GGG Newsletter Q4 2018

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T O B E PA R T O F E V E R Y F O O D E X P E R I E N C E atalanta + camerican + de medici + finica + khi + jf braun + swiss chalet fine foods + tipico

UPDATE 2018-Q4

HIGHLIGHTS 02

GIVING & WELLNESS TEAMS

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WOLRD CHEESE AWARDS

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TIPICO EXPANSION PLANS

ISSUE 4

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

G G G P ROV I DES ET H I C S TRAI N I N G & H OTL I N E

FROM GEORGE G . G E L L E R T , C HA IR M A N OF T H E B OAR D

As Chairman of GGG, one of my most important roles is to create the best possible work environment for our companies.

atalanta team

| NJ

WHEN WE GIVE, WE RECEIVE The Gellert Family would like to express their gratitude to all who participated in various ways or events in the spirit of giving throughout 2018.

WE DONATED 20 BIKES Our Role is to Listen and Resolve Every person, regardless of position, shares in the responsibility for promoting a positive environment. One way you can help is by bringing your concerns, questions, and suggestions forward to your manager. For times when you don’t feel comfortable using that method, we have launched the GGG Ethics Hotline, a phone and web-based reporting system that is managed by an independent third party, NAVEX Global’s EthicsPoint system.

Your input is essential to ensuring that we maintain a positive, productive workplace. Please know that when you use the EthicsPoint system, you can report misconduct that you observe, or gain clarity on whether or not something is cause for concern.

We want to hear your positive comments; things that we are doing well or that could be improved. You have my promise that all reports will be reviewed and responded to appropriately.

Contact EthicsPoint at 1-844-607-1469 or online at http://gellertglobalgroup.ethicspoint.com.

WE BUILT HOMES WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY & CLEANED UP A PARK WE VOLUNTEERED AT FOOD BANKS FOR THANKSGIVING WE DONATED OVER 500 HOURS OF OUR TIME WE DONATED BLOOD, AND GAVE TO BOOK DRIVES, TOY DRIVES & COLLECTED OVER 1,000 FOOD ITEMS

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2ND ANNUAL BOOK, FOOD & TOY DRIVE A SUCCESS! The Giving Team thanks all who contributed to another successful holiday toy drive. Each location made a significant donation to the local Toys for Tots Foundation, and collectively we were able to make a world of difference to children this holiday season.

Bridge of Books Foundation We sponsored another children’s book drive for the Bridge of Books Foundation. The organization’s mission is to provide an ongoing source of new and gently used books to underserved kids to support literacy efforts and encourage a love of reading.

Carson, CA Team

GG WELLNESS 2019 Tipico Team

GGG FULFILLS THE WISHES OF 25 UNION COUNTY KIDS Season of Caring Sponsor United Way stopped by the office of Gellert Global Group, a first time Season of Caring sponsor who took part in their holiday wishes drive.

Amy Gellert Lebovitz fulfilled the wishes of 25 children for a nonprofit agency that serves both Union and Hudson counties.

FRIDAY, FEB. 15TH 10:00 AM-3:00 PM SIGN UP AT REDCROSSBLOOD.ORG

Q1: FINANCIAL WELLNESS KICKOFF AND HEALTHY HABITS Q2: JUNE WALKING CHALLENGE Q3: MIND, BODY & SOUL Q4: EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

GG GIVING 2019 WINTER: BLOOD DRIVE SPRING: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SUMMER: SCHOOL SUPPLIES/BACKPACK PROGRAM FALL: FOOD DRIVE

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

ATA L ANTA C E L E B RAT ED NUM E R O U S AWARD S AT T H E WO RLD C HE ES E AWARD S

THE WORLD CHEESE AWARDS 2018 Atalanta, along with their partners, celebrated numerous wins at the World Cheese Awards in November. A recordbreaking 3,500 cheeses from six continents entered the awards, which took place at Bergen’s

Grieghallen in Norway on November 2, 2018. A panel of 230 experts from 29 countries judged the competition.

THE WINNERS FROM OUR DUTCH PARTNER BEEMSTER SUPER GOLD AWARD: Beemster Classic GOLD AWARD: Paradiso Reserve & Beemster Goat SILVER AWARD: Royaal Grand Cru BRONZE AWARD: Beemster XO FROM OUR ITALIAN PRODUCERS SUPER GOLD AWARD: Perenzin Bufala al Glera Arrigoni’s Erborinato GOLD AWARD: Arrigoni’s Taleggio DOP Piave Vecchio Selezione Oro DOP Carpenedo Basajo SILVER AWARD: Agriform’s Grana Padano Oro del Tempo Vento d’Estate BRONZE: AWARD: Perenzin Montasio Stravecchio Capra al Traminer

THE ACCADEMIA VERGNANO OPENS ITS DOORS IN CHIERI, ITALY Caffè Vergnano 1882 The Accademia is part of the Vergnano Hub, an area dedicated to culinary excellence from Italy. The courtyard is overlooked by the restaurants Eataly, Caffè Vergnano 1882, and a coffee shop. The hub provides a comprehensive taste experience, capable of meeting the needs of everyone. One of the most important goals that has led to the creation of the new Accademia Vergnano in Chieri is the desire to create a space that is welcoming, pleasant, well-equipped and multifunctional.

