Articles

Harry writes for a number of national newspapers and magazines, both in-depth features, news stories, interviews, and fun investigations into recent social, consumer and parenting trends. He writes the Harry Wallop column for the Times business pages on a Friday, and used to write a column for the Telegraph called ‘Dad of 4’.

Here is a small selection of recent pieces:

Harry wrote the cover story for The Sunday Times Magazine on the fascinating story of how bananas became the best selling product in UK supermarkets, and what the future holds. July 2023. It won the prestigious Foreign Press Association financial/economic story of the year.

For The Times Magazine, Harry wore a £1,000 hair system for a week to investigate the strange world of men who will do anything to regain their lost hair. October 2022.
What are going to be the big food trends of 2020? Harry asked the chefs, the supermarket buyers and the forecasters in this round up for the Times T2 section, January 2020.
A tribute to Mr Patel, the shopkeeper at the end of the road, and to all the immigrants who keep our corner shops open rather than cause an inconvenience. For the Daily Mail, October 2019.

Why the treasure trove that is Thomas Cook’s archive must not die with the company. One of Harry’s regular Friday columns in the Times Business section.
Forest bathing inspired the garden designed by the Duchess of Cambridge at the 2019 Chelsea Flower Show. But can this Japanese practice really be good for your physical and mental health, as its fans claim? A long-read for Mail on Sunday. May 2019.

Calm, the meditation app, has become the first ‘Mental Health Unicorn’ – valued at over $1billion. Harry interviews its British founder, Michael Acton Smith. For the Times Magazine, May 2019.

Harry explains his strange hobby of trying to run to every – very rare – Edward VIII postbox in the UK. Feature for the i Newspaper, April 2019.
Interview with Ankur Shah, the barrister-turned-entrepreneur, who came up with the idea for Mahabis slippers after a quick Google search. The brand is now worth an estimated £100 million. For the Times Magazine, October 2018.
How bad are wood burning stoves, cooking, smelly candles and other sources of indoor air pollution in your home? Harry investigated for The Times, October 2018.
The rise and rise of fried chicken. Harry went to Kentucky to visit the original KFC restaurant, founded in 1932, and to interview the CEO of the fast food giant to find out why fried chicken is taking over the world. A long read for The Guardian Weekend magazine, August 2018.
How does Amazon deliver in just 9 hours? A feature for the Daily Mail, which tracked an online purchase from click to doorstep, August 2018
Just how smart are smart home gadgets? Harry tries out Alexa, Hive, smart doorbells, a fridge that takes selfies, a robotic lawnmower and other gadgets to find out. For Mail on Sunday Life section, July 2018.
How ethical is your food? Harry tests out the new Giki app, which scans barcodes of supermarket food to award products ethical points. And interviews the founders of the app. For Times, T2 section, June 2018.
Holographic cooking tutorials, ovens you can control while out walking the dog, fridges that will tell you which food is about to go off. A look at what the kitchen of the future could look like. For the Sunday Times Magazine, April 2018.
Just how safe are contactless debit cards? An investigation for the Daily Mail, following figures that show contactless fraud is the fastest growing type of card fraud in the UK and the Bank of England’s chief cashier does not use contactless. April 2018.
Harry interviews Jules von Hep, the spray tanner Kate Moss, Mille Mackintosh and other celebrities use. And gets his first ever spray tan to see if he’ll end up more David Gandy than David Dickinson. For Times Magazine, March 2018.
How does Greggs sell 145 million sausage rolls every year – that’s nearly five a second? Harry dons a hair net and apron to work behind the counter for the day to find out the secret to the company’s surprising success. A feature for Daily Mail, Feb 2018
A tribute to Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, who died aged 91. Harry visits
Älmhult, Sweden, birthplace of Kamprad and his furniture store that changed the world, and caused a few marital rows along the way. For the Times, Jan 2018

Which are the best reusable coffee cups to buy if you want to save the planet and a few pennies? A review of the best and worst on the market for the Daily Mail, Jan 2018.
When will the gin bubble burst? Gin has become the spirit of the last few years in Britain but how long can distilleries open at the rate of one a week? For The Dish, the Sunday Times’ food supplement

How calorific is your Christmas coffee? A round up of the high street beverages that can contain as many calories as a Big Mac. For the Daily Mail news pages, December 2017

Can cooking an entire pig’s head become the next kitchen trend? Harry tries the grisly task for The Times and discovers it is delicious. October 2017

‘How online giants like Amazon can rip you off by changing prices all the time’. An investigation into the strange world of dynamic pricing, used to move prices endlessly up and down, for the Daily Mail, September 2017.
An interview with Jim Chapman, a YouTuber and influencer on the strange loneliness of filming videos from your bedroom, watched by millions of fans. It was written for The Times, October 2017. You can read a version of the interview, which is not behind a paywall here.
A feature for Country Life magazine celebrating stained glass windows that feature scenes from modern life, from an Amstrad computer in St Andrew’s, Hornchurch to the 1970s Sainsbury’s supermarket in Christ Church, Southwark. August 2017.
‘The Scourge of Modern Ticket Touts.’ An investigation into how secondary ticketing sites, particularly Viagogo, rip-off concert goers and how they flout the law. For the Daily Mail, August 2017.

