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2021-2022 Voice and Tone Guide
2021-2022 Voice and Tone Guide

Jan Newberry

Voice

Start with the consumer benefit. What are we doing for them? Speak with experience and compassion. The goal is to educate people without patronizing or confusing them.

Make sure that every word pulls its weight using an economy of language to inform and encourage with clarity, empathy, and wit.

All of this means that when we write copy:

We are plainspoken. We understand our customers live in a world muddled by hyperbolic language, upsells, and over-promises. We strip that away and replace it with clear and concise language.

We are genuine. We relate to customers’ challenges and passions and speak to them in a familiar, warm, and accessible way.

We are experts: It’s our job to remove the barriers to healthy eating, demystify nutrition, and the environmental impact of our work, and build trust with our customers to assure them that we make the right choices every time.

We’re smart but not snobbish. We prefer winking to shouting. We never condescend or are exclusive—we always bring our customers in on the joke.

Tone

When you’re writing, consider what action we want customers to take and what words you can use to get them to take that action.

Rely on verbs more than adjectives.

Prioritize benefits over features. The email is always focused on what the consumer wants.

Word Choice:

A few things we never say:

Foodie

Eatery

Curated

Chef Crafted

Words to sparingly:

Delicious

Healthy

Fresh

Convenient

Veggie

Nourish

Words to use instead:

Feel-good food/meals

Better for you

Good choices

Personalized

When talking about our meals, say that they are made, developed, or produced. Never designed.

Nutrition

While Territory was founded as a paleo meal service, we are now moving away from messaging that’s specific to diets and talking to a broader audience interested in eating healthier food but don’t want to spend too much time worrying about what exactly that is. We still offer meals to cater to specific diets—keto-friendly, paleo, Mediterranean diet, vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, Whole30, low fat, low carb, and mixitarian—but in general, we’re talking to an audience who cares most about simply being healthy-ish and trusts us to take care of the details. Our meals never contain gluten, dairy, refined sugars, or inflammatory oils.

We work with dietitians, not nutritionists

Speak to choices/what feels good to you/what your body wants

Explain eating trends in an approachable, casual way

Give credit when being authoritative, whether the source is a nutritionist, doctor, or chef

Balance facts and feelings

Speak to what’s on the plate, not what’s missing. For example plant-forward, nutrient-dense, high in protein, healthy fats.

Don’t

• Speak to dieting or restrictions (“low calorie,” “low fat”)

• Put down anyone’s food choices (including foods not available on Territory)

• Make assumptions based on gender or other identifying factors

• Be prescriptive about what is a good choice

Some Writing Tips:

1. Writer fresh. Avoid cliches. Never use a metaphor, simile, or figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a dollar word when a nickel one will do.

3. Omit unnecessary words.

4. Use the active voice whenever possible.

5. Use title case for headlines.

Things to Know About Territory

We’re a chef-driven marketplace of sustainably sourced, nutritionally dense, ready-to-heat meals. Our meals are available in D.C, NYC, DFW, Austin, and SF, and shipped to a few specific regions outside these areas. Our chefs are independent partners who work in their own fully certified commercial kitchens in collaboration with Territory’s dietitians to ensure that the meals meet our nutritional standards.

Territory delivers on variety like no other. We rotate our menus each week and seasonally so they'll never be bored and always find something new to try and enjoy.

Order deadlines are midnight on Thursdays

Meals are delivered twice a week—Sundays and Wednesdays

Sustainably sourced: Some methods of farming, fishing, harvesting, and processing are better for the Earth than others. Our goal is to source as responsibly as possible while making sure our products are widely accessible.

Examples:

Poultry is free of antibiotics and added hormones, as well as cage-free with room to roam

Beef and game are free of antibiotics and never given hormones, humanely raised, and either 100% grass-fed or grass-fed, grain-finished

Eggs are pasteurized and largely cage-free from local farms

Fish and seafood are wild-caught or sustainably raised. We follow the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch to ensure we’re only using the best choices or good alternatives.

Pork products are free of antibiotics and added hormones

GMOs - decades of research on GMOs have shown that they are safe for consumption. However, the largest GMO crops like corn and soybeans can have a detrimental effect on the farm ecosystem. To minimize the negative impact, we use non-GMO corn and soybeans.

Organic - while some of our chefs are fully organic, we don’t require that our chefs use organic produce, but use it when it’s accessible.

Local - sourcing locally means getting produce closer to peak ripeness, and using less fuel to transport it. Though the availability of local produce varies by season, we source it whenever possible.

Territory supports local non-profit organizations like Feeding America, Arcadia’s Mobile Market, Upward Bound, and more to reduce food waste and fight hunger across the country. 40% of food in the U.S. goes to waste, while 1 in 7 Americans struggle with hunger. With every Territory order, Feeding America®, through a network of national food banks, recovers more than a pound of food and shares with someone facing hunger.