TOSCHI SPONSORED OLD FASHIONED WEEK

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From November 1st-10th, bartenders everywhere stirred up their own Old Fashioned cocktails in celebration of this famous drink.

This year, the event took place at 1,000 bars globally, with TOSCHI as one of the event sponsors.

NEW FROM CAVALLI SOFT & SPICY BALSMICO ACETAIA CAVALLI SOFT & SPICY BALSAMICO Introducing Cavalli’s newest Balsamico is aged for 18 months, just like their Soft & Fruity but with the addition of star anise and cinnamon. The plummy sweetness of grape must is enhanced by the licoricelike aroma of star anise and cinnamon’s warm, sweet and savory flavor. Light but with a rich aroma, this special Balsamico is perfect for marinades, vegetables and as an aperitif or digestif.

MENU & FERRARELLE FEATURED AT THE VERSATILITY OF PIZZA EVENT Our Grocery Team attended The Versatility of Pizza event with Chef Tony Gemignani, ambassador for Ferrarelle & Menu AND a 12 Time World Pizza Champion! At this event, our MENU Dorati Semi Dried Cherry Tomatoes with Basil were featured on Tony’s pizza and Ferrarelle sparkling water was served as a compliment to the pizza.

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

ATALANTA HALLOWEEN FUN

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CHEESE DEPARTMENT NEW ROLES Lot s of p os i t i ve c h a n ge s in t he de p a rt m e nt i n 2018!

Carey Franco took on the role of Cheese Department Sales Manager. He will attend trade shows, work with area sales managers, work on training, and assist in executing the BDMs initiatives this year.

Arlene Girardi has become a Business Development Coordinator and is working under Andrea to assist the cheese team and continue her growth at Atalanta. We are so excited to welcome her and grateful for the work she has already done with our team!

TIP ICO E X PA ND S C U T & W RA P Because of a highly successful growth in their Cut and Wrap operations, the company has committed to expanding their Lakewood, New Jersey facility. Anthony Castellano, Tipico Directorof Operations, stated, “We have had 100% growth in the Cut and Wrap department over the last three years. This operation has grown from processing 3 million to 6 million pounds of cheese a year! We look forward to the opportunities this provides to grow as an organization.”

1 00% GR OW TH

Giulia’a Truffle Pecorino Loaf is doing exceptionally well! The item has taken off and has brought in about $100,000 year to date, with Yard House taking the majority of this item. In the last two months, we activated the cheese in 12 more accounts.

The construction is planned to be completed and the facility operational by June 1, 2019.

The new state-of-the art facility will exceed all FDA and USDA requirements and double the current production capacity and total square feet of production space at Tipico.

NATIONAL ACCOUNTS

Cam er i ca n an d Ata l a nta Nat i ona l Acco u nt te a m s visi t Ti p i co to s t ra te gi ze a b out res ta u ra nt c h a i n ta rgets a nd to u r t h e p la nt.

6 M IL L IO N P O U ND S O F CH E E S E P R OC E S S E D The new Cut and Wrap production area will add exact weight cutting automation, providing the ability to scale up for more substantial business opportunities and more than doubling the capacity. It will also feature a clean room atmosphere, an additional dock, and cooler area as well as a training center with a cafeteria.

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

GROCERY UPDATES The Grocery Department welcomes new supplier hires for FERARELLE, FRUTTO D’ ITALIA and TOSCHI. NATIONAL SALES MANAGER FOR FERARELLE & AMEDEI Aaron Flamini joined Atalanta as National Ferrarelle Sales Manager.

Aaron works directly for our exclusive suppliers Ferrarelle & Amedei Tuscano Chocolate and will work with Atalanta/DeMedici to help with daily business activities for both brands nationally.

FRUTTO D’ ITALIA NATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Marc Miller joins Atalanta to support the FRUTTO D’ITALIA brand as National Business Development Manager. Marc brings 15 years of experience in the food service & retail industry.

NEW TOSCHI NATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Marissa Suarez joins Atalanta as Toschi National Business Development Manager.

Marissa worked at Coca-Cola and Trung Nguyen Coffee Company as an account manager where she managed several accounts nationwide.

