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atalanta + camerican + de medici + finica + khi + jf braun + swiss chalet fine foods + tipico
UPDATE 2017-Q4 IS S U E 4
HIGHLIGHTS 02
GELLERT GIVING TEAMS
Highlight s f rom our donat io n s
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FOOD IS GREAT LAUNCH
M ajor ret ailer launches B r it ish Promot ion
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HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS
At alant a celebrat es 40 year anniversaries
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
G G G GIVI NG IN TH E S PI RI T OF T H A N KF UL N ES S & COMMU N I TY
GGG G I VI NG TEAM S CO M BI NE RESO URCES FO R THANKSG I VI N G DONATI O NS This November, the Gellert Global Giving Team volunteered at local food banks in their communities to organize donations for Thanksgiving. The Atalanta group helped at St. Joseph Social Center in Elizabeth, NJ. The center provided more than 700 Thanksgiving meals for families in need.
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Team Supports The Love of Reading FIVE YEARS STRONG HURRICANE SANDY REMEMBE RED
October 2017 marked the five-year anniver sary of Hurricane Sandy that devastated parts of New Jersey. The Gellert Global Group of fices and warehouse in Elizabeth, NJ were not spared the wrath of the storm and were almost The GIVING TEAM organization collected over 700
destroyed. Thanks to the efforts of GGG em -
books in celebration of National Book Month this
ployees and the Gellerts, the company was up
October. The books were donated to the Bridge Book
and running in record time. Five years later,
Foundation of New Jersey. The foundation provides
George Gellert gathered the group together to
an ongoing source of new and gently used books to
thank and recognize the employees that were
underserved kids in New Jersey.
part of that great effort.
FIRST ANNUAL TOY DRIVE In December, the team kicked off their first toy drive. New toys were donated to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation.
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
MENU’S NEW SHAKSHUKA SAUCE ON TREND The most innovative addition to Specialty Grocery this quarter has been the Shakshuka Sauce, developed exclusively by the quality chefpreferred brand MENU. As seen on top trending flavor sites, from Whole Foods Market and R estaurant Business Online, Shakshuka is a North African flavor and Israeli specialty. It’s the perfect addition to egg dishes as well as burgers, flatbreads and finger foods.
CELEBRITY GOAT EXPANDS LINE
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GOAT CHEESE MEETS FETA A perfect and unique combination of cheese. These crumbles consist of 2/3 goat and 1/3 feta cheese, giving the blend a texture that is both creamy and light while also boasting a rich flavor.
NEW MANGO CHILI GOAT CHEESE FOR COSTCO Celebrity Goat Cheese is a success story from Costco and a mainstay brand in their stores. With the success of the 3- packs and logs, they are introducing a Mango Chili Goat Cheese into their assortment. Look for it in stores in February.
NEW SHELF STABLE HUMMUS Del Destino launched an all-natural, no-preservative hummus product line to market in a stable shelf form. The products cut down on refrigeration costs and allow for nearly unparalleled versatility of merchandising. Source: Deli Market News
GRILLED PARTY TRAY HITS RETAIL AND DELI Del Destino launched the Grilled Vegetable Tray with much success! From field to the supplier, the
INTRODUCING BRUSCHETTE FROM PUGLIA, ITALY
vegetables are processed within 18 hours of harvest. Shelf stable and preservative-free, it’s an excellent impulse item for today’s consumer looking for quality and value.
Meliora Bruschette are all-natural toasted golden crisp bites. They are available in three varieties: first-press olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic rubbed.
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
ATALANTA & MURRAY’S BRITISH PROMO Kroger Murray’s launched a nationwide British Event in their stores in December. Together with the help of Atalanta and the DIT’s (UK Department of International Trade – Food and Drink Division) Food is GREAT Program, the month-long promotion took place in Murray’s NYC locations and nationwide in the 375 Murray’s shops inside Kroger stores. Over 9,000 cases of UK products were purchased, including such favorites as Coombe Castle Red Lion, Collier’s Cheddar, and Mackay’s Chutney. The DIT hosted a launch party at Murray’s Cheese Bar in NYC that included industry insiders and media. Fantastic food was served, and professional mixologist Anthony Bohlinger guaranteed that the guests had a great time.
