last week, I got my first Flavourly ‘gourmet food’ box. I’ve always been a little skeptical about subscription boxes, since I’ve been stung before with tiny sample size items and generally rubbish quality, for pretty high prices. However, someone sent me a link to the Flavourly site, and I liked the focus on ‘Makers’, so thought I’d give it a go.
Delivered once a month, the team selects products from over 500 of the best artisan producers in the UK, all of which are small-batch independents.
At £17/month plus P&P (which drops to £16 when you sign up for a 3 month subscription, £15 for a 6 Month and just £14 for a year), you get sent a box PACKED full of 12 amazing snacks or ingredients.
The sign up process allows you personalise your selection, choosing whether you’re vegetarian, if you prefer to cook from scratch or keep it simple, savoury or sweet, which snacks you prefer, your preference of drinks, spice levels and more. You’re then offered up a ‘Better for Snackers’ box or a ‘Better for Cooks’. The make-up is pretty similar, both boxes include infused oils, condiments and sweet treats, whereas the ‘Snackers’ one contains cereals, crisps and gourmet popcorn, and the ‘Cooks’ one has jams & spreads, sugars & spices and savoury snacks.
The tone of voice is *really* cool throughout (it reminds me of Citymapper); really getting across how much they love their business – and the little touches make all the difference. The personalised letter below, with the name of the person who packed it, was really sweet.
Best of all, sent along with each month’s box, is an introduction to all of the Producer. This is then reflected online, where selected companies are profiled, and the full list for each month is posted.
You can then buy more of the products sent to you in the Flavourly Marketplace, which lets you search by category, food or producer, and offers free delivery for orders over £25.
The August box was a real treat; the Joe & Seph’s salted caramel popcorn was first to go, and I was pleased to see Soffle’s pitta chips in there too. Funnily enough, I enjoyed the Soffle’s *way* more than when I reviewed them before. I think maybe the batch I’d had previously had been cooked for longer, so were a little tougher to eat.
I’m yet to cook with this awesome Kent’s Kitchen Thai Red meal kit, but can’t wait. The chilli oil, coconut chips were both delicious, and most importantly, the quality of the products is super high.
My absolute stand out hero items were Laura Santtini’s Taste #5 Umami paste. Laura is the daughter of the founders of SANTINI Belgravia, famed for being Frank Sinatra’s favourite London restaurant. Umami is a complex flavouring; only recognised in the past 100 years at the fifth type of taste. I went to her website and found lots of recipes for adding it to dips, so tried the Quick Umami Hummus, and was insanely impressed. More to come I think.
The other was the Organic Coconut sugar from Coconom, which is a completely natural alternative to sugar made entirely from the flower blossoms (not the “coconutâ€) of the coconut tree. Coconom Coconut sugar is a natural source of trace nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron and amino acids, and basically tastes like heaven. I added mine to porridge after reading this, and it was perfect – a caramel-like taste, with no empty calories.
Roll on next month!