7 76 D ELUXE PRO D UC TS HA S SUCC ES SFUL YEA R W I T H D EM ED ICI Steve Kaufman, President of De Medici, states, “There has been a dramatic growth in the 2nd half of 2018 for 776 Deluxe Greek Products. This line offers artisan Greek olive oil and honey from the region of Olympia, Greece. With the influx of more upscale Greek restaurants and more interest in the specialty honey category, 776 Deluxe is in the position for positive growth in 2019.”

On the retail side, the De Medici team strategically focused on the growing category of specialty honey and introduced 2 SKUs into Whole Foods Northeast, Kings/Balducci’s and White Trading Corp. In foodservice, Italico has been doing well with the honey. Steve said, “Look for new honey at the Winter Fancy Food Show where we launch the Greek Conifer & Orange Blossom flavor.

We hope to offer this in .9oz mini jars to foodservice and partner with Tipico on charcuterie and pre-cut cheese sets.”

Dean & DeLuca has become an excellent showplace for olive oil, and US Foods has tripled their first-half sales of oil in the northeast region.

Sales of the olive oil cases in the second half of the year through the end of November increased 43% over the first six months. Dollar sales increased 62% over the first six-month period. Pricing in 2019 will not change and additional promotional programs are on the horizon. The extra virgin olive oil quality on the pallet this year is a step above the last harvest.

N E W AT P IZ Z A UN O

Beverly Sciullo, from Atalanta National Account team, sent over this picture of a new Pizza from UNO – Porchetta & Arugula using our Tuscano Porchetta, Toschi Balmi Glaze and new fresh Il Villaggio mozzarella.

OPENING UP THE NEW EATALY IN L AS V EGAS!

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ATA L ANTA

NE W HIRES! Q4 20 1 8

RUBY D I Z ON RE CEI VES G OL D E N APPL E AWARD

K ev i n D elgad o

J u s ti n Mc M anus

D ire cto r, S upply Chain

Ch e l s ey L ouis

He lp D e sk Te chnician

Q uality Assuran ce Te chnician

Ch e re ’ H ed ge s

Chief S ale s Of f ice r- M aripo sa

G we n d o l y n M o o re Acco unt S pe cialist- K ro ge r L i n a S a n to s

Ware ho use Ad m in istrato r- Co n tro l Room

O s ca r Navarre te A ro n S h af ro n

Ware ho use man

Are a S ale s M anage r

P ROM OTIO NS & NEW PO SITIO NS P aul Jij a k p r omote d to D ir e ctor of A p p l icat ion s Sara Sp o nz i lli p r omote d to A r e a Sal e s Manage r fo r the Midwes t A r l e ne G i ra r d i h as b e come a B usine ss D eve l op m e n t Co o rdinator

“Some of you may not know this, but Rudy has worked for Atalanta since 1986. He started in the warehouse, where he was responsible for administrative work. Around 2007 he moved to Accounts Payable. He is always there to lend a helping hand when you need it.” - Sonia Mejia

Q4

EM P L OYE E O F T H E Q UAR T ER

H ENRY DE VE NNY

Congratulations Henry for being nominated as Employee of the Quarter! Henry’s positive “can do” attitude and quick response when asked for assitance has earned him respect with his peers.

He has also developed reports that provide crucial information to the sales team, which has made it much easier for them to analyze sales and product performance.

“He is a true joy to work with.”

“A team player who works quickly and efficiently” - from his peers

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

BONJOUR PARIS! Camerican team visits SIAL A few Camerican team members attended the SIAL show back in October in Paris. We were impressed by the ideas, food discoveries, recipes and flavors presented at the show. Here Kelvin Tsang, Josh Gellert and Kevin Sund take advantage of a great photo-op!

CAMERICAN INCREASES PRESENCE AT PLMA Each year, the PLMA show seems to get bigger and better! As the largest tradeshow where Camerican exhibits, PLMA is essential due to the amount of private label business that we do. In preparation for Jim Kopple’s retirement, Cristina Lombardi and Courtney Anaya were brought in this year to learn the ins and outs of the show, build and set up our booth and help with marketing coordination and break down. Camerican sincerely appreciates all of Jim’s efforts in planning and executing above and beyond for the past 30+ years. We are excited to take our booth to another level next year… (new design to come!)

KHI AND JF BRAUN COLLABORATE TO DELIVER RAISINS October saw a collaboration between two GGG companies, JF Braun and KHI. The two companies worked together to source and sell raisins to Pinnacle Foods, a longtime customer of both companies. The collaboration is an excellent example of how we are discovering synergies across the

companies, and how exciting the future is for the group.