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Master of Pasta & Cooking Rina Poletti made handcrafted pasta at the First Pizza & Pasta Northeast Show, Atlantic City, NJ.
Record Number of Our Suppliers & GGG at Anuga We had over 80 suppliers exhibiting at the show along with a large group from Atalanta, Braun, KHI and Camerican attendded the event. It was a great success for all.
GRAND OPENING VERGNANO, EATALY, LOS ANGELES National Accounts Team Up To Test WAWA. Amy Cook, National Account Manager, tells the story, “Sometimes its all in who you know... National Account Sale Person, Beverly Sciullo, has a great relationship with the Macaroni Grill buyer; this buyer gave our name to the Wawa R & D contact that she had worked with in the past at Buffalo Wild Wings. WAWA was looking at an item we had developed for another potential chain. Ours was a clean label and our competition’s was not. The result: a test with WAWA in January.”
CHEF TORYAK @BRISTOL FARMS
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
CO N G R ATU L ATIONS TO 40 Y E A R S AT ATAL AN TA
Celes te N u n ez | Steve So ra h a n | Bo b Ge l l e r t ( not p ict u r ed) C . L. S m a r t
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ATALANTA CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS
HAPPY
HOLIDAYS!
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
WHO SAYS CHRISTMAS SWEATERS ARE UGLY?! EM P L OYE E O F THE Q UA R TER Q3
Q4
Arles Morales & Sonia Mejia are recognized for their leadership, teamwork and problem-solving by their peers and managers.
Paul Dmowski has been recognized for his innovation, problem-solving and reaching across departments to help organize and manage data.
11 Edwa r d A r ce,Ware h ou s e M an ager West Co a st Ch r i sto p he r Ch an dl e r,Di re ctor of West Co a st O p e rat i on s J a c ke l i n e D av i l a, Accou n t s R e ceivable S p e c ia l ist L y nn G r i f fin , M arke t i n g P roj e c t Manager A lt h e a M yl e s , Qu al i t y Con t rol Spec ialist J or g e P e r ez, M ai n te n an ce Spec ialist J usti n R e a r don , Accou n t Spe cialist Ei le e n Wi e l an d, Se n i or Are a Sales Ma n a g e r
ATA L A NTA
NEW HIRES ! Q4 2017
G OLDEN A P P LE M YR NA DE L A CR UZ Jose Aguliar tells us why he nominated Myrna; “A few years ago I had an issue at the LA Warehouse. I spok e to Gaby Gaiz. After I briefly told him about the problem, he immediately transferred my call assuring me that Myrna will take care of it. In a few minutes, Myrna resolved the issue. Now she is my go-to person when logistical help is needed. With recent changes in the LA warehouse, I wanted to continue the recognition of the team in LA with another Apple Award. Myrna, thank you for all your contributions to the organization!”
NEW ROLES AR PROMOTION ANALYST - ELIZABETH HYSLOP Congratulations to Elizabeth Hyslop in her new role as AR Promotion Analyst. Elizabeth has demonstrated growth and a drive to learn all aspects of accounts receivable. That eagerness and determination have led her to embrace this new challenge. Elizabeth’s new responsibilities consist of managing deductions for the Southeast and Northeast sales regions. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ASSISTANT MANAGER - CRISTINA SOTOLONGO Cristina Sotolongo promoted to Accounts Receivable Assistant Manager. Cristina joined the Atalanta family twelve years ago and has advanced through progressively more responsible positions in both the Customer Service and AR departments. While in the AR department, she has played a crucial role during our transition to the new promotion system. Cristina’s passion, team spirit and extensive knowledge of the organization will serve her well as she assumes the new role.
