To decide not to buy Heck sausages after "The Fixer" last night.

[higgle]

I presume the Keebles family who run this business thought that by being on The Fixer with the seriously lovely Alex Polizzi people would want to buy more of their stupidly named sausages. The whole programme made me decide never to try them. This hugely self entitled family lived the high life in a rented farmhouse, drove around in a Range Rover and felt they should enjoy a seriously large income from making sausages and selling them to Tesco and others. They employed their daughter who couldn't be bothered to get up in the mornings as head of marketing (aged 18) and their son who hadn't got a clue, and clearly demonstrated that selling to a school catering business was beneath him.

Their marketing philosophy seemed to involve making video clips of themselves doing twatish things like rolling down hills and giggling. They spent time deciding whether people were "Heck" or "not Heck" The whole thing was like Pedlars doing food.

So, please not I will not be contributing to support your Joules/Boden/Aga type rural idlyl with my sausage shopping money, I'll continue to buy from the nice "Black Farmer". IABU?

Debbie they way you describe your son makes me think that the BBC have a lot to answer for in they way they portrayed him.

Debbiekeeble - I have bought your sausages in the past (your previous brand), and would love to try your new ones and offer feedback.

I thought the programme was good - I watched it after reading the start of this thread, and was expecting something quite different. As the proud owner of two teenagers and one former teenager myself, I thought your two did as well as I'd expect most teens to do in those situations - and actually, I liked the fact that they both did want to be involved in the family business. Yes, they have a lot to learn - but didn't we all, at that age?

I would love to send who ever is up for it a pack of sausages in return for some feedback - constructive criticism only please!

My constructive feedback is you're right, that is a moment of madness . So I'll pass on the free Heck sausages, I'm sure they're lovely, but sending free samples might be a logistical nightmare.

I understood the reasoning behind the Heck name when you explained it on the programme. I also noted that you'd already bought loads of packaging so there wasn't much you could do about it until it ran out.

DH bought a thousand carrier bags. Maybe more because that was the deal. He sweated over the choice and thickness of paper, shiny finish or matte, colour, size of print and where the address should go, string handles or leather ones - leather ones look great but they were cheaper because he got them as off-cuts from shoe manufacturers who were otherwise going to throw them.

They were right. But if he'd have made a mistake with the branding, what was he supposed to do, chuck them out and buy more? I don't think people understand how easy it is to make a mistake, how expensive these mistakes can be and how you have to swallow them and learn.

But if you want tips have a look at Innocent. I don't know whether they still do it - smoothies aren't my drink of choice - but the labels used to carry little messages about the brand and their ethos. They've also explained that Innocent describes the 'purity' of the product and the fact that they were innocents in business.

I spoke to Richard Reed, one of the founders, and he joked that it was his job to come up with those messages that probably delighted and annoyed people in equal measure. But it was part of their identity and they're all very rich now. And they give things back.

I'm a Sainsbury's Taste The Difference or the Sainsbury's own brand that's a step down from that in the paper packet. Premium brands are sometimes a bit too spicy and meaty. But I'll give Heck a try - Cumberland or pork and herb only. I'm a conservative sausage eater.

I think you and Andrew came over well. So did your children. I don't know what some MNetters expect of young people today. At 18 I was similar to your daughter and it took a while for it to dawn that work wasn't just a means of getting enough money to buy clothes and go out but that my employer wasn't being unreasonable in expecting me to come in on time without a hangover and actually do some.

Somehow I've managed to become a respectable middle-aged lady. Good luck. Nice house, btw

limited Innocent have expanded into doing little pots of microwavable food. Some have “suitable for vegetarians & vegans & vulcans (logically)“ on. I was so amused by that, I bought one on offer in Tesco. (It was nice, as well.)

queentilly I used to buy Stiff records because I loved the artists. This does age me.

But what I liked almost as much as Nick Lowe or Elvis Costello were the hand-scratched messages in the run-out. Bit labour-intensive but still...

Fair play to you for coming on and defending yourself. I think your kids got a raw deal in the edit but from the BBC's point of view the parking fine thing was too good to pass up (make HIM pay!!!)

Good luck with the sausages, we buy premium brand sausages but haven't tried yours yet.

debbiekeebleheck - wow, you're brave coming on here and answering your critics!! We watched the show last night and I have to agree with others about your son's parking fines - outrageous! I hope he's got the message now that that is just not good behaviour!
For what it's worth, I thought your packaging was nice - kind of retro in a modern way, if that makes sense? As camping fans, we love a good sausage (insert your own jokes here!) and will be trying yours the next time we're at Tesco - good luck with it all, I hope that appearing on The Fixer works well for the company!

I agree with others that if you struggle to condense the meaning behind why 'Heck' then it's going to be difficult to get it across on your packaging.

I do like the notions of free range, fair price to farmers etc so I think you need to put the ethics in a predominant place on the packaging.

Have a look at dr bronner's magic soap. Their packaging is completely crazy with loads of quotes (it's bathroom reading at it's finest and most bizarre) but it's a good example of just how much info you can get onto packaging.

Good luck, if you ever branch out into veggie sausages I'd be interested!

Debbie, you are one ballsy gal!
You have gone up in my estimation, not that you were ever down as I have always bought your sausages and the previous D&A ones.

