fransknorge

I buy and eat this product regularly.
They are healthy: the list of ingredients fits on a stamp, no additives, no preservatives, no chemicals. They are gluten free also. The paste is made of dates and crushed nuts (cashew mostly). The proteins are pea, rice protein and egg white powder. The flavour comes from the actual ingredients: cherry, cacao, dried lemon zests.
Examples:

NWIFlyer

I'm not sure you'd ever know or notice unless you frequented a lounge very frequently. We know at the moment there's a beer promotion with Meantime cans on offer in the F lounge (and maybe elsewhere in Galleries?). That's supplemented by some advertising around the display iirc.

If you walked into a QF lounge in Melbourne, and they had something similar with Victoria or Carlton breweries, would you actually know? Or would you just assume it was part of the normal offering?

BillyBleach

Pete,

It seems your view of fats is stuck in the Rosemary Connolly world of nutrition sometime back in 1985.

The low fat craze of the 80s and 90s was a disaster and resulted in stigmatising many good foods as being bad for us.

Essentially because there was not a very good understanding of the types of fats. Not all fats are created equally.

Unsaturated: Liquid at room temperature and generally considered heart healthy. Found in plants like nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and seafood.
Saturated: Solid at room temperature and found in animal foods, like meat and butter, as well as coconut and palm oil. Often deemed unhealthy for your heart, but research is equivocal. "Some sources are actually good for us," says Brianna Elliott, RD, a nutritionist based in St. Paul, Minn.
Trans: Liquid fats made solid through a process called hydrogenation. Found in fried foods, baked goods, and processed snack foods. These were banned from the food supply in 2015. They'll be gone this year.

Protein balls are made from plant based foods that contain unsaturated fats.

corporate-wage-slave

So if looking at the same weight, it's got more fat, more sugar and more salt than (say) a Bourbon biscuit! I'm not entirely convinced.

PETER01

I'm definitely not in every week but once a month long haul since January and a few ET/CE trips and genuinely curious now that this thread has started.

If I walked into any lounge including QF, I've done a couple but a few years ago, I wouldn't wan't to see anything similar, it just doesn't look right to me and whether or not that's the norm for QF I don't really know but that's my view on these sort of stands.

I believe in some non BA lounges they have high end designer shopping available but that would tie more into a premium product not something like the Protein Balls type stand and I still agree with the OP, very tacky looking but I appreciate that others think the opposite.

ttama

Why do you say we have a misplaced understanding of a lounge? That sounds extremely patronising. Generally, our understanding will be based on our experiences across many lounges, and how the lounge is 'sold' to us by the supplier.

Based on my experience, turning a lounge into a commercial /promotional space is not common, and it's not how BA 'sell' it to their customers.

So I would say that it's you that has the misplaced understanding of what a lounge is.

Personally I think it's tacky. It reminds me of the promotional freebies that get handed out at commuter train stations.

The lounge experience is part of our ticket or status. If BA want to offer branded goods to their customers as part of a promotion or commercial agreement with the supplier they should stock it as a normal item, not have a promotional stand

And if, as you imply, BA cannot afford to offer a premium service in their premium lounges, given their annual profits, something is very very wrong.

dodgeflyer

The problem with this is that it contains roughly half the sugar an adult man should eat per day. 2x of this and you exceed your required intake. Any excess sugar is what converts to fat. Whilst eating "fat" is not bad for you (cf: BillyBleach above), people tend to eat food high in sugar too which then converts to fat.

EuropeanPete

I'm really not sure how you can imply that from my post. I merely pointed out that these "protein" balls were not actually what you would want to eat if you were trying to eat food with a reasonable amount of protein in it: There are over twice as many calories from fat and calories from carbs as there are from protein. Fat has its place, as do carbohydrates, but you're better off eating these protein balls if you want mainly carbohydrates or fat.

I will leave it to each individual to decide what is an appropriate amount of each macro-nutrient for them to eat.

Steve_ZA

As said by CWS, drinks promotions are generally better received than this and certainly the Samsung one and I think for the most part they are a bit more subtle. The beer and cider event last summer (was it that long ago?) being a notable exception.

I would have no problem if they stuck a few boxes out next to the crisps with some smaller signs promoting the goods.

LondonElite

There is no need for the average person on a healthy diet to consume any more protein. In fact, most people already consume too much protein. Protein balls? Please give me a break.

EuropeanPete

I do think that is the difference between product placement and turning the lounge a giant billboard. BA's decided that it makes sense to monetise their lounge audiences to the maximum possible which probably does in a strict ROI basis make sense (what are you going to do, go sit outside of the lounge? Great) but which will have a reputational impact on a business which is already struggling on the brand front.

thebigben

I'll gracefully accept free stuff. That's why I'm in a Lounge, after all. Although I seem to be allergic to all of those protein balls, sadly.

I find that approach much more honest than probably having a deal with Diageo for Johnny Walker Blue in order to promote it as a "top shelf" product in the CCR.

What gets you is not the ads, it's the ads you don't think are ads.

BillyBleach

It all depends on the lifestyle you're living. If you're living a highly active (gym multiple times a week, weightlifting, etc), extra protein is a necessity for both muscle growth and muscle recovery. The sports nutrition market is booming at the moment.

That said, I accept the average visitor to the GF lounge is not in that demographic

Steve_ZA

Those ads suit me perfectly . That's why the Apple logo on all their laptops is upside down for the user but the right way up for anyone sitting opposite them. Clever marketing/advertising is fine, no need to shout about it.

LondonElite

Possibly, but just because that market is booming doesn't mean it is a healthy lifestyle choice. Your kidneys don't like too much protein. (No, I am not a doctor, nor do I play doctor at home.)