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
CA M E R ICA N CE LE B RAT E S TH E H O LIDAYS Camerican’s annual holiday party took place on Friday, December 15th at the Hackensack Country Club. This year, we upgraded to a larger venue to accommodate our growing family! And speaking of growing family – the new hires, as tradition goes, sang holiday songs for the whole team. They were one of the best groups we’ve had yet!
HALLOWEEN IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
Halloween is taken very seriously in the Camerican and KHI offices! This year’s celebration included a costume party with games, prizes and spooky surprises. We even had a scavenger hunt in the office. Boo!
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NEW HIRES
ANNUAL SALES MEETING On Thursday December 14th and Friday December 15th, Camerican hosted its annual sales meeting. Our sales team from across the county gathered under one roof, a special occasion. Larry Abramson opened the meeting with his traditional “State of Camerican” speech. This year’s agenda included Human Resource updates, IT performance optimization, Marketing Initiatives, FSMA updates with the QA team, Finance updates, Logistics Trends updates, top items, new items, and successful seafood items. In addition, the group attended a Go-Kart event one night.
LORI PARRY Lori Parry, Business Development Manager, has joined the Camerican family. Lori has previously worked as a Regional Sales Manager at Aqua Star, Orca Bay Seafoods, and Sea Watch International. Her seafood sales and food-service experience will be a valuable asset. JUSTINE REYNOLDS We welcomed Justine Reynolds as Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Justine has held positions in Quality Assurance at Costco, Sysco, and most recently at Orca Bay Seafoods in Seattle. An expert in frozen seafood, she serves on the Quality Assurance Advisory Board of the National Fisheries Institute. KRISTEN JAJKO Kristen Jajko is our new Human Resources intern. Kristen is currently a senior at Ramapo College working towards a degree in Sociology with a minor in Environmental Studies. She will be graduating this May.
PROMOTIONS BETH WELLS Beth Wells has been promoted to Team Leader. Beth started with Camerican in 2014 and has been a strong contributor to the Walmart business growth.
DAN TUFANO Although it’s only been one year since Dan Tufano started with Camerican, he has taken charge of the Aldi account and worked closely with our IT team to develop the MRP report. In his new position as Business Analyst, Dan will continue to focus on tender/bid opportunities and work to ensure exceptional customer service.
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
LENBERG FARMS WINS AGAIN! Finica’s supplier, Mariposa Dairy, took home top awards at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and The British Empire Cheese Show this past November. At the Royal, the Lindsay Bandage Cheddar won First Prize in the Firm category and Grand Champion – Reserve in the Goat and Sheep Milk Variety Cheese category. At the British Empire Cheese Show, Mariposa was awarded the most points in the Specialty Cheese category.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL, LAURIE & JASON! On Dec 7, Finica had their annual Holiday dinner at Terrace on the Green, a lovely and quaint fine dining restaurant located just outside Mississauga. At the dinner, awards were handed out to those who went above and beyond. Celebrity Awards were given to Michael Freeman and Laurie Hudson. Laurie was also given a service award for her 10-year anniversary at Finica. Jason Vandenberg received a Celebrity Innovation Award for his hard work creating an applicator machine used at Mariposa. A new award, the President’s Award, was handed out to a game changer within the organization. It was awarded to Marc Bethune for his role in creating new processes within the sales department that contributed to another record breaking sales year at Finica.
NEW HIRES COLLEEN SOLAR Colleen Solar will replace Andrea Saulnier during her maternity leave. Colleen brings with her many years of senior level sales experience from the CPG industry. KAREN DALE Karen Dale will join the sales team as an Account Representative. Karen joins Finica having already sold Finica product while she was a successful Account Representative with UNFI Canada and Disney before that.
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SWISS CHALET CELEBRATES ITS 50TH!
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
EMP L OYEE OF TH E QUAR T E R
Q3
NEW HIRES: Autumn Patterson; LRN Brand Manager for the Las Vegas market Lee Sands: Territory Sales Representative for New Orleans market Bobby Aceves: Carson Warehouse
Stephanie Condon Stephanie is an Order Processor in the Carson, CA warehouse/ facility and has been with Swiss Chalet for 17 years.