I thought the branding of the sausages was really good actually. I like the packaging and will definitely look out for them. Yes the children did come out of the programme looking a bit clueless but none of us know what was lost in the edit.

I wish them luck, I enjoyed the programme.

Is Heck that bad of a name? I don't see why, it's certainly proved a talking point!

Limited, my friend just wrote a book about Stiff Records, just thought I'd throw that in there!

Debbie - Ive sent you a PM.
We will come and collect the sausages if that helps!!

Oooh! Don't know how this missed my radar because I know them!! Off to watch the iplayer thingie before I pass judgement/opinion though...

(I liked those run-out messages too, but surely they only had to scratch the master copy, so not that labour intensive)

Kudos to Debbie for posting

Yes, Debbie, you are brave. The whole programme, looking back seemed very strange to me. They put you forward as being somewhat gormless amateurs in the business but the "Debbie and Andrew" sausages mean that you have done exactly the same previously with great success. Our Tesco has your sausages, Debbie and Andrew and Black Farmer side by side as premium range. So, after your original success why did you need help from Alex on the very basic things she advised you on? I suppose that the real need for advice would be what to do next once you are successful rather than how to start.

The programme suggested you were seriously in debt and were living in style , but again that doesn't really seem to be true if you had a turn over of £3m. You may not be the sort of people that the programme ( perhaps through editing) made you out to be but the rolling down the hill, "Who is Heck /who isn't" parking fines and Ellie's attitude to getting up, saying that it was easier to work for you family created a very negative image of the brand.

From the image point of view ( and I'm another vegetarian, so I only buy sausages fro my family, not for me, and they have to be gluten free, which yours are) I still prefer Black Farmer, he has the sense to go on about being raised in a two bedroomed house in a poor bit of Birmingham as part of a family of 11, which makes you want to root for him.

Did enjoy watching and shouting at the telly. Love these programmes as I work in a family business, its nice to see how we stack up. I'm sure Alex would have lots of advice for us too.

I'm sure the editing is designed to make the viewing amusing not necessarily to make the family look like saints. But what had me shouting was definitely the difference between the Heck younger generation and my own experience being brought into the family business. Too much too soon and little need to prove their abilities.

Good luck to Heck, I don't like sausages so wont be buying but I wish you all the success you and your product deserves Debbie.

Why did rolling down the hill create a negative image?

Debbie, another one here who thinks you have more courage than others to have your family 'life' put on air for the world to see.

I agree with the others, though, that, if your son has a parking fine, he should pay it himself. How will he develop a sense of how to manage money or even be thrifty if the need arises or when his parents are no longer at his finger tips? He also needs to learn how to present himself when trying to make your company look good. I might be old fashioned but, if I were running a company and he came to sell me your product, I would wonder where his tie was for a start.

As for your daughter, she came over as rather out of her depth. It was as if she were shy or didn't want to say anything that would make her look silly so she tried to keep her mouth shut. The thing here, also, was the fact that she rolled out of bed at a time that suited her not at a time that was necessary for the company. I also found it rather hard to understand what she was saying because she didn't open her mouth enough to enable better enunciation.

There need to be some ground rules set in place where their money and habits are concerned.

I would love to be put down for a pack of your sausages but do all Tesco branches stock your sausages or just the stores near where you are based? However you sort out your offer, I would suggest that vouchers are given out for a pack rather than giving out a pack. you would save on postage / courier then because you could e-mail the voucher to Mumsnetters. I would also suggest that you have a limit of, say, first 150 to apply, otherwise you'd have nothing to send to Tesco and be back where you were before AP!

Debbie I do have a question for you.

Why, when your daughter was laughing about having crashed her car into the firm's van, didn't anyone either bawl her out about it, tell her she'd have to pay to get it all fixed, or at least tell her firmly how inappropriate it was to be laughing about it?

Maybe a simplistic question, but I thought it came across really badly. She looked like a spoilt brat.

I just know if my daughter had done this I would have yelled the place down!

It is fascinating watching the way that scenes are clearly orchestrated and then edited to fit with the required projection of the producers! Admittedly my "I know them" is more "friends of friends/passing acquaintance from parties" - but even I can see that the dear old BBC has done a fine job of making it all about pulling people down and sensationalising aspects of their lives for the sake of viewing figures! I'd like to think that sales have rocketed though!

I do tend to avoid such programmes as it saddens (and sickens) me how tv seems to be becoming nothing more than a way of creating massive divides amongst society. A friend of my younger sister and brother was on Living with the Amish. He and his family were hideously distorted into caricatures containing only a vague shadow of the actual person behind. Presumably the fact that he was a really lovely boy (with distinctly average teenage angst) who just happened to go to Eton was not deemed good viewing, so they turned his parents into emotionally distant rambling eccentrics and the son into a troubled soul clearly irretrievably damaged by his distastefully privileged upbringing.

I enjoyed the programme. I also appreciate that the editing of the programme is usually designed to bring out the extremes of personality. It is about ratings and entertainment after all.

I actually purchased the sausages a few weeks ago and I really liked them. The flavour was lovely and the packaging was noticeable and stands out.

My only suggestion would be to deduct any parking fines from your Son's salary. This is a sure fire way of changing his behavior.

The voucher is a grand idea. Don't bother sending me one as I buy the product weekly anyway.

That would make more sense TheSilveryPussycat

I like to imagine someone with a pin scratching out a personal message to me.