The future of food. An investigation into the how the pasta, dairy and meat industries are coping with seismic shifts in western diets. Harry travelled to Denmark and Italy to investigate for The Guardian Weekend magazine, July 2017.

An interview with Gordon Ramsay for The Times Saturday Magazine, where he discusses the rising star of his daughter Matilda, his LA life, and his imprisoned father-in-law. July 2017.

Gardeners World at 50. A tribute to one of BBC’s longest-running TV shows, including interviews with all the surviving main presenters. A cover feature for the Daily Mail Weekend magazine.
Are you a member of the Aspirational Class? An examination of American academic Elizabeth Currid-Halkett’s new book, which claims the new elite are no longer interested in conspicuous consumption. For the Times, May 2017.
‘Do crisps count?’ Harry put scientists’ new recommendation to eat 10 portions of fruit & veg to the test – and ended up putting on weight. For the Times, April 2017.

‘Why mini supermarkets are a big swizz: Chains are charging up to 23% more than their full-size stores for the same products’. An investigation for the Daily Mail, April 2017
‘The Test all Dads with Daughters Should Take’. A feature in the Daily Telegraph about the Dads4Daughters initiative, which aims to recruit fathers to help fight sexism in the workplace. March 2017.
‘The Great Brexit banger con: How stores and food producers are shrinking sausages and other family favourites to combat soaring import costs following the vote to leave the EU’. A news article in the Mail on Sunday that reported the ‘shrinkflation’ research used in the Dispatches documentary, February 2017.
Bloodbath on the High Street. How will Britain’s High Streets cope with a new business rates regime? Harry went to Southwold and interviewed the shopkeepers of the Suffolk town for the Daily Mail news section, February 2017.
What is the secret to male sexuality once you hit your 40s? Harry tried out a new sweat-inducing gym class that promised to make him irresistible. For the T2 section of the Times, February 2017.
The US owner of Cadbury is breaking a key promise and making an increasing amount of its iconic Dairy Milk chocolate bars in Poland rather than at its British base. An exclusive news story for the Mail on Sunday.
An interview with Deborah Lipstadt, the US historian who found herself at the centre of one Britain’s biggest libel trials when she was sued by Holocaust denier David Irving. Her story has now been turned into a film, Denial. The interview was for The Guardian Review section. January 2016.

Britain used to be a nation of shopkeepers. But for how much longer? Many shops are now becoming hair salons, nail bars and estate agents. Harry investigated the High Road in Loughton, Essex and tracked down all the shopkeepers who had recently closed their businesses to find out why. For the Daily Mail, December 2016.
Paul Hollywood – how I became Britain’s pantomime villain. The first interview with the Bake Off judge since his controversial decision to move to Channel 4. The cover story for the Times Magazine, December 2016.

Is Mango Bubbles Britain’s most influential book reviewer? A look at how an 11-year-old set up a site to review children’s books, with all the reviews written by children themselves. For the Telegraph Weekend section, November 2016.
On the US cannabis tourism trail. As California prepares to vote in favour of legal recreational cannabis, Harry visited the first state to make pot legal, Colorado, to find out who are the winners and losers from the new marijuana goldrush. He also jumped aboard the cannabis tourism bus…For the Times Magazine

A slightly longer version of the article (not behind a paywall) was published by the VolteFace website.

Below Stairs Britain – how we fell in love with the story of servants’ lives, and not just on Sunday night TV. For the G2 section of the Guardian, November 2016.

Is Iceland the new Aldi? – Once famous for its chicken tikka lasagne, Iceland supermarket has started to woo the middle classes with a new luxury range. Harry put it to the test with the help of chef Jose Pizarro. For the Times T2 section, October 2016.

Do Street Names Matter? A long-read in the Guardian Weekend Magazine, investigating street names – their politics, their oddities and how some residents become very upset when a local authority tries to change the name of the road on which they live.
24 hours in the life of the internet in the UK. What do people do at 3am when they are online, and what is the peak time for downloading The Archers podcast? A spread for the Daily Mail, October 2016.

Are tattoos acceptable for City workers? A feature for the FT talking to management consultants and private equity executives who have body art, October 2016.
A review of The Trials of the King of Hampshire, by Elizabeth Foyster, the story of the ‘mad’ 3rd Earl of Portsmouth, an ancestor. In the Guardian Review section, October 2016.
An investigation into the increasingly bizarre world of premium pet food: dog popcorn, cat soup and a whole of host of raw, paleo and gluten-free meals for your beloved animal. For the T2 section of the Times, September 2016.

Exploring the new BBQ trend: cooking a whole animal carcass in your garden. This feature, which also interviewed the organisers of the Meatopia festival, appeared in the T2 section of the Times, September 2016.
Harry spent a fortnight not just as a Deliveroo cyclist, but also trying out different aspects of the ‘sharing economy’ to see if he could make any money. The piece was for the Times Magazine, August 2016.

Big K: The end of the mine, published the Saturday Telegraph Magazine, December 2015. A visit to the last deep coal mine in Britain, interviewing the miners, with photographs by Jon Tonks.
An interview with Will.i.am, April 2016, in the Saturday Telegraph Magazine, which caused a small media storm, because it revealed how his public relations team tried to control not just the questions, but the manner in which the questions were asked.
Dad of 4. A weekly column that appeared in the Telegraph Weekend section