A SPECIAL DAY FOR THE SWISS CHALET GIVING TEAM As part of December’s Toy Drive, there was a collection for the Mejia brothers, both are terminally ill from a genetic disorder. The Doral Police invited Swiss Chalet to attend a holiday luncheon honoring the brothers. Swiss Chalet treats and a Publix gift card from all the employees were given to the Mejia family. Representing Swiss Chalet at the luncheon were Valerie Escobar and Mirtha Hernadez.
David Cavazos; Carson Warehouse
3RD QUARTERLY SALES RECOGNITION AWARDS Peter Rosenberg & Peter Golper.
First Quarterly Leadership Award Winner, Osmel “Ozzy” Hernandez
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Th e G e l le rt G l o b a l G r o up
In Memor y
Sadly, in 2017 GGG lost several of its family members who were influential within our companies. We will be forever grateful to these exceptional individuals.
Edward Howard
Fred Chesman
Paul Farber
Mr. Howard was with the J.F. Braun family.
Mr. Chesman served as Vice President of Atalanta from 1982 through 2014.
Mr. Farber owned and operated De Medici Imports from 1987 to 2007, a period in which specialty foods experienced a surge in trade, consumer interest and growth. Known particularly for the highest quality ingredients produced by European artisans, De Medici was the first to introduce genuine Tuscan olive oil to America and market it nationally.
Stephen O’Mara, President of J.F. Braun, shared this with us, “We are very sorry to share the news of the passing of Ed Howard yesterday morning. Ed always had a quick joke to share. He had a great love of the Dried Fruit & Nut Industry of which he was a part of for over 40 years. He is survived by his wife, Enid, 3 daughters and grandchildren.” Edward Howard passed away on November 14, 2017.
George G. Gellert, Chairman of Gellert Global Group, stated, “Fred was a true pioneer in the import cheese business and had a major impact on the variety of cheeses we see at Atalanta and across the country today. Fred was crucial in developing our specialty cheese business from England, Holland, France, Spain, and Germany. So much of what we do today can be traced back to Fred Chesman. Even our presence and profile at the Fancy Food Show has been influenced by Fred. On behalf of all Atalanta, we mark Fred’s passing, celebrate his life and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.” Fred changed the landscape of the cheese world and Atalanta. An interview in Culture Cheese Magazine in May, 2012 captures Mr. Chesman’s mindset perfectly: “My strength is the ability to negotiate with foreigners, get a good deal. And I think I have good instincts about what to bring in. Retailers want new things, too. Because if you stand still, you go backward.” - Fred Chesman Mr. Chesman passed November 18, 2017.
In 2007 Paul sold De Medici Imports to the Gellert Family. He then stayed on for a period of a few years as a consultant. In 2016, he was inducted into the Specialty Food Hall of Fame. George G. Gellert, Chairman of Gellert Global Group, stated, “Paul was a keen marketer and curator of fine taste, and was key in developing many of the relationships that make up the De Medici portfolio. While we mourn his passing, Paul left his footprint on what is De Medici today. We are forever grateful to Paul and for his contribution to our organization.” Paul Farber passed away on Wednesday, November 29, 2017.
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
Th e G elle r t G l oba l G ro u p
Personal Notes Congratulations Jessica Lotz From Atalanta- Married on September 4 We wish the best to Jessica Lotz and Benji Snyder !
Atalanta’s Cristina Sotolongo Weds in June Cristina Sotolongo and Angel David Mateo were married on June 24, 2017. May your life together be filled with joy, happiness and lots of love.
Congrats to Angela Lugo from Atalanta Bryson Kaelin Lugo was born November 11, 2017. 7 lbs and 19 inches.
Congratulations Andrea Saulnier from Finica on the birth of her son! Brody Saulnier was born on December 6, 2017. He was a whopping 8 lbs 6 oz. Both Brody and Andrea are well and resting at home.
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A L OOK @20 17
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GELLERT GLOBAL GROUP
A L OOK @20 17