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Grocery Guru Ep 23: A Partnership Between Tesco and BMW – The Every Little Helps Car.
Join Andrew Grant and Darren A. Smith in the twenty-third episode of the Grocery Guru discussing the partnership between Tesco and BMW to launch the Every Little Helps car. The BMW Series 1 ELH.
You Can Read the Full Tesco and BMW Partnership Episode Transcript Below:
Darren A Smith :
Welcome to the weekly episode, that is the Grocery Guru. This is the episode number 23. And we’re here with Andrew, our Grocery Guru. Andrew how are you?
Andrew Grant :
Morning Darren, you well?. Happy Easter.
Andrew Grant :
Thank you, you too. Yes, we’ve got four days off soon. Now the news, been a bit slower of late. What have we got in our postbag for this week?
Andrew Grant :
A couple of things. I mean, there’s talk of an Asda price war, that they’re trying to match Aldi a little bit. How many times have you heard of a grocery price war that wasn’t really a price war. So maybe we just jump over that until more develops. The other interesting thing I saw though, and I’m amazed it’s not got more publicity actually, but a tie up between BMW and Tesco.
Darren A Smith :
BMW cars, and Tesco? Okay. [crosstalk 00:00:52]
Andrew Grant :
Yeah, they’re going to collaborate on the world’s most recycled, recyclable green car.
Darren A Smith :
Wow. [crosstalk 00:01:01]. I mean Tesco is big, but BMW is huge. That’s quite a coup for them to land that.
Andrew Grant :
Well, it’s going to be the BMW ELH – the every little helps.
Darren A Smith :
[laughing] Brilliant.Andrew Grant :
Think about it. They’re going to build it from all Tesco’s packaging waste. So you think of how many tin cans Tesco get threw and remember a tin can isn’t tin it’s steel.
Darren A Smith :
Yes quite so.
Andrew Grant :
How many, how many plastic bottles? So it’s going to be built from all recycled packaging, which is obviously good for the planet, but even more interesting, it’s going to run off bio ethanol produced from Tesco’s food waste. So you’ll, you’ll sort of pop up to the supermarket quite how they’ll do the practicalities I don’t know but presume you pop up to the petrol filling station, it will be a bio ethanol pump and you fill it up with bio ethanol. So you’ve got a pretty much hundred percent recycled car running off totally clean fuel. I thought it was brilliant.
Darren A Smith :
This is a bit like the McDonald’s restaurant vans that run off biodiesel. So it must be something similar. So it is very possible to make this happen. Wow. Okay. Okay
Andrew Grant :
Yeah. No, but I think this is bio ethanol. So ethanol is pure alcohol, isn’t it?
Darren A Smith :
Yeah
Andrew Grant :
Whereas the McDonald’s stuff runs off old chip fat.
Darren A Smith :
That’s it? That’s it. That’s what I was getting at.
Andrew Grant :
I think I’ll chip fat still puts lots of fumes in the air. Whereas if you think about burning pure alcohol, ethanol.
Darren A Smith :
Yeah.
Andrew Grant :
I don’t think there are any emissions. So it’s about as green as it gets.
Darren A Smith :
So are we thinking that this car that they’re talking about, is going to be Tesco branded [inaudible 00:02:47] Tesco badge ELH or just BMW ELH?
Andrew Grant :
No, no, I don’t think they’d go as far as a Tesco car. I mean, they got as far as the HUDL tablet, didn’t they? A few years ago.
Darren A Smith :
Yes they did
Andrew Grant :
No this is going to be, from what I can gather, a one series BMW, but badged as the ELH the, the every little helps. I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of Tesco branding other than it’s built from Tesco packaging and runs off Tesco fuel. [crosstalk 00:03:20]
Darren A Smith :
It’s a bit like I remember the Champagne buyer for Tesco talking some years ago about Champagne. Tesco is very small on the label. Obviously you don’t want Tesco big on something like that. So, okay I get it. All right.
Andrew Grant :
You could imagine that Tesco might be slightly reticent, a reasonable brand image, but I could see a Range Rover Waitrose, for example, that’ll worked for me.
Darren A Smith :
Well what about a Colt Robin Reliant?
Andrew Grant :
Well that’s showing your age, Darren. How about, if you think of the Germans, an Audi Aldi or an Aldi. That’ll work
Darren A Smith :
And some people pronounce the two the same anyway.
Andrew Grant :
Exactly. So an Aldi, that’d work for me, I’m not sure what other types are there? hmm
Darren A Smith :
Well I am thinking about, from a category management perspective, the brand, is there nowhere that these brands can’t go? So Tesco have obviously gone into the bank for instance, many, many years ago, they go into cars. I mean, is there any way that the brand can’t extend into? So they’ve gone into mobile networks. Is it just unforgiving unrelentless it’s everywhere?
Andrew Grant :
I can remember sitting in brainstorms 20 years ago as you do and they say, we we want to be the whole of life provider.
Darren A Smith :
Yes.
Andrew Grant :
So they need to start to talk about funeral care. I mean, the Co-op managed to do a really good business in funeral care. Whereas you’d think from category management, how do you sell that?
Darren A Smith :
Yes,
Andrew Grant :
Not the easiest thing to sell.
Darren A Smith :
And not only did Co-op go into it but they’re the biggest provider in the land of it, so they did very, very well extending the brand into there. So you’ve got a brand that’s becoming mobile phone, it’s becoming bank, is becoming cars. I mean, wow. Is there nowhere it can’t go?
Andrew Grant :
You know, we talked, was it two episodes ago about Amazon going into delivering your prescriptions?
Darren A Smith :
Yes.
Andrew Grant :
Yeah so all of a sudden Amazon, in terms of knowing everything about you now knows exactly what ailments you’ve got. So the next obvious thing is if Amazon realize that you’re about to pop your clogs because of the number of pills you’ve ordered is, order your Amazon coffin
Darren A Smith :
[Laughter] Well, here’s your funeral care and also here’s your will that you need to write as well. [crosstalk 00:05:47] Leave us 10%. Sorry, go on.Andrew Grant :
Just going back to the start. I can’t wait. I think I’m going to order the finest version. I believe there’s three versions of this ELH. There’s a value, a standard, and the finest. A BMW ELH finest. Second-grade
Darren A Smith :
I mean, and if you’ve got your club card points and you’re in your Tesco car and you’ve got the bank , you’ve got the whole thing going on. It’s not long before. They’ve got to do more digitally. You talked about HUDL with tablets. Maybe we need a Tesco laptop, Tesco original films and TV.
Andrew Grant :
Yeah. Yeah. Who knows? So a brave new world out there Darren.
Darren A Smith :
And so it is. All right. All right. So a 60-second summary, and then we’ll leave our viewers to enjoy their Easter and we’ll talk next week. What’s our summary, Andrew.
Andrew Grant :
Well, I think it is, everybody have a happy Easter. I’d put your order in for your BMW ELH now. I’m not sure if we’re allowed to advertise, but from a personal perspective, sounds like a fantastic idea.
Darren A Smith :
Lovely, lovely. Every little helps.
Darren A Smith :
Okay, right. Thank you, everyone. 1st of April. We shall see you next week on about the 8th of April. You have a good Easter. Take care Goodbye.
Take a look at the Tesco ELH Car video on our YouTube Channel. Also, check out our award-winning blog.