We partner with World Centric to offer 100% recyclable and compostable packaging.

Cardboard Boxes: The cardboard boxes we use are made from renewable fiber. Our vendor is certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) standards. As part of their commitment to SFI® standards, they support the health and growth of forests and promote sustainable forest management.

Insulated liner: Our insulated liners are made from renewable plant-based components and paper. This is 100% recyclable and compostable.

Meal Sleeve: Our meal sleeves are made with 100% Virgin Eucalyptus Fiber, which makes the Paperboard 100% recyclable. The Eucalyptus Fiber comes from Cartulinas owned Eucalyptus Forest in Central and South America.

Meal container: The base of our meal containers is made from bamboo and unbleached plant fiber, an annually renewable resource. While our lids are derived from plants grown in the USA. Both bases and lids are certified compostable in 2 to 4 months in a commercial composting facility.

Cold Packs: The gel in our ice packs is environmentally safe and non-toxic.

Marketing Testimonials

“I just wanna thank y'all for creating meals that I'm actually excited about eating. I don't have to pretend they're good, because they're absolutely delicious.” - Craig Dorsey

“Can I just say that today I’ve eaten my first two meals from Territory and I am SUPER impressed! I’m such a picky eater. I’ve tried so many meal kits/plans including hello fresh, blue apron, Factor, and Snap Kitchen and yours is by far the best one I’ve tried! I can’t believe it’s only 2pm and I’ve already eaten so many fruits and vegetables. Never in my life have I ever finished my whole meal before. I ate everything that was in my meal. I am so happy I decided to try Territory! Love it!” - Elizabeth Pascual

“Things that make me happy: Discovering Territory Foods and reclaiming my weekends and having tasty variety for meals at work.” - Ann

“Best I've tried so far. Factor and Trifecta are cardboard in comparison. Love the 2x week delivery. Keeps things fresh!” - Mark

“Honestly, if you're terrible at cooking (me) or just want healthy meals prepared fresh, check out Territory Foods. This isn't an ad. Just a girl enjoying a black bean quinoa patty with sweet potato fries & mint dressing. #food” - Kaila DeRienzo

“I've tried many other food delivery services and Territory has the best tasting food. Highly recommend! Delicious 😋” - Mann Phan

“Every prepared meal is absolutely delicious! It’s healthy and cuts my prep time so I can enjoy other activities!! Fresh and not frozen unless you want to freeze them several days after delivery is a huge plus!!” - Danelle Gori

“Territory in Washington DC is AMAZING! The food is so tasty, always something new to delight you. I’m using it as a diet plan and have lost 14lbs in one week! The food is satisfying and filling as a result. I highly recommend.” - Kate Anderson

“I LOVE THIS FOOD! I've ordered Territory meals multiple times and have never had a bad dish. My favorite is the tagine chicken salad with peppercorn dressing. It's soooooo good! I could eat it for lunch everyday.” - Emily D'Silva

“We are blown away by how good these meals are. We have tried different meal preps before and this is the best. The salmon is incredible! Thank you Territory Foods for helping us with our "shedding for the wedding!"” - Ryan Domis

“Territory Foods makes home feel like a restaurant.” - Teneisha Dean

“Yes! I can attest that your plant-based meals are scrumptious!! Whole food prepared and delivered fresh, without preservatives! Restaurant-quality meals at reasonable prices. It’s a game-changer for me! #veganmeals#vegansofhamptonroads” - Gail Davis

“I pay Territory Foods because I wanted 5-6hrs of my weekends back.” - Marissa Smith

“"I started using Territory to support my first Whole30 attempt. This was my 3rd meal and absolutely blew me away. You guys are fantastic, thank you for what you do and for making it easy for non-cookers like me to stay healthy!!" -on Rachelle's premium Grilled Steak & Bacon Kale Salad” - Lauren Hunt

“Absolutely loving these meals! So convenient, and fresh and healthy. Saves me a lot of time in my busy schedule and know that I can still eat healthy foods. Thank you!” - Teresa Whitmore

“Every meal I've had is so delicious, as a diabetic these are perfect for keeping my sugar under control. Thank you Territory meals!” - Lashonda Gilliard

“Just a random shoutout to Territory Foods for having such delicious meals and helping me stick to my fitness/nutrition goals! Penang curry chicken w/ paleo noodles is on the menu for lunch today.” - Ashley Walls

“I've had my first three meals and all are DELICIOUS!! I've tried other delivery meal services. The meals need major doctoring with seasoning, and were not satisfying for the kcal content. Territory meals are like eating from a great restaurant at every meal. As a RDN, I am completely content with the energy and macronutrient balance of the meals that I choose. COMPLETELY worth the affordable cost!” - Stephanie Smith