KHI Attends the Inauguration of Long-time Partner, United States Cold Storage

From left to right: (back row) Jim Kopple, Cristina Lombardi, Rick Fox, Agnes Maczka (front row) Josh Gellert, Allison Herr and Courtney Anaya

KHI was invited to the opening of US Cold’s brand-new storage facility in Laredo, Texas. KHI’s QA Inspector Gloria Charles attended the inauguration. The importance of high quality vendors is exemplified by US Cold, as they are trusted to handle up to 15% of KHI’s products.

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CAMERICAN & KHI NEW HIRES LISA MURPHY joined our Customer Support team. Lisa’s most recent experience was working with sales teams, brokers and customers at Mitsui Foods for the past 10 years. Her area of responsibility will be supporting our foodservice sales team.

ANNUAL SALES MEETING WITH A TWIST COURTNEY RUNNING FOUR MARATHONS! Courtney Anaya, Labeling Specialist at Camerican, ran four marathons this year—2017 NYC Marathon in November; 2018 Vancouver (BC) Marathon in May; 2018 Chicago Marathon in October; and 2018 NYC Marathon in November. She fell in love with the sport after running her first marathon last November. To train, Courtney put together a running plan that allowed her to maintain and increase her mileage throughout the year while incorporating swimming to help her cross train. Congratulations on such a significant achievement this year – physically, mentally and emotionally!

On Thursday December 13th and Friday, December 14th, Camerican hosted its two-day annual sales meeting. Sales team members from across the country met at Camerican’s headquarters in Paramus, NJ to discuss various topics. To kick off the conference, Josh Gellert gave a “State of Camerican” presentation to all Camerican employees as his newly appointed role as President. Following his presentation, sales team members met to discuss topics such as sales strategies and highlights, updates within procurement, sales, KHI, sales service, logistics, IT, finance, quality assurance and marketing/ packaging departments. The sales team and senior management even had a “Bury the Hatchet” group event one night!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

CAMERICAN DRESSES UP!

KHI - SINCE THEY SPECIALIZE IN FRUIT - THEY DRESS UP IN FRUIT!

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

FINICA NEW HIRES JOHN FORNEAR JOINED FINICA AS V.P OF NATIONAL SALES

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE & TRAINING SEMINAR Finica hosted a Product Knowledge & Training Seminar Program for all staff to attend about representative lines. Guest Speakers included Mrs. Maha Freij, President of LES TROIS PETITS COCHONS INC. and Maurizio Ferrari, Executive Chef for MENU, and there was also a SARTORI product training.

FINICA & MENU SPONSORED THIS YEAR’S CENTITALIA From November 12th – 15th, Finica & MENU (the official ICCO: Italian Chamber of Commerce) sponsored this year’s CENTITALIA: Gusto Cultura, a week-long event held at Toronto’s Centennial Culinary College. This event aims to educate Torontonians about the unique qualities and characteristics of authentic Italian Food, including DOP/IGP and other protected designations.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION Paul Blake was presented with a plaque from the Finica team honoring his sustained passion and effort that sets an example for everyone he works with.

Shelley, Michele, and Jonathan were recognized for their outstanding dedication to the team. Additionally, Michele celebrated her 10-year work anniversary with Finica.

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TRAININGS & SHOWS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Support/Call Center Sales Training. Sarah shares a day in the life of a sales representative NEITHER RAIN OR SNOW WILL STOP STEPHEN & ELIZABETH FROM MAKING THEIR CUSTOMER VISITS & SALES CALLS

EMPLOYEE & LEADER OF Q3

Sarah Velazquez & Vanessa Recalde

WAREHOUSE AUDIT MIAMI 98%!

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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP

GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP PERSONAL NOTES CO N GRAT S TO ATA L A N TA ’ S CA RLY B EI M O N HE R RE CE N T E N GAGE ME N T !

CO N GRATUL ATI ONS E M I L R U F O LO O N A B AB Y B OY

Emil Rufolo, Atalanta Business Develop Manager, had their second child!

LIAM EMIL RUFOLO BORN NOVEMBER 28, 2018 7 LBS 3 OZ

F I N I CA ’ S M I CHAEL F REEMAN H AS A B A B Y GI RL! Congratulations Michael and family!

ARIELLA KIRSTEN FREEMAN BORN NOVEMBER 3, 2018 7 LBS 1 OZ

CAMERI CAN’ S K E LV I N T SANG WELCOMES B AB Y GI RL

Kelvin Tsang from Camerican had their second child!

KALEA JAELIN BORN DECEMBER 21, 2018 6 LBS 9 OZ

DO YOU HAVE UNIQUE STORIES TO SHARE?

The Giving Team wants to highlight our employees that take time to work with nonprofit organizations, mentor children or volunteer at their local charities. Inspirational stories and acts of kindness can make a difference in the lives of people. We want to share these stories with everyone. Please send information to: givingteam@gellertglobalgroup.com

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GGG HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS!