Gourmet News • May 2022

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Crippling Alread y Fragile Global Supply Chain

BY A J FLICK

Long before Feb 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, many retailers wondered when the global supply chain would recover from the pandemic

“I get that question from people all the time,” said supply chain expert Bill Thayer of Fillogic, a lo gistics platform for retailers “When will it go back to normal?

“Never,” he said bluntly “The way the consumer shops now is different than it was two years ago They’re comfortable having things delivered to their house The amount of people working from home things have changed dramatically from the way we

shop, eat, interact you name it ”

Many liken what happened during the pandemic to the sup ply chain was the largest disrup tion since World War 2, Thayer said Then toward the end of 2021 and into January 2022, the fragile supply chain began to heal

Then the Russian invasion hap pened, which quickly fed rising inflation, first noted at the gas pump Thayer said the United States needs to change its energy policy away from fossil fuels

“Electric we ’ re not there yet Maybe five or 10 years and we can be completely changing away from fossil fuels,” he said “But throw war into the mix and it’s a

whole different thing ”

While the United States had been relying on Russia for 8 per cent of its oil, which President Joe Biden has now banned, the Balkan regional shipping route has been disrupted not only be cause pipelines were cut off, but emergency shipments to Ukraine, including weapons, became the priority

“We have heard from some members about continuing diffi culties obtaining packaging and ingredients,” the Specialty Food Association said in a statement “However, many small brands are

y Stands With Ukraine

Aid to Refugees, Front-Line Workers

After Russia invaded its neighbor ing sovereign nation, Ukraine, in Februar y, specialty food compa nies responded quickly by donating money, food and supplies to Ukraini ans and organizations helping refugees as well as front line workers Southeastern Grocers initially donated $250,000 to the Interna tional Committee of the Red

private label Ukrainian vodka for Ukrainian relief, in honor of Ukraine’s official declaration of independence nearly 31 years ago

“At Southeastern Grocers, we are guided by doing the right thing; we recognize the people of Ukraine need our help, and they need it now, ” said Anthony Hucker, president and CEO

“That’s why we are immediately

Churros to the Rescue: Home Kits Sweeten Life for Consumers, Compan y

churro making company in Salt Lake City

Nobody knows that better than Scott Porter, founder and CCO (that’s Chief Churro Officer) of San Diablo Artisan Churros He first tasted the regional delicacy of filled churros on a trip to Mex ico City in 1996 Two decades later, he left his executive career to found San Diablo, an artisan

“Deep fried happiness,” Porter said during a Zoom call recently “That’s what we call churros Our mission as a company is all about spreading goodness and happi ness ”

Flash forward a few more years, when Porter and San Diablo were busy making fresh, filled churros for weddings, parties, corporate events, fairs and festivals with its food truck dispatched locally delivering that deep fried happi ness to as many Utahns as they

could

Then hello, pandemic Sud denly, San Diablo had no events to make churros for Previously, the com pany had created a growth plan as part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program though, that might have a way to get the company through the

Southern Recipe Small Batch Rebrands Rinds

BY A.J. FLICK

Southern Recipe Small Batch pork rinds emerged from the pandemic as feisty as ever, but with a whole new look

“As a brand, we ’ ve been out there for five years with the pack aging we came out with,” said Mark Singleton, vice president of sales and marketing “We’ve won numerous awards, but more im portantly, we ’ ve been very popu lar with consumers

“But as the market changes, we decided to update the bag,” he said

The mission was to set South ern Recipe Small Batch apart from other brands, to make the bags jump off the shelf and into gro cery carts And just as the brand set out to distinguish itself from other pork rinds by offering imag inative flavor combinations such as Blackberr y Habanero and Pineapple with Ancho Chile, the new packages would break barri ers as well

“We broke one of the cardinal sins and put pork rinds in a pull pack It’s like trying to get cats to sleep with dogs,” Singleton said, laughing

After experimenting with sev eral prototypes, San Diablo came up with Fiesta in a Box, which in cludes a

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I write this, the horrors of war in Ukraine are still being exposed and it doesn’t appear the Russ ian invasion will end anytime soon While the human toll is and should be our primary con cern, it is worth taking a look at how the war will affect our economy So our lead story this month is hearing from an expert on the global supply chain about the effects the war is having and will continue to have, even if the war ends suddenly On a more opti mistic note, it’s heartwarming to see how many U S companies are stepping up to do what they can to help Ukrainians, especially those who have fled their homes into neighboring countries We’ve been posting how specialty food companies are helping out on our website, gourmetnews com, and have rounded up the stories we ’ ve seen so far If your company is helping out, please let us know, too

Last year, we featured a Texas based pork rind company, Southern Recipe Small Batch, in an article on how popular Hatch chiles have become as a flavor in many foods This year, the company has come out with new branding for its out of this world flavored snacks I love the great flavors they have Most pork rinds have a BBQ flavor, but Southern Recipe Small Batch has Korean BBQ I haven’t tasted that one, but I’ve had the Cilantro Lime and Sea Salt and love those The rinds are soft and don’t scratch your mouth, too The new pack aging is clean and bright Read all about how the brand has evolved in my interview with Mark Singleton, who has got to be the No 1 pork rind fan in the world after former President George H W Bush (and read how Bush’s son inspired the company to make changes!)

Speaking of the Hatch chile stor y, which was in the October issue, I was at the Winter Fancy Food show, sitting down at a table to rest and take notes, when a woman asked if she could sit with me What do you know, but it was another specialty food maker who I’d talked to for the Hatch chile story, Nancy Wekselbaum of The Gracious Gourmet! She makes a Hatch Chile Pesto that is scrumptious We talked about how nice it was to be back at a trade show She wasn’t an exhibitor at this show, just scoping things out

Also in this issue, because May is the month that brings the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, I spoke with Scott Porter of San Diablo Artisan Churros I live in Tucson, Arizona, and in addition to having taco stands on nearly every corner, we ’ ve got churro stands galore, too San Diablo created Fiesta in a Box home churro kits during the pandemic, which is a great idea The churros are easy to make and delicious If you aren’t familiar with churros or think that all you can do is sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them (still delicious), read the story and find out how you can add filling and even make a savory dish out of them One idea re minds me of Sonoran Hot Dogs (created in Tucson), which are bacon wrapped hot dogs with lots of toppings including beans and onions

And inside this issue, check out my experiment with caviar I thought I didn’t like caviar, but I’m a convert now, having had a long distance caviar tasting with Daniel Lee of Imperia Caviar I love being proven wrong Unlike my attempt a few years ago to like Brussel sprouts (still don’t like ’em), the caviar tasting totally changed my mind about the delicacy, especially since Imperia makes it much more attainable than other caviars

Another article I’d like to draw your attention to is about an IRI study that shows it literally pays off for brands to have accurate portrayals of women and girls in ads Across gender, language, race and ethnicity, ads with high gender equality metrics scores overall delivered 60 percent improved sales performance Speaking for my self, I’m not impressed when I see a skinny supermodel pitching me products Having spent a few years writing ad copy and helping to create the look of ads, I love seeing people of different ages, races and gender in ads That’s something that I always advocated for (not always successfully) when I was in advertising

And, of course, we ’ ve got much more to read and see in this issue Here’s hoping you ’ re enjoying a great May wherever you are Stay safe! GN

— AJ Flick Senior Editor aj f@oser com

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Putting Caviar to the Taste Test After Years of Avoidance

REVIEW BY A J FLICK

I’ll admit it: My experience with caviar was limited Years ago, I was at a swanky recep tion in Washington, D C , where caviar was served I don’t know what kind it was, but I was eager to try it

Bleh I couldn’t un derstand why people raved about it It was squishy and fishy not in a good way So I consigned myself to be one of those who don’t like caviar and had avoided it since

The Gourmet News booth at the Winter Fancy Food Show faced a caviar booth Over the course of the show, several of my col leagues said they got a sample and liked it Eventually, I was too curious and stepped over to tr y it Only the man at the booth wasn’t nice to me and said he didn’t have any samples

However, in the waning hours of the show, a team from Imperia Caviar stopped by our booth and raved about the high quality caviar the company sells at half the price of most other caviars

I told them that I didn’t have a good ex perience with caviar and so I didn’t think I’d like it But I added that I was willing to try it if they were up to the challenge

After I got home, I was sent a box of caviar and scheduled a Zoom “taste test” with Imperia’s marketing manager (and for mer fine dining chef), Daniel Lee The company sent a box of mini blinis, too “I believe in our product,” Lee said “As a chef, if I can’t believe in the product, I can’t make it work

“The thing about caviar is, unlike the caviar that you see in the grocery store, we

don’t put any preser vatives in our caviar

That means it has a shorter shelf life, but we are offering caviar to consumers that’s as fresh as possible and not compromised in any way I don’t want to badmouth other brands, but that’s why they put them in grocer y stores because they have a five month shelf life ”

My caviar arrived with a note that said it should be eaten within a week of arrival

Like many oth ers, my perception of caviar is that it’s too expensive to eat it more often than a rare, elegant occasion That’s one notion Imperia wants to dispel

“We’re approach able to consumers, ” Lee said “We want to democratize it, really break boundaries where caviar is con cerned ”

Kaluga caviar has a mild but buttery taste with large roes, Lee said, which makes it a perfect entr y level caviar and the one he would start me on, working up to more briny caviar

He advised just tasting the caviars by themselves, rather than putting them on the blini or anything else Having been warned by a friend not to use a metal spoon

“Your friend is right,” Lee said I took modest scoops of the Imperia caviar, from the milder Kaluga to Sevruga to Ossetra

And I loved them!

Lee shattered my mental image of need ing champagne to eat caviar, instead saying he encourages people to tr y caviar with liquors such as tequila or vodka (Sevruga is best with vodka, he said)

Imperia’s TikTok feed is full of creative uses of caviar, including on a Chick fil A spicy chicken sandwich

Kaluga pairs well with salty foods, be cause it’s less briny, and Ossetra on Wagyu is a perfect combination, he said

Another caviar myth Lee dispelled is that all (or most) caviar comes from Russia Only a small amount of the world’s caviar comes from Russia, he said (Importing caviar from Russia is illegal, he said ) The majority of caviar comes from farms around Italy, China, Uruguay and Iran, he said Imperia sources from farms from South America to Asia

The quality of the caviar depends on the waters the fish are raised in, Lee said Caviar production dips in summer, when the heat diminishes the amount of caviar produced

Having tasted Imperia’s caviars and knowing that the company said once opened, the caviar should be eaten within a day or two, Lee had some interesting ideas about how to enjoy the caviar with other food:

• A blini topped with caviar, crème fraîche and a splash of lemon (“A little touch of lemon juice makes it pop, ” Lee said )

• Kettle or Lay’s chips

• Cucumber slices

• White chocolate and Kaluga caviar

• Panna Cotta

• Pan seared whitefish layered with beurre blanc and Royal Ossetra caviar on top

• Ossetra caviar on asparagus with Hol landaise sauce

• Grilled cheese sandwich (“Oh, yeah,

Back-to-School Market to Reach

$131.18B by 2030, Report Shows

The global back to school market is ex pected to reach $131 18 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 5 percent, according to a report by Allied Market Research

Driving the growth are a rise in govern ment expenditure and emphasis on pri mar y education, surge in campaigns and sales promotions and launch of innovative products, according to the report

However, choking hazards related to small components and toxicity of certain stationer y products hinder the market growth, according to the report On the other hand, digital transformation in edu cation and rise in prominence of online

shopping create new opportunities in the coming years

Not surprisingly, the production activi ties of back to school products were hin dered during the pandemic due to lockdown measures Moreover, disruptions in supply chain and closure of supermar kets led to reduced sales volumes

Owing to vaccination programs con ducted by governments of various coun tries, the schools began operations from school premises rather than conducting classes online, which led to increased de mand for back to school products

Innovative products have been launched and the demand from supermarkets, hyper

markets and online channels increased considerably

Based on distribution channel, the hy permarket/supermarket segment con tributed to the largest share in 2020, accounted for nearly two fifths of the global back to school market and is esti mated to maintain its dominant share dur ing the forecast period This is due to availability of a broad variety of products under a single roof and ample availability of parking space and convenient operation timings

However, the e commerce segment is projected to portray the fastest compound annual growth rate of 6 percent from 2021

you’d be surprised!”

Lee said, laughing )

• Caviar Bump, like a tequila shot, where you put the caviar on your hand (“Some thing about the way the cold caviar reacts to your warm skin makes it great,” Lee said ) and take a shot of tequila, lick the caviar and squeeze lime into your mouth

Emboldened by my new love for caviar, I convened a quick meeting of my taste test panel, my friends Robert Ulsrud and Craig Ludwiczak Robert offered to make salmon and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce I made plates for us with a cucumber slice, Kettle and Lay’s chips, blini and cream cheese (close enough) and a chicken Mc Nugget

“We’re going to put caviar on a chicken McNugget?!” said Craig, who had fond memories of caviar from high tea on a long ago vacation

We started with the milder Kaluga on the saltier items yes, the chicken McNugget and potato chips It was the best chicken McNugget we’d ever had

None of us are prone to tequila shots (anymore, at least), but none of us could resist trying a Caviar Bump We agreed it was tasty and fun

The best of all was the Ossetra on the salmon and aspara gus with Hol landaise sauce

Except for Craig, who chose a pork chop over salmon “I know it’s weird, because I like caviar, but I don’t like to eat fish,” he said

It looks like I have a lot of time to make up for not eating caviar But I’m pretty sure it will be on something like salmon and not a McNugget (although the grilled cheese sandwich idea intrigues me ) GN

to 2030 due to ease in availability, benefits such as information about the product at tributes, time saving features and facility of home deliver y provided by online plat forms

Based on region, Asia Pacific, followed by Europe and North America, accounted for the highest market share in 2020, con tributing to around two fifths of the global back to school market and is estimated to maintain its lead position by 2030 This re gion is expected to register the largest com pound annual growth rate of 6 percent during the forecast period due to a huge consumer base and massive opportunities for growth GN

Accurate Portrayal of Women, Girls in Ads Boosts Sales, Study Shows

Brands that accurately portray diverse women and girls in advertising can see sig nificant sales gains, according to a recent study by IRI

The study, done in partnership with See Her, a global movement for accurate repre sentation of women and girls in advertising and media, showed that across gender, lan guage, race and ethnicity, ads with high gender equality metrics scores overall de livered 60 percent improved sales perform ance

The study analyzed the social and finan cial incentives associated with the depic tion of women and girls across language and race and ethnicity in advertising cam paigns to determine if an accurate and pos itive portrayal of women in advertising could drive incremental sales lift and affect consumer behavior

Key findings of the study include:

• The bar is rising: The baseline GEM score for brands to see an incremental sales lift was increased to 106 in the 2021 study, compared with a baseline of 100 in the 2019 study This change reflects a raising of the bar in terms of representation across media of diverse women, indicating the movement to more accurately portray women and girls is both enhancing repre sentation and translating to more meaning ful growth for marketers

• Doing well by doing good: Ads with GEM scores above the baseline overall de

livered 60 percent improved sales perform ance on average across gender, language, race and ethnicity

• An intersectional lens delivers sales performance: Creatives that meet or exceed GEM baseline saw sales lift increase for Black women by 80 percent and 41 percent for Hispanic women

• Men are allies: Equality also is an im portant issue for men, with 73 percent cit ing it “personally important ” Results show that accurate portrayal of women leads to a 120 percent sales lift among Hispanic men and a 196 percent lift among Black men

“The results of our 2021 study show a clear and significant sales lift for ads that accurately portray diverse women, proving that meeting consumers ’ rising expecta tions of gender equality in advertising is critical for brands seeking growth,” said Jennifer Pelino, IRI’s executive vice presi dent of global media solutions “Equality

MeliBio Raises $5.7M to Launch Honey Without Bees

San Francisco based MeliBio, Inc , the first food tech company focused on creating real honey without bees, raised $5 7 mil lion in seed funding to scale its proprietary technology of precision fermentation and plant science and launch its first line of commercial products

MeliBio’s bee free honey invention was previously named Time Magazine’s Best In ventions 2021 and addresses key U N Sus tainable Development Goals, according to the company, whose total funding up to date reaches $7 2 million

MeliBio was founded in 2020 in Berkeley by Latinx scientist and amateur chef Aaron Schaller and Serbian immigrant and honey

industry executive Darko Mandich

“We know that science can produce deli cious and nutritious honey, which is mole cularly identical to traditional honey, at no cost to our precious bees,” CEO Mandich said “At MeliBio, we are here to introduce certainty in the supply chain and help com panies simplify their honey sourcing, while making their honey based formulations sustainable and delicious Together with our clients, we can make the future of honey better, for both humans and for bees ”

MeliBio’s first product, a plant based honey ingredient for B2B and foodservice, was unveiled in October after a blind taste test of industry leaders revealed that the

honey was indistin guishable from stan dard honey The ingredient was tested successfully in four restaurant launches in New York City and one CPG company in Washington D C , paving the way for MeliBio to scale manufacturing and onboard new clients from April

The company aims to provide its product to food, beverage and cosmetics companies looking to offer a sustainable and vegan product to the fast growing demographic of plant based, environmentally conscious and clean beauty consumers

starts with cultural perceptions and media plays a key role in ensuring appropriate character depiction, but quantitative eval uation is key to moving the industry in an upward direction ”

“The GEM metric is an increasingly im portant dimension for evaluating ads for gender equality,” said Latha Sarathy, chief research officer, ANA “We are very proud to see the needle moving, driving improve ments to advertisers’ bottom lines and greater equality in media ”

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y i s g o o d f o r s o c i e t y a n d g o o d f o r b u s i n e s s g ro w t h T h e re s u l t s o f o u r s t u d y a re o n c e a g a i n c o n c l u s i v e : A c c u r a t e re p re s e n t a t i o n i s g o o d f o r b r a n d s , a n d g o o d f o r s o c i e t y ” G N

The $10 billion dollar global honey in dustr y faces challenges including broken and complex supply chains, decreased yields, price volatility and quality issues

With looming effects of the climate crisis, the pressure of the honey industry is caus ing biodiversity of the 20,000 wild and na tive bees to decline Bees are essential for the existence of humans, experts say GN

Snack Maker John B. Sanfilippo & Son Celebrates 100-Year Anniversar y

For a century, Illinois based John B Sanfil ippo & Son, Inc , one of the largest private brand nut and snack manufacturers in the United States, has been owned and led by members of the Sanfilippo family The fourth generation is focused on manufacturing high quality nuts and snacks across its four brands: Fisher Nuts, Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand and Southern Style Nuts

In 1922, Sicilian immigrant Gaspare San filippo and his son, John, began a small pecan shelling operation in Chicago, crack ing pecans around the kitchen table Amid rapid growth in the late 1930s, the Sanfil ippo family transformed their shelling processes from manual to automated, inau gurating JBSS’ hallmark manufacturing in

novation and operational excellence

From modest beginnings to sales topping $858 million and 294 million pounds of product sold in the most recent fiscal year, JBSS has been committed to excellence and fostering a culture rooted in family and community

Headquartered in Elgin, JBSS employs 1,400 and operates four high capacity, state of the art production facilities, three of which are located in primary nut grow ing regions

“As we celebrate our 100 year anniver sary, we reflect on everyone who has played such a significant role in our company ’ s success, ” said Jeffrey Sanfilippo, CEO “We are honored to have such talented and ded

icated employees who have ser ved the company throughout our histor y We couldn’t have reached this remarkable mile stone without their dedication ”

Corporate philanthropy is also important to the company At the heart of JBSS’ mis sion is to help end hunger and food inse curity and encourage health and wellness throughout the communities where they operate

In addition, the company is expanding stewardship overseas to help economically disadvantaged nut growers within its net work build stronger infrastructures The company has been investing in Africa’s farming communities, which are among the world’s largest cashew growers

The company invests in extensive re search and development, consumer in sights and artificial intelligence to develop differentiated products and penetrate un tapped markets

“We strive to align product development with consumer insights,” Sanfilippo said “Our sourcing and manufacturing capabil ities also give us an edge in seizing the many different snacking opportunities using nuts and other plant based proteins I’m excited about growing our brands in the future and building the path toward $2 billion in sales ”

To mark the company ’ s centennial, JBSS executives closed the NASDAQ stock mar ket

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits to Distribute Band Midland's Insolito Tequila

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has signed a multi state distribution agreement with Insólito, a small batch, super pre mium tequila from the brothers Octavio and Alberto Herrera, who own and operate the Premium de Jalisco distiller y; double Grammy nominated band Midland; and Spirits Innovation Partners

Southern Glazer’s will have exclusive dis

Colorado and Arizona

Launched in February 2020, Insólito is distilled at an altitude of 7,200 feet in the Sierra Del Tigres mountains of Jalisco in a town called Mazamitla The high altitude and cooler temperatures provide for a slow, natural aging process, resulting in more complex flavors

Similar to the aging process of bourbon in Kentucky, the broad temperature fluctuation of aging at nearly a mile and a half above sea level al lows the tequila to travel into and out of the barrel wood at a higher rate, de veloping layer upon layer of complexity

spirits previously aged in those barrels

tribution rights for Insólito in Texas, Cali fornia, Florida, New York, Illinois,

The brand chose to use only new American white oak barrels for the aging process, allowing the 100 percent blue agave spirit to mingle with the barrels’ richness and hints of natural caramel and vanilla without the influence from other

Insólito will be included in Southern Glazer’s recently launched Craft Col lection Luxury Spirits division in California, Texas and Florida, supported by a dedi cated sales and mar keting team focused on high potential, super premium craft spirits The brand will benefit not only from Southern Glazer’s proven track record with building brands, but also its national scale, route to market capabilities and industr y leading Proof e commerce platform to drive growth

“Insólito is an exceptional addition to our new Craft Collection Luxur y Spirits line of products in all key tequila markets,” said Ray Lombard, executive vice president and general manager, Craft Collection Lux ur y Spirits “Insólito provides us with an

Jones Soda Signs Sponsorship Deal with UFC Champ Julianna Peña

Seattle based Jones Soda has secured a sponsorship agreement with Julianna Peña, the mixed martial artist who won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship and was recently named MMA Junkie’s Fe male Fighter of the Year

Following the company ’ s tradition of sup porting extreme sports, Jones Soda took no tice of Peña’s rising career as she trained before her stunning upset to dethrone the

defending bantamweight champion in De cember Hailing from Spokane, Washington, the “Venezuelan Vixen” is a northwestern hometown hero with a feisty attitude who strongly complements Jones Soda’s bold brand personality, according to the company

“We have strategically turned up our marketing efforts over the past 18 months, and those initiatives have played a pivotal role in rebooting our growth,” said Mark

Murray, president and CEO “Partnering with Julianna Peña is not only an extension of those efforts, but also a whole new way to raise our brand profile Julianna is highly visible, she has a passionate fan base, and she is as authentic in her space as we are in ours I can’t think of a better person to rep resent the brand ”

Peña will wear the Jones logo on her fight apparel, as well as promote Jones by wearing

award winning Jalisco Highland Tequila with a unique consumer proposition of being created at 7,200 feet above sea level by the Herrera brothers “This, combined with the support from Midland introducing the brand to their fans while on tour, pres ents a great opportu nity to extend tequila’s reach to the huge countr y music demographic,” he said

“We launched Insólito in Texas,” said Midland’s lead singer, Mark Wystrach, “and knew immediately we had struck a chord with tequila fans I guess you could say the brand is now hitting the road with South ern Glazer’s, on tour to win over folks across the country ”

Midland promotes Insólito to their more than half a million social media followers while on tour GN

the company ’ s t shirts and other branded merchandise in media appearances and through brand references on her social media platforms The team is also exploring possi ble collaborations on future soda flavors

“This partnership is a perfect match for me, ” Peña said “Jones is a fun brand with bold flavors and a strong personality We’re going to have a great time working to gether ” GN

So Good Food Wins Good Food Award, Named ‘True Innovator’ by Foundation

So Good Food’s Garlic’n’Dill Miso Mayo took home a 2022 Good Food Award and was named a “true innovator” by the Good Food Foundation

“We’re honored to award So Good Food as a true innovator that rose to the top in a blind tasting and met the high sustainabil ity and socially responsible standards of the Good Food Foundation,” said the founda tion’s executive director, Sarah Weiner, not ing that the company is woman owned

“Women entrepreneurs often face signif icant challenges getting seen We created the Good Food Awards to highlight the small, local makers doing everything right, whose tremendous contributions are often overlooked,” she said

The Good Food Foundation celebrates, connects and empowers local food makers, ranchers and growers who are creating

tasty, authentic and responsible food in the American food culture The 2022 Good Food Awards highlight the best of the best across the nation in 18 categories and awards three winners in each region In 2022, ever y state was represented with nearly 2,000 submissions

“I believe it is our collective efforts that can turn the tide and ensure our shared Earth will sur vive,” said Rene Redzepi, chef/owner of the world renowned restau rant Noma, in congratulating So Good Food “You are the champions of the future and you are leading the way ”

“The Good Food Awards seal on winning products guarantees excellence and assures consumers they have found something ex ceptionally delicious that also supports sus tainability and social good,” said So Good Food’s founder, Janet Smith “We are priv

ileged to be in the company of these amaz ing food and bever age creators Garlic’n’Dill Miso Mayo is a unique and versatile condi ment that elevates the ordinary a de liciously umami plant based dressing great for dipping, spreading and toss ing ”

So Good Food, based in Venice, Calif , has been making award win ning Miso Mayo since 1990 Miso Mayo is the first and only miso based mayo

on the market the refrigerated condi ments are plant based, Non GMO and vegan, sustainably produced, lo cally sourced, and mini mally processed It comes in four flavors: Sweet Black Garlic, Spicy Red Pepper, Original Fla vor and Garlic’n’Dill

So Good Food prod ucts are sold online and west of the Rockies in Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, New Seasons/New Leaf Markets, Natural Gro cers, Erewhon, Jimbo’s and many independent natural and specialty food markets GN

Sol Cuisine, Hilary’s Acquisitions Expand PlantPlus

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p o r t f o l i o t o i n c l u d e p l a n t f o r w a rd a n d meat analogue products in appetizers, en t re e s a n d m e a t a n a l o g u e c o m p o n e n t s t o b e t t e r m e e t t h e n e e d s o f c o n s u m e r s a n d t h e i r l i f e s t y l e c h o i c e s a c ro s s m u

trition for ward products in the rapidly growing North American plant based mar ket provides an opportunity for PlantPlus Foods and its newly acquired partners to satisfy the needs of consumers while capi talizing on the potential of where the in dustry can grow, according to the company PlantPlus Foods looks to expand produc tion and commercialization for plant based protein products as it builds capabilities and infrastructures that will benefit the in dustry

protein offerings across key center of plate and appetizer categories Its products are offered through an established omni chan nel distribution platform in Canada, the United States and Mexico

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Weeks after LikeMeat’s Like Chick’n Wings landed on shelves at Sprouts and Sam’s Club, LiveKindly Collective’s plant based version of the favorite party food has moved into more than 3,600 Walmart stores

“LiveKindly Collective is all about the joy of plant based living,” said Emily

Sol Cuisine produces branded and pri vate label, consumer preferred plant based

LikeMeat’s Plant-Based Chick’n Wings Available Nationwide

Klooster, VP of marketing

“We’re in it to wing it! We want to enlist Americans this year to make their snacking plant based without compro mising on flavor It’s a wing wing situation ”

Like Chick’n Wings have a bone free, meaty texture

Gluten free, certified plant based and made with non GMO ingredients, Like Chick’n Wings are available in a one pound Family Pack in the freezer aisle at Walmart loca tions nationwide Each one includes a pouch of vegan Buffalo sauce

LiveKindly Collective entered the U S market last year and has launched two plant based food brands: No Meat, with products available at Walmart, and LikeMeat, with products available at Walmart, Shoprite, Tar get, Sprouts, Sam’s Club and GTFO It’s Vegan The Collective also recently launched a Creole Red Bean Sandwich developed ex clusively for Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen as the chain’s first vegan menu item

LiveKindly Collective was founded by Blue Horizon Group on the belief that plant based alternatives have the power to make the global food system sustainable Its mission is to make plant based living

new norm

LiveKindly Collective ser ves as a voice for the plant based movement, communi cating informative, entertaining and inspir ing content through its media and lifestyle platforms LiveKindly Collective has more than 500 employees and sells products in more than 40 countries GN

Finless Foods Raises $34M in B Funding to Launch Plant-Based Tuna Nationally

California based Finless Foods, the first cell cultured seafood company and first to serve cell cultured fish in the United States, closed its Series B funding at $34 million, bringing the total raised to nearly $48 mil lion since 2017

“I am excited to swiftly follow up last year ’ s funding round with our Series B to fi nalize the construction of a pilot facility where Finless will produce its first saleable cell cultured bluefin tuna for market, due to open in the Bay Area this year, ” said Michael Selden, CEO and co founder “We are also gearing up to launch our plant based tuna into foodservice nationally this year, which will drive revenue into the company, a key milestone for Finless and the industry ”

The company will use this significant in vestment to ramp up its strategic growth period to:

• Launch plant based tuna nationally into foodser vice in the United States, ex plore international distribution in Asia and expand Finless’s plant based seafood port folio;

• Expand Finless’s team, deepening the technical research and development staff and further building out the business capa bilities to grow the company from R&D to

a food company;

• Gain regulatory approval for Finless’s cell cultured bluefin tuna, enabling it to be sold and consumed;

• Lead the indus tr y in reducing the price of cell cul tured bluefin tuna to reach price parity with its conven tional equivalent

After learning about the ever in creasing pressure being placed on the ocean and global fisheries, especially on key species of concern such as bluefin tuna, Selden and Brian Wyr was founded the company around a single guiding mission: to create a future for seafood where the ocean thrives “We instinctively identified bluefin tuna as Finless’s first species of focus and priority, both for its conservation opportu nity and business strategy,” Selden said

F

I m p a c t B o a rd i n c l u d e s M i k e S u t t o n , w h o h e l p e d c re a t e t h e M a r i n e S t e w a rd s h i p Council and has spent more than 30 years w o r k i n g t o f o s t e r t h e s u s t a i n a b l e s e a f o o d movement; Dick Jones, a seafood industry v e t e r a n w h o o v e r s a w s e a f o o d o p e r a t i o n s a t W h o l e F o o d s M a r k e t a n d H E B G ro c e r y ; a n d J a c k K i t t i n g e r, w h o l e a d s C o n s e r v a t i o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l ’ s G l o b a l F i s h e r i e s

a n d

Finless is tack ling tuna first and then will ex pand to addi tional species

Not only will this supply an additional source of tuna alterna tives to reduce the increasing pressure on global, wild cap ture tuna stocks, but it also en ables consumers to diversify the ways they enjoy the popular and craveable seafood dishes they love, such as poke and sushi, without damaging the oceans

This funding round was led by Hanwha Solutions Additional investors include Japanese seafood company Dainichi Corp, At One Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, Justin Kan, Humboldt, Gaingels, Draper Associates, Sus tainable Ocean Alliance and SOSV GN

Next Wave of Digitization Will Challenge Retailers, Future Commerce Initiative Says

The range of digital selling models in use today and planned for the near future use shapes the supply chain design including fulfillment, pickup and delivery, according to a new study on the future of digital sell ing, fulfillment and delivery from the Fu ture Commerce Initiative

“Retail has had three major transitions points over the past 100 years, ” said Daniel O’Connor, an executive in residence at Har vard Business School and an adviser on the study “We use the term ‘generation’ to sig nify these major transition points There is a fourth generation of retail emerging that will continue over the next three to five years

“Legacy retailers that fail to move from the old to the new business model risk los ing market share, ceding competitive ad vantage, and even going out of business,” he said

Digitization has fundamentally opened new possibilities for brands and retailers of all types, according to the study Digital is a data driven strategy powered by growing

data sets, analytics and algorithms that en able deep personalization, newfound speed and precision

Digital retailing is not static, the study shows The days of selling from a simple digital catalog has given way to a range of marketplace, social selling, community selling and other digital models, including the evolution of the metaverse As con sumers ’ habits evolve to new digital shop ping options, all retailers and sellers look to implement new digital selling models These new substitutes then may devalue any previous selling model

The study found that industry economics are changing profoundly All retailers are looking to digitize, which involves a com plex series of choices Jumping from a store only to a digitally based or hybrid selling, fulfillment and distribution model requires enormous scale, new skills, organization structures, capital investment and metrics

Executive teams and their boards are challenged to invest beyond digital point

solutions while also having a satisfactor y return on invested capital, the study says

For the digitally native retailer, these strate gies are core without a competing physical, in person retail architecture to consider

The COVID 19 pandemic provided the watershed moment for grocery retailers to ex pand digital sales, the study found Grocery digital sales, pre COVID 19, hovered around 4 to 5 percent of total sales These often reached 10 to 12 percent with individual cat egories such as beauty and skin care, while categories such as pet and baby reached as high as 40 percent No grocery retailer in this study, however, was prepared for the 25 or 50 percent digital grocery environment already visible in markets such as China today

“As selling models are changing, this evolution comes with supply chain impli cations spanning operational total share holder return, namely ser vice levels, revenue, margin, cost to ser ve and cash,” said Shri Hariharan, go to market leader and corporate vice president, Industr y

Consumers Shifting From ‘Diets’ to Longer-Lasting, Healthy Changes

While the pandemic drove many American consumers toward indulgent food and bev erages, they then focused on health and wellness, which also changed their ideas about dieting, according to a new NPD re port

The report, “America’s Health Pulse: Closing the Gap Between Wants and Needs,” shows that consumers are shifting from diets and “ can’t haves” into whole body health and lifestyle changes they believe will be long

lasting

Dieting today isn’t always about weight loss, according to the report To many, it’s about good nutrition and well being

b o

Strategies, of Blue Yonder, which co spon sored the study

“Therefore, it is important to understand the selling model that works best for them before they go out and configure the end to end value network including solution strate gies and ecosystem partner choices to deliver the network effect,” Hariharan said “We en courage industry decision makers to care fully consider the implications of the FCI study in their transformation blueprints ”

The study involved multiple conversa tions with more than 20 retailers, whole sale/distributors, digital sellers, leading delivery networks and quick commerce (Q commerce) companies, as well as significant contributions from consulting firms from July to September Researchers examined both what the holistic choices were and why retailers had chosen the approach they have, including different selling models, store net works, pickup solutions, fulfillment net works and last mile delivery models to maintain profitability in the digital world GN

c h a n g e s

o N

a d i e t , w i t h 1 6 p e r c e n t o n “ t h e i r o w n d i e t ” v e r s u s a f o r m a l d i e t p l a n s u c h a s i n t e r m i t t e n t f a s t i n g o r k e t o A c c o rd i n g t o N P D , c o n s u m e r s a re c u s t o m i z i n g d i e t s b y a d a p t i n g f o r m a l d i e t o r n u t r i t i o n p l a n s t o m e e t t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l w e l l n e s s n e e d s a n d l i f e s t y l e

Health and wellness goals vary by gener ation, according to the report When think ing about the long term, older Gen Zs, born 1997 to 2005, and younger Millennials, born 1990 to 1996, strive to look good or gain weight along with other health and wellness goals

On the other hand, older and younger Boomers are addressing their immediate health needs and want to stay healthy and live longer

Westrock Coffee Forges Ahead With Sustainability Goals

Arkansas based Westrock Coffee Company will build on its successful goals to foster social equity and conser vation for con sumers and environments that affect its products, according to the company ’ s newest sustainability report

The report outlines work completed throughout its supply chains and opera tions globally to reinforce its ongoing com mitment to create products and solutions that support a socially equitable, more sus tainable planet

“We are proud of the work we ’ ve done over the last 13 years and the steps we have taken this past year to rapidly advance our sustainability goals,” said Matt Smith, EVP of commodities and sustainability “Our ef forts and the systems we ’ ve created are changing the industry from the inside out for the betterment of the people and envi

ronments touched throughout our coffee and tea supply chains ”

Aligning with Westrock Coffee’s commit ment to responsibly source all coffee and tea by 2025, the report highlights Westrock Coffee’s industry leadership in its focus on social equity and economic opportunity These highlights include proprietary pro grams developed to support farmer devel opment, economic transparency, digital traceability and environmental mitigation throughout its supply chain

Achievements noted in the report in clude training 46,000 farmer partners in extension services across Westrock Coffee’s group of companies, launching an internal framework for verifying responsibly sourced coffee and tea in key supply chains and completing the first “garden to final packaging” carbon footprint analysis for

fresh brewed tea products

In partnership with the Committee on Sustainable Assessment and British Stan dards Institution, Westrock Coffee created a Responsible Sourcing Policy as a supplier assurance framework, affirming all prod ucts will be bought and processed in a way that is fair to the people who grow and han dle them, as well as their employees, peers and the environment, according to the re port

Westrock Coffee will use its existing pledge of 100 percent assurance of respon sibly sourced coffee and tea as a spring board toward future sustainability commitments, including evolving its ESG strategy to align with the goals of cus tomers and needs within the supply chain

Westrock Coffee Company is a leading beverage solutions partner to foodservice,

“ T h e p a t t e r n o f c o n s u m e r a t t e n t i o n t o h e a l t h a n d w e l l n e s s s h o w s i n c r e a s i n g a w a r e n e s s a n d a d a p t a t i o n a c r o s s t h e b o a rd , ” s a i d D a r re n S e i f e r, N P D f o o d a n d b e v e r a g e i n d u s t r y a n a l y s t a n d a u t h o r o f “ A m e r i c a ’ s H e a l t h P u l s e ” r e p o r t “ T h i s m e a n s c o n s u m e r s n o l o n g e r t h i n k o f h e a l t h a n d w e l l n e s s a s a n a d d o n , b u t a s a n i n t e g r a t e d p a r t o f h o w t h e y l i v e t h e i r l i v e s ; t h a t , i n t u r n , o p e n s o p p o rt u n i t y f o r b r a n d s t o b e c o m e a p e r m a n e n t s o l u t i o n ” G N

on the

and co manufacturer of national and private label brands that have been delighting consumers for decades United with the common goal of driving growth for our customer and bringing joy to the lives of consumers, our family of brands includes Anastasia Confections, Coconut Island, Money on Honey, Williams & Bennett and Hoffman’s Chocolates, and

Manufactured to meet the standards of Abdallah’s amazing butter toffee, the Cinnamon Churro toffee is available in both bulk and prepackaged The cinnamon infused toffee is topped with cinnamon sugar and covered with the smoothest white confection The bulk pieces are available in two sizes: a large 3" x 3" size and a smaller 1" x 2" size The

Plant Based Tomato

Arkansas family owned wholesale beverage distributor since 1935 and services the entire state from a 350,000 square foot facility in Little Rock

“Central is one of two major wholesale houses in the state,” said Robert Nistico, Splash Beverage Group’s chairman and CEO, “and they’re among the leaders in utilizing the latest technologies and innovation to give

Darrell Lea is proud to announce the arrival of its chocolate block range to the USA in the spring of 2022 Its deli cious products are filled with yummy, crunchy, gooey, chewy bits and are here to bring a smile to your day

The block range will include Traditional Rocklea Road milk choco late block, smooth and creamy plain milk chocolate block, milk chocolate peanut brittle block and milk chocolate caramel craving block

The new chocolate block range will be non GMO and 100% palm oil free, and 100% of the company’s cocoa raw material is sourced sustain ably

Las Olas Launches New Products

GP: Las Olas Confections and Snacks is a manufacturer and co manufacturer of national and private label brands that have been delighting consumers for decades United with the common goal of driving growth for our customer and bringing joy to the lives of consumers, our family of brands includes Anastasia Confections, Coconut Island, Money on Honey, Williams & Bennett and Hoffman’s Chocolates, and

An interview with Aytur Aksu, President, Just The Fun Part

GN: Tell our readers about your company

AA: Just The Fun Part is a brand by my company, EverGreen USA, that I start ed after moving to the United States from Turkey in 2007

From our humble beginnings as an olive oil company, we have expanded our gourmet specialty food line to cover nearly every category of the grocery department Today, EverGreen USA has more than 150 different gourmet food items Just The Fun Part

Abdallah

O n e h u n d r e d a n d 1 3 y e a r

Announces

old, fifth generation, family owned Abdallah Candy com pany proudly introduces Cinnamon Churro toffee, a carefully crafted toffee that evokes the feelings of warm cinnamon and sugar with a slight buttery crunch Manufactured to meet the standards of Abdallah’s amazing butter toffee, the Cinnamon Churro toffee is available in both bulk and prepackaged The cinnamon infused toffee is topped with cinnamon sugar and covered with the smoothest white confection The bulk pieces are available in two sizes: a large 3" x 3" size and a smaller 1" x 2" size The

Plant-Based Tomato Jerky from Bella Sun Luci

Bella Sun Luci’s Plant Based Tomato Jerky was voted Best International Artisan Plant Based/Vegan Jerky of 2021 by the Tasty Awards and Best Overall Meatless Product of the Year for 2021 by the Mindful Awards It’s been recognized by Forbes Magazine and Fancy Food as a Top Ten Trend

“We believe in new and innovative snacking that brings delicious flavor to your life. Our new award winning plant based jerky meets the consumer desire for flavor and plant based snack options,” says Mary Mooney, owner of Mooney Farms “As with all of our products,

Arkansas Distributor to Carry Splash Beverage Group’s TapouT

Arkansas based Central Distributors will be carrying TapouT, a high per formance energy drink, according to Florida based Splash Beverage Group, a portfolio company of lead ing beverage brands Central already distributes Splash’s Copa and Pulpoloco brands

Central Distributors has been an Arkansas family owned wholesale beverage distributor since 1935 and services the entire state from a 350,000 square foot facility in Little Rock

“Central is one of two major wholesale houses in the state,” said Robert Nistico, Splash Beverage Group’s chairman and CEO, “and they’re among the leaders in utilizing the latest technologies and innovation to give

VegOut Magazine Loves Bella Sun Luci Plant-Based Tomato Jerky

Bella Sun Luci Plant Based Tomato Jerky is on VegOut Magazine’s love list “Plant based jerky made from whole foods? You can find us snacking on this tomato snack on repeat,” writes Anja Grommons from VegOut Magazine

Plant Based Tomato Jerky is the first of its kind plant based jerky made from California grown tomatoes and seasoned with minimal ingredients The tasty snack holds fiber and protein content of 6 grams per serving It is handcrafted, non GMO, certified kosher and vegan Fancy food magazines have also recognized the flavorful snack on the list of Top Ten Trends, a 2021 Mindful Awards Winner and 2021 Plant Based Jerky by the Tasty Awards

Bella Sun Luci keeps snacking sim ple The plant based snack allows for mindful snacking with zero cholesterol and zero fat, making it a healthy addition to any lifestyle Some flavors are gluten free, and each bag holds only 80 calories per serving With the travel seeker in mind, each snack pack has a resealable

zipper pouch that allows for the tomato jerky to be enjoyed anywhere From the golf course to a hike or enjoyed as a quick snack at work, this plant based jerky is perfect for everyone

“As a result of the many accolades we have received since launching the tomato jerky, we have begun focusing our product development into a variety of products that appeals to a wide range of diversified markets We want to pro vide all communities an assortment of goods to shop from,” explains Mooney F a r m s P r e s i d e n t a n d C E O M a r y

Mooney

The new Plant Based Tomato Jerky Line is available in two exciting flavors, including Sriracha and award winning Teriyaki and Cracked Pepper Each exceptional flavor is so ridiculously deli cious that one is not enough. This origi nal Tomato Jerky appeals to the health conscious and ethical consumer without having to sacrifice flavor The snack is spicy and sweet, minus the meat!

Bella Sun Luci is a line of premium

New Organic Wafers & Cookies from J&M Foods

In the J&M Foods family, FOOD = LOVE

That’s the straightforward equation that compelled Jamie Parham to enlist the help of her two daughters, Janis & Melanie, and start J&M Foods in her kitchen, 30 years ago

The foundation: obsess over simple i n g r e d i e n t s w i t h c o n s i s t e n t q u a l i t y across every batch No cutting corners with colors, artificial flavors or trans fats Baking the way Jamie’s grand mother taught her

Never ones to rest on their laurels, Janis & Melanie are constantly testing,

tasting and tinkering with new recipes

Most recently, they’ve created a captivat ing line of organic wafers and cookies sure to gain attention from even the most discerning eaters

It sounds simple enough, but those who eat organic have a little higher stan dard and demand a lot from their food

They don’t care for synthetic or bioengi neered ingredients They like to keep it simple and they like their food to taste great Janis & Melanie organics does just that Made with simple ingredients such as rich chocolates, caramel, sea salt, lemon, ginger and vanilla, Janis

Divine Chocolate Launches New Packaging Design to Reflect Social Mission

Divine Chocolate is the world’s first and only Fairtrade and B Corp certified premium chocolate company that is co owned by cocoa farmers Driven by a mission to fight exploitation in the cocoa industry, Divine champions the needs of farmers to improve their lives and to build a sustainable and fair world

In the fall of 2021, Divine debuted refreshed branding that features vibrant new packaging and a powerful call to action for chocolate lovers to help end e x p l o i t a t i o n i n t h e c o c o a i n d u s t r y Encircled by the tagline “Every Bar D i r e c t l y I m p r o v e s t h e L i v e s o f Farmers,” a modern logo depicts the brand’s iconic handshake to communi c a t e D i v i n e C h o c o l a t e ’s p a r t n e r s h i p with farmer owners To connect con sumers to how their purchasing choices can empower others, each wrapper high

lights Divine’s mission to change the cocoa industry The brand’s 13 flavors of dark, milk and white chocolate bars f e a t u r e s h a r e a b l e p i e c e s , e a c h a l s o i m p r i n t e d w i t h t h e h a n d s h a k e s e a l , cocoa beans and the brand’s “one pur pose” mission statement

“When it comes to chocolate, small choices create big changes,” said Troy Pearley, executive vice president and general manager, North America of Divine Chocolate “These branding updates better reflect our commitment to the social and economic exploitation that has impacted the cocoa industry Every Divine chocolate bar that consumers pur chase improves the lives of farmers and their families ”

The poverty created by farmer exploitation is a root cause of issues within the cocoa industry, ranging from child labor and gender inequality to

Mediterranean inspired products created from authentic family recipes The line includes a variety of deliciously sweet sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, sun dried tomato chipotle sauce, pasta sauces, bruschetta spreads, estate grown premi um olive oil, risotto, marinades and new vegan jerky

Bella Sun Luci is produced by Mooney Farms, a third generation, fami ly owned company that is based in Chico, California, and rooted in quality, integrity and family values Mooney Farms is the premier producer of sun dried tomatoes in the United States, and a proud member of the WBENC, California Olive Oil Council and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance

& Melanie have married indulgent and organic togeth er into a line of simply great tasting wafers and cookies Give them a try

J&M Foods enjoys being flexible enough to handle all its customers’ needs Located in a 32,000 square foot facility residing on 21 acres, it has room to grow along with its customers Centrally locat ed and nationally recognized, J&M Foods is an award winning market leader within the specialty foods industry

For more information about the new line of Janis & Melanie organic wafers

deforestation In col laboration with Kuapa Kokoo, the co op that co owns Divine Chocolate, Divine is committed to leading a revolu tion that propels change along the cocoa supply chain, enabling farmers and their families to flourish

K u a p a K o k o o , a F a i r t r a d e c o c o a c o o p e r a t i v e w i t h o v e r 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 m e m b e r s i n G h a n a , o w n s 2 0 % o f D i v i n e C h o c o l a t e a n d t h e r e f o r e , r e c e i v e s 2 0 % o f D i v i n e ’s d i s t r i b u t a b l e p r o f i t s F a r m e r s b e n e f i t f r o m t h e F a i r t r a d e M i n i m u m P r i c e , t h e F a i r t r a d e P r e m i u m a n d D i v i n e ’s i n v e s t m e n t i n f a r m e r l e d i n i t i a t i v e s i n a d u l t l i t e r a c y a n d n u m e r a c y, l a b o r r i g h t s , g e n d e r e m p o w e r m e n t a n d s u s t a i n a b l e a g r i c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s t h a t e m p o w e r f a r m e r s a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s t o t h r i v e a n d p r o s p e r D i v i n e i s a m u l t i y e a r h o n o r e e r e c o g n i z e d a s “ B e s t f o r t h e Wo r l d : C o m m u n i t i e s ” b y B C o r p

and cookies, call 800 264 2278 J&M Foods will be happy to send you sample packs of the new products and let you be the judge

J&M Foods is also available to dis cuss any private label needs and wel comes additional questions you may have about J&M Foods or the Janis & Melanie line of products

For more information, call 800 264 2278 or email sales@jm foods com

All Divine Chocolate is made with Fairtrade sugar and single origin Fairtrade cocoa beans grown by family farmers

Its chocolate bars contain 100% pure cocoa butter, only natural flavors and ingredients, and no palm oil, no soy and no GMOs

All products are vegetarian and vegan suitable options are available. Packaging is plastic free and features recyclable foil and paper

Available for purchase nationwide and online at www divinechocolate com, offerings include snack bars, a baking collection, cocoa powder, crispy thins, organic, advent calendars, chocolate coins, drinking chocolate and holiday editions

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #11434, go to www divinechocolate com, email sales@divinechocolateusa com or f

l

Instagram

c e r t i f i e r s

Keto-Friendly Fudge: A Long-Time Favorite

Sales of keto food products continue to grow rapidly, and keto friendly, sugar free Country Fresh Fudge is no excep t i o n C o u n t r y F r e s h F o o d & Confections, Inc is not new to the keto market It was one of the very first com panies to offer sugar free fudge back in the late ‘90s The goal back then was to g i v e p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y d i a b e t i c s , a sweet treat that would not only keep their blood sugar in check, but would taste good, too

The Country Fresh Fudge approach was to give the consumer sugar free fudge that tastes almost identical to tradi tional fudge made with sugar Another goal was to have a “true” sugar free

fudge Often other brands call their fudge sugar free, but upon closer examination of the ingredients, one can find sweeten ers such as fructose, a fruit sugar that can be unsafe for diabetics The result of much research and trial and error, Country Fresh sugar free fudge is made with AA grade butter, cream, Belgian chocolate and Dutch cocoa, which gives a rich, clean taste that can satisfy even the most discriminating palate Consumers are often amazed when they find out that there is only one net carb per ounce

In addition to being low in net carbs, there are also three grams of soluble fiber per ounce This fiber can help lower cho

Introducing Hammond’s Jumbo Candy Sticks and Sweet and Savory Snack Mixes

Hammond’s Candies, a Denver, Colorado based confectioner, has been delighting candy lovers since 1920 The company has launched two new great lineups for consumers of all ages: deli cious, jumbo sized Candy Sticks and unique flavor packed Sweet and Savory Snack Mixes Hammond’s candy cane lovers will be excited over the unique everyday candy sticks filled with choco

late or vanilla crème These treats come in bold flavors such as Ice Crème Sandwich, Root Beer Float and Banana Split

“Our new candy sticks are a great twist on the age old candy cane, our number one holiday product,” said Andrew Schuman, president and chief executive officer of Hammond’s Candies Hammond’s Snack Mixes,

Shots Box Shares Whiskeys to Check Out in 2022

Spending on food increased marginally and on alcohol even more with reasons for increased drinking including stress (45 7 percent), increased alcohol avail ability (34 4 percent) and boredom (30 1 percent), according to a 2020 study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

With these attitudes in tandem with the growing trend of flavored adult bev erages, the craft alcohol industry expects accelerated growth for whiskey and other fine spirits in 2022 and beyond 2021 saw some whiskey trends, from bottling at cask strength to celebri ty owned and branded spirits According to data published by Statista, from the period of 2021 to 2025, the global

whiskey market is expected to grow by more than 37 percent The market was valued at $79 6 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $109 billion by 2025 Los Angeles based Shots Box, dis tributor of curated craft, artisanal and small batch spirits by subscription, shares some of its top whiskey selections for 2022:

• Whistlepig Straight Rye Whiskey 10 yr Whistlepig, a major player in the American whiskey market, is trend ing as one of the top distilleries for the new year This whiskey is one of the m o s t a w a r d e d r y e w h i s k e y s i n t h e world

• Lagavulin Offerman Edition 11 Year Old Scotch Whiskey This is an

Stonewall Kitchen Piña Colada Mixer

From tasty bites to exceptional sips, the specialty food creators at Stonewall Kitchen are known for making quality products from only the best ingredients Delivering sweet, creamy flavor that packs a perfectly fruity punch in every glass, their new Piña Colada Mixer is sure to add a burst of tropical flair to your cus tomers’ at home bars

A delicious take on this clas sic Caribbean cocktail, it features

lesterol and give the consumer the feeling of satiety

Additionally, the sugar free varieties of fudge are reduced in calories by approximately 30%, depending on the flavor, making them acceptable for nearly all diets, as well as for those wanting to reduce their sugar intake Additional ingredients include Isomalt and Erythritol, with additional sweetness provided by Sucralose

Currently, keto friendly sugar free fudge is available in many types of offerings. For those selling fudge over the counter, it comes in finished 6lb loaves or pre cut 2oz pieces that require no cutting or weighing For impulse purchase, there is a 24 count assorted

launched in mid 2021, have been a great addition to Hammond’s every day offerings “We know our cus tomers have been craving unique, everyday snack items to comple ment our caramel corns and snacking marshmallows,” said Schuman Schuman says both lineups are already getting rave reviews

Hammond’s Candy Sticks are now shipping to retail stores across the coun try with an MSRP of $2 95 Snack mixes

extraordinary spirit that was created as part of a collabora tion with actor Nick Offerman, best known for playing Ron Swanson in NBC’s “Parks and Rec

”

• Full Curl Straight Rye Whiskey Matured in new charred oak barrels for at least two years, evoking the bold vitality and broad range of the Rocky Mountain Bighorn, Full Curl’s rich and complex straight bourbon whiskey makes a fitting toast to the dra matic history of America’s largest wild sheep.

• Kin Brown Bourbon Whiskey

Every bottle comes with a Mule Kit, which includes a copper mug, Q Drinks Ginger Beer and recipe card; it comes

caddy of six top sell ing sugar free flavors

O t h e r p a c k a g e s include very popular 6oz and 12oz pack ages that offer excel l e n t s h e l f l i f e a n d value For the holi d a y s , k e t o f u d g e i s a v a i l a b l e i n d e c o r a tive gift boxes and tins

In addition to keto sugar free fudge, Country Fresh Fudge is available in more than 100 flavors of premium, made from scratch, smooth and silky fudge Offerings include finished fudge, a vari ety of packaged options, as well as pri vate labeling.

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #12411, call 800 545 8782,

are available in 6 5 to 8 ounce bags, in case packs of eight, with a suggested retail price of $5 95

Place your order for Hammond’s Candy Sticks and Snack Mixes by calling

800 CANDY 99 (800 226 3999)

F

#

ready to wrap in its own gift box

• Tennessee Peanut Butter Cup Whiskey In Sevierville, Tennessee, lives a craft distillery in the Smoky Mountains that makes unique moonshine, flavored whiskies and cream liqueurs

With the huge boom in flavored seltzer over the past few years, beverage developers expect that the flavor bandwag on will penetrate other categories In an interview with the U S Whiskey Report, Tom Gibson, chief flavorist at Flavorman, said, “Client requests have taken a 180 degree turn on flavor. Whereas before, clients would be looking for a gentler spritz of nuanced flavors in their drink, we are now seeing more clients ask for loud and proud, single note flavors ”

STAR Ortalli Products

a combination of refreshing pineapple juice, rich coconut milk and pure cane sugar for a dose of island fun Famous for bringing big vacation vibes to any occa sion, this sunny sipper is great blended or shaken up with a vari ety of spirits all that’s missing is the decorative drink umbrella on top!

Ortalli products are the fruit of sensitivity and experience Crafted using traditional methods, this premium balsamic is IGP certified by the Modena Consortium and evaluated to achieve “leaf” definitions, reaching up to five leaves the highest in the ranking

Ortalli is produced from concentrat ed grape must from seven diverse types of Italian grape varieties (Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Albana, Ancellotta, Fortana and Montuni), with no other added substances

As proof of authenticity and t r a n s p a r e n c y , Ortalli includes blockchain tech nology accessibility on its label Such technology provides information on the origin of the raw material, manufacturing dates, organoleptic profiles and more!

For more information, go to www star finefoods com or www borgesusa com, or email customerservice@borgesusa com

Non-Dairy Macadamia Milk Ice Cream From Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa, the U S leader of macadamia nut products for 75 years, recently rebranded and successfully launched into a new category, non dairy ice cream, all while staying true to its mission and Hawaiian roots

The Mauna Loa brand began grow ing and roasting macadamias in 1946, to produce a nutritious nut with a buttery fla vor and unique crunch Since then, Mauna Loa has created a wide variety of macadamia nut products, including the iconic flavored macadamias, chocolate covered macadamias and the new Non Dairy Macadamia Milk Ice Cream. With

a passionate team that embodies the aloha spirit, Mauna Loa continues to innovate with bold new products that harness the vibrant and exquisite tastes of Hawai’i

Launching this year are the 1 oz Snack Macs, available in the best selling flavors of Hawaiian Sea Salt and Maui Onion & Garlic This perfectly on the go sized snack is keto certified and only 200 calories per serving The whole line of fla vored macadamias are keto certified, vegan certified, Non GMO Project Verified, and gluten free The newest flavor, as part of Mauna Loa’s 2021 brand refresh, Kiawe Smoked BBQ, comes in 4 oz. and 8 oz.

resealable bags It is a tangy and smoky BBQ fla vor, made with tomato, onion, smoked paprika, garlic, spices and natural smoke flavors The illustra tion on front of the pack showcases the wonder of The Road to Hana located in Maui In fact, unique illustrations honor the beauty of Hawai’i across each of the 10 flavored and choco late covered SKUs The full chocolate cov ered macadamia line launched with a refreshed ingredient list that includes sus tainably sourced chocolate, no artificial fla vors and a luxurious, truffle like cocoa dusting It’s permissibly indulgent The packaging includes the Cocoa Horizons icon, the company’s commitment to help

ing improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their commu nities while promoting sustain able farming practices

In that spirit, Mauna Loa believes macadamias can help create a better way, a better life and a better world As a company based in Hawai’i, it is their kuleana, or responsibility, to ensure that the islands continue to thrive, and to do so, Mauna Loa actively works to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainability The Hawaiian macadamia crop is grown using only rainwater, mean ing they use the least amount of water com pared to most nuts in the category Additionally, Mauna Loa continues to seek ways to use the whole nut to reduce waste, including composting the husk to be used on local farms and cleanly burning macadamia shells to produce renewable energy This, along with the newly installed solar panels, means that the Kea’au factory is now powered by 100% green energy

F

Parmacotto 1978 Line & Trio Salami

Parmacotto is an Italian producer of fine meats based in the Parma area of Italy Founded in 1978, Parmacotto is proud to dedicate a new line to its roots, as well as to its future

The 1978 line is increasingly ori ented toward well being and conven ience Product of Italy and sliced in the USA, top quality, selected raw materials, clean label, sustainable manufacturing methods, humanely raised, antibiotic free and no MSG

Among the best products of the line is the Parmacotto Trio Salami: a perfect selection of Italy’s most delicious salamis, each with its own characterized flavors Fennel salami, Milano salami and hot soppressata in a single tray guar antee to make any charcuterie board authentic Parmacotto offers a whole range of typical Italian cold cuts

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , g o t o w w w parmacottousa com

Darrell Lea loves making chocolate and now, the company is proud to partner with the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, sourcing sustainable cocoa for its entire range of chocolate goodies In 2018, Darrell Lea made the decision to source 100% sustainable cocoa To do so, the company turned to Cocoa Horizons, whose award winning cocoa sustainabil ity program creates real change Since then, Darrell Lea has not looked back!

Darrell Lea (Cont’d from

Growing With the Plant-Based Future

Mooney Farms and the Bella Sun Luci brand, which pioneered the sun dried tomato category more than 35 years ago, have once again brought innovation to the category The new lineup of plant based jerky appeals to today’s consumer looking for healthier, more diverse options

Bella Sun Luci products align with the plant based food movement and the company values food that is made with real, simple ingredients All of the jerky flavors are not only plant based, but vegan In addition to the delicious taste of this new product, the Plant Based Tomato Jerky has the healthy goodness

of a tomato There is zero cholesterol, zero fat, 6 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and in two of the flavors, there are no added sugars Sun dried tomatoes are also great sources of lycopene, a power ful antioxidant

Mary Mooney, owner of Mooney Farms, stated, “As with all of our prod ucts, we’re only using the highest quality ingredients to create a snack that cus tomers will crave without any guilt,” and at only 80 calories per serving, these bite sized morsels truly are the perfect guilt free snack

According to Mooney, “The plant based eating population is growing and

Las Olas Confections and Snacks Introduces a Wave of Innovative New Products

The Las Olas Confections and Snacks family of brands, including Anastasia Confections, Coconut Island, Money on H o n e y, Wi l l i a m s & B e n n e t t a n d H o ff m a n ’s C h o c o l a t e s , h a s b e e n delighting candy lovers for decades

With products ranging from taffy and c a r a m e l t o m o l d e d c h o c o l a t e a n d enrobed snacks, Las Olas provides a diverse offering to the mass and special ty confectionery markets. Its portfolio of trusted brands is united with the com mon goal of driving growth for its cus

tomers and bringing joy to the lives of consumers Committed to growing its great brands by developing “waves” of innovative new products, Las Olas con tinues to grow and innovate with prod ucts across three brands:

Anastasia Confections

Peppermint Coconut Patties This sea sonal Coconut Patty is infused with peppermint oil and topped with pepper mint crush for a refreshing, holiday twist on a tropical treat Each holiday

SEG Expands Charitable Giving with Eye on Diversity

F

Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket

a n d Wi n n D i x i e g r o c e r y s t o r e s , i s expanding its charitable giving focus this year to support more causes com mitted to elevating belonging, inclu sion and diversity and local organiza tions that share the grocer ’s passion for celebrating differences and strengthen ing communities

SEG’s expanded commitment to belonging, inclusion and diversity will help the grocer and its charitable arm, SEG Gives Foundation, make a larger impact within its communities while empowering authenticity, educating the broader society and eliminating long standing barriers, according to the com pany

To commemorate its evolved com mitment and honor the incredible legacy of the belonging, inclusion and diversity

movement’s trailblazer, SEG sponsored the Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Foundation Holiday Grand Parade in its hometown of Jacksonville

“Our expanded commitment to advocate for positive change will posi tion us to elevate more deserving, like minded organizations and support their efforts to create a more equitable society that reflects the ideals Dr King envi sioned nearly 60 years ago,” said Anthony Hucker, president and CEO

I n 2 0 2 0 , S E G e s t a b l i s h e d t h e R o m a y D a v i s B e l o n g i n g , I n c l

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s o c i a l i n j u s t i c e b y b r i d g i n g t h e g a p o f i n e q u i t i e s f a c e d b y m a n y i n d i v i d u a l s , f a m i l i e s a n d c o m m u n i t i e s S E G h a s p r o v i d e d 3 3 n o n p r o f i t o rg a n i z a t i o n s w i t h $ 3 8 5 , 0 0 0 t o h e l p a d d r e s s r a c i a l

Largest Candy and Snack Trade Show in North America Heads to Indianapolis and Las Vegas

The National Confectioners Association announced that its Sweets & Snacks Expo will make a historic move to host the premier trade show for the confec

with it, we are bringing for ward thinking foods that appeal to both vegans and non vegans alike We believe bringing sun dried tomatoes to the snack mar ket in this new and innova tive plant based jerky marks the start of a health trend that’s here to stay ”

Bella Sun Luci is a line of premium Mediterranean inspired products created from authentic family recipes The line includes a variety of deliciously sweet sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, sun dried tomato chipotle sauce, pasta sauces, bruschetta spreads, estate grown premi um olive oil, risotto, marinades and new

themed 12 ounce box contains nine individu ally wrapped coconut patties.

Hoffman’s Chocolates

Hoffman’s Chocolates

Gourmet Caramels

New from Hoffman’s Chocolates are Gourmet Sea Salt Caramels Caramel cooked in copper ket tles, poured and hand cut the old fash ioned way, drenched in smooth, rich chocolate and delicately sprinkled with sea salt. Available in milk and dark chocolate, each 4 ounce stand up reseal able peggable pouch contains about 10 deliciously decadent caramels

Hoffman’s Chocolate Gourmet

d i s p a r i t i e s i n e d u c a t i o n , h e a l t h c a r e a n d f o o d i n s e c u r i t y

Additionally, SEG annually observes MLK Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Pride Month and Veterans Day

The grocer participated in four Pride festivals throughout Florida last year and was recognized by the National Diversity Council as a top employer for Latino leaders. SEG is also a member of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, a supporter of the National Diversity Council CEO Antiracism Pledge and an advocate for LGBTQ Workplace Equality as a Corporate Equality Index participant

SEG launched several initiatives to provide inspiration and opportunities for community members to break barri ers and push for equity, including host ing its first We SEG Conference last year, an event featuring a diverse panel o f e x p e r t s o ff e r i n g e d u c a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r a c t i v e i n s i g h t s o n d e v e l o p i n g i n c l u s i v e w o r k p l a c e e n v i r o n m e n t s ,

25 years of candy and snack innovation

vegan jerky Bella Sun Luci is pro duced by Mooney Farms, a third generation, family owned company that is based in Chico, California, and rooted in quality, integrity and family values Mooney Farms is the premier producer of sun dried tomatoes in the United States and a proud member of the WBENC, California Olive Oil Council and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance

Caramel Popcorn

Hoffman’s Chocolates introduces Gourmet Caramel Popcorn, air popped popcorn coated in a delicious caramel glaze then drizzled and mixed with classic chocolate shop treats These 4 ounce stand up resealable peggable pouches are available in three mouth watering varieties: Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Pretzel and Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel.

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #11768, go to www lasolasbrands com or call 800 329 7100

training for creating a culture of belong ing and other initiatives addressing per tinent and relevant equity concerns The grocer also received an Impact Award from Progressive Grocer for its dedica tion to diversity and inclusion, as well as a perfect rating on Glassdoor in the same category

S E G c o n t i n u e s i t s l o n g s t a n d i n g c o m m i t m e n t t o s u p p o r t c a u s e s t h a t a r e p r i o r i t i e s t o t h e c o m m u n i t i e s i t s e r v e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t h u n g e r, s u p p o r t f o r m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e m e m b e r s a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s a n d p r o v i d i n g r e l i e f t o t h o s e a ff e c t e d b y e x t r e m e w e a t h e r a n d n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s S E G , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e S E G G i v e s F o u n d a t i o n a n d g e n e r o u s c u s t o m e r s , d o n a t e d m o r e t h a n $ 5 5 m i l l i o n l a s t y e a r t o s u p p o r t n e i g h b o r s i n n e e d t h r o u g h v a r i o u s m i l i t a r y, h e a l t h a n d l o c a l c o m m u n i t y i n i t i a t i v e s , i n c l u d i n g s u p p o r t f o r l o c a l f o o d b a n k s , T h e A m e r i c a n R e d C r o s s , F o l d s o f H o n o r, t h e U S O , A m e r i c a n H e a r t A s s o c i a t i o n , A m e r i c a n C a n c e r S o c i e t y M a k i n g S t r i d e s A g a i n s t B r e a s t

C a n c e r, c h i l d r e n ’s h o s p i t a l s , a n d m o r e

tionery and snack industries in a rotation between Indianapolis and Las Vegas over the next 10 years This announcement comes as the show convenes to celebrate

Beginning in 2024, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will cycle through a rotation of two years at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, followed by one year at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas until 2032 In May, McCormick Place in Chicago will host the 2022 & 2023 Sweets and Snacks Expos

The decision to relocate the Sweets & Snacks Expo to Indianapolis and Las

Vegas was made after careful delibera tion by the Sweets & Snacks Expo Committee

The Sweets & Snacks Expo brings together confectionery and snack retail ers, manufacturers and suppliers to show case the latest product innovations Every year, the show has a significant economic impact on its host city; in 2022, the show is expected to generate $21 million for the City of Chicago.

Atlast Food Co., Whitecrest Mushrooms, to Scale Production of MyBacon Strips

Atlast Food Co , creator of whole cut meat alternatives from gourmet mushroom mycelium, completed a successful trial with Whitecrest Mushrooms Ltd. to pro duce MyBacon strips at commercial scale

Bringing the forest to the table, Atlast, an affiliate of Ecovative, grows mycelium the vegetative root structure of mushrooms to harvest complete pro teins that mimic traditional meat cuts in both texture and flavor

Ecovative’s AirMycelium technology enables the fine tuning of several environ

mental factors to control mycelium’s shape and density In the case of meat alterna tives, it can be controlled to produce opti mal, meat like qualities. This approach to the plant based food market offers a new “whole cut” experience, beginning with Atlast’s meatless MyBacon strips

Pairing Ecovative’s infrastructure with its own growing expertise, Whitecrest Mushrooms will build a dedi cated farm to produce an annual yield of nearly three million pounds of MyBacon mycelium on less than an acre of land

with the opportunity to increase this pro duction in 2023

“Our partnership with Whitecrest and Ecovative will bolster the growth of Atlast to address the critical needs of an expanding alternative meat market,” said Steve Lomnes, Atlast’s COO “It will not only enable us to put more MyBacon strips onto the plates of consumers, but unlock a sustainable solution to produc ing food in a way that is beneficial to our entire ecosystem ”

“After more than a decade of experi ence growing and producing the highest quality gourmet mushrooms, we’re excit ed to leverage our expertise in the new market of alternative proteins,” said Murray Good, owner and president of

Whitecrest Mushrooms “This partner ship has given us new opportunities to innovate in an entirely new landscape while keeping sustainability at the core of our practice ”

Atlast is developing the world’s largest vertical mycelium farm in New York’s Hudson River Valley This approach reflects Atlast’s mission to quickly address the impending global food shortage and offer multiple solu tions to feed the world

Atlast launched its first product, a whole cut, plant based bacon, in November 2020 MyBacon strips are available for purchase at Honest Weight Food Co op in Albany, N Y , with more widespread availability expected in 2022.

Bella Sun Luci (Cont’d from p 1) benefits

we are only using the highest quality ingredients to create a snack that our con sumers will crave without any guilt ”

This on the go chewy bite includes bold and savory flavors to satisfy It is handcrafted, non GMO, certified kosher and vegan In addition to providing 6 grams of protein and fiber, there is also zero cholesterol and zero fat, making it a healthy addition to any lifestyle Certain flavors are gluten free and at only 80

Just The Fun Part (Cont’d from p 1)

is the newest addition to our product line Mini waffle cones filled with 100% Belgian Chocolate produced by the world renowned Barry Callebaut Our crispy waffle cones are sourced from one of the oldest bakeries in Germany

GN: Where did the idea for Just The Fun Part come from?

AA: The idea for this product came from my friend Yigit, whom I have had the pleasure of working together with for many years Growing up in Turkey, we

Abdallah (Cont’d from p 1)

prepackaged options include a 7 5 oz bag, a 3oz Retreat (bite sized, reseal able) and an individually wrapped single serve sized piece

Abdallah Candies has been manufac turing traditional chocolates and candies

Las Olas (Cont’d from p 1)

provides a diverse offering to the spe cialty and mass confectionery market

Las Olas is committed to growing our great brands and developing “waves” of innovative new products like our 2017 sofi™ Product of Year and 2017 MINPA award winning Coconut Cashew Crunch Chocolate Drizzle and our 2016 and 2018 sofi award winning Money on Honey Dark Chocolate French Sea Salt and Toasted Coconut Almond Varieties, and we continue to grow Just this past year, we’ve launched over 15 new prod

Splash Beverage (Cont’d from p 1)

100 percent to the products they sell Our presence now in the heart of Arkansas, with a high quality and well respected distributor, we believe will help our visi bility with the largest retailer in the

calories per serving, these bite sized morsels truly are the perfect guilt free snack Be sure to try all the irresistible flavors at booth #11185; Sriracha and the award winning Teriyaki and Cracked Pepper!

According to market research group

The Nielsen Company, just 6% of Americans eat vegetarian and only 3% eat vegan, but almost 40% now make an effort to eat more plant based foods A growing reason why consumers choose to eat plant based foods are the health

were no strangers to our sweets and snacks Throughout our childhood, we were exposed to some of the world’s greatest confections and treats One that always stuck with us was a classic sundae cone (particularly the bottom)

Later in life, when we had begun our careers as specialty food professionals, we never stopped striving to create that one great snack Much to our surprise, a prod uct like this already existed, just in a dif ferent format. It was a larger cone, filled with chocolate, individually wrapped and topped with small candies Never forget ting his favorite part of the sundae cone as a child, Yigit imagined a sundae cone

in Minnesota since 1909 This new Cinnamon Churro is now a standard and ranks among the very best in the 300+ varieties of Abdallah confections The new Cinnamon Churro has been embraced as not only being on trend, but as simple and nostalgic enough to become an age old favorite for generations to come

ucts across our brands.

GN: What are some of your most popular products?

GP: By far, our most popular product line is our Anastasia Confections Coconut Patties (a moist, open faced coconut confection) We have been man ufacturing this Florida staple for over 30 years and it has developed a cult like fol lowing A close tie for second would be our Original Coconut Island Coconut Cashew Crunch (a tropical, thin twist on a classic brittle, filled with cashews and

world.”

Splash Beverage Group’s Pulpoloco Sangria line has been picked up in 187 of Ralph’s Grocery stores Ralph’s Grocery, a division of The Kroger Company, is a market share leader with 187 stores across Southern California

With the goal in mind to live life more tastefully, the new line of Bella Sun Luci Tomato Jerky appeals to the health conscious and ethical consumer without having to sacrifice flavor With the rate of consumers introducing or entirely replac ing their diets with plant based options, Mooney Farms saw the desire for a prod uct that focuses on health and wellness, ethics and diversity in protein sourcing

Bella Sun Luci is produced by Mooney Farms, a third generation, fami

snack that you could enjoy over and over again Just like that, Just The Fun Part was born! We decided to shrink the bottom part of the cone and put it in a bag, so the best part of the cone would keep going!

GN: Who is your target market?

AA: We made this product for everyone to enjoy! People of all ages have a dis tinct memory of the end of a sundae cone. Whether you’re 8 or 80, you’ll remember rushing to the bottom to get that last, chocolate filled bite

G N : W h a t i s t h e n a t u r e o f y o u r d i s t r i

Stop by Abdallah Candies, booth #10983, for a delicious sample of the Cinnamon Churro toffee, and explore the many offerings available Also sample the famous traditional milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white almond toffee, cashew toffee and English toffee Abdallah Candies has a rich history and

coconut) and Money on Honey Dark Chocolate French Sea Salt (a unique clean caramel made with wildflower honey, instead of corn syrup)

GN: You mentioned you co manufacture for national brands and private label as well Can you tell our readers more about that side of the business?

GP: Our largest category of co manufac turing/private label is currently salt water taffy; this is also the category with the most room for growth Our salt water taffy production had more than doubled

“This is another significant mile stone for Splash and a meaningful step in our strategy to expand into major super market chains,” Nistico said “After a successful test run, Ralph’s authorized all three SKUs of Pulpoloco white, rosé and classic red Ralph’s already carries

ly owned company that is based in Chico, California, and rooted in quality, integrity and family values Mooney Farms is the premier producer of sun dried tomatoes in the United States and a proud member of the WBENC, California Olive Oil Council and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #11185, go to www bellasunluci com or f o l l o w @ B e

Instagram and Pinterest

b u t i o n ?

AA: We are the direct manufacturer of Just The Fun Part We have seven pro duction facilities in Turkey, where our product is delicately manufactured While we can export all over the globe; our main distribution center is conve niently located in our warehouse in New Jersey We house more than 150 different items and Just The Fun Part is always in stock!

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #11583, go to www justthefunpart com or call 551 333 1119

tradition of creating the very best choco lates, toffees and caramels that remain here to stay, and the company welcomes the opportunity to partner with you to increase your daily sales.

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #10983

over the last year and we still have capac ity to at least double our production We produce over 20 classic and tropical fla vors and have the flexibility to create custom flavors Other products available for co manufacturing and private label include molded chocolate bars and pieces, chocolate enrobed classic snacks like Oreo® cookies, pretzels, and gra hams, and tabled products like caramel, toffee, brittle, bark, truffles and fudge

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t b o o t h #11768, go to www lasolasbrands com, or call 800 329 7100

Splash’s Copa di Vino varietals, which were added in early summer of 2021, and now all three Pulpoloco varietals We believe this is a strong affirmation that consumers are catching on to the unique product lines that Splash distributes and bodes well for future expansion ”

Edible Fruit, Veggie Stickers for Children, Gourmet Baby Food Among New Products

Thanks to an entrepreneurial grandmother in California, children can learn about healthy eating one sticker at a time Linda York created StickyLickits, a line of “eat able” stickers that entice kids to be more adventurous eaters, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies And now, a “kidfluencer” has been added to the sticker lineup that includes Sesame Street, Paw Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants

StickyLickits’ latest de sign showcases 9 year old Ryan’s World influencer Ryan Kaji’s an imated alter egos: Super Hero Red Titan, Daring Detective Super Spy, and Global Adventurer World Tour

“Aligning with a brand like Ryan’s World adds to the appeal of StickyLick its,” York said “Ryan is fun, familiar, and relat able to kids He and his family are also big believ ers in the importance of encouraging healthy eat ing habits ”

Using the bite size stickers is simple: kids simply lick, stick and eat their creations The dissolving stickers are 100 percent nat ural with a tapioca base that kids say tastes like marshmallows or cotton candy Stick yLickits do not contain sugar, additives, or allergens such as soy, dair y, or peanuts They’re also kosher, vegan, non GMO and gluten free Packages contain 30 stickers each and can be found in Walmart’s pro duce department, right next to the fruits and veggies they’re designed to encourage

“Ever y parent knows that it can be a struggle for young children to taste and eat the healthier foods on their plates,” York said “Our all natural, edible stickers help to motivate children to eat more fruits and vegetables because they make mealtime more fun Parents also love StickyLickits because the stickers encourage children to taste a variety of foods and build healthier eating habits ”

For the younger set, the first and only science backed baby food brand made its

debut at the Natural Products Expo West Cerebelly was founded by Dr Teresa Purzner, a practicing neurosurgeon, Stan ford Ph D in developmental neurobiology, and mom of three

Cerebelly is committed to making food for young children that contains the 16 es sential nutrients critical for healthy brain development

The natural and organic in dustr y is heading toward a $300 bil lion market valua tion, yet the growth is emerging with little regula tion around baby food products

the average puree contains only two to three essential nutrients, a less than satisfactor y amount for mean ingful impact

Cerebelly crafts its products from whole foods, fo cusing on organic, veggie first, no added sugar ingre dients, with Clean Label Project Cer tification, which tests for more than 400 different contaminants including heavy metals

Cerebelly says it’s the first and only chil dren’s food brand on the market that com bines up to date child nutrition and developmental neuroscience to offer prod ucts such as age optimized pouches and smart bars with meaningful brain support ing nutrients that science shows babies’ growing brains need

P u r z n e

d e c a d

whey protein identical to that found in cow ’ s milk with a much smaller environ mental footprint Combined with a deli cious, plant based recipe, betterland milk delivers the same cooking, whipping, steaming, frothing and baking functionality as traditional milk Betterland milk con tains only MCT and sunflower oils; has less sugar than traditional cow ’ s milk; has no lactose, cholesterol, hormones; and is made without antibiotics

• Popadelics is a tasty, better for you shi itake mushroom vegan snack in three bold, mouth watering flavors of ultra crunchy mushroom chips: Trippin’ Truffle Parm, Twisted Thai Chili and Rad Rosemary and Salt

To p r o d u c e i t s s i g n a t u r e c r u n c h ,

P o p a d e l i c s C r u n c h y M u s h r o o m C h i p s

l e v e r a g e a c o o k i n g m e t h o d c a l l e d v a c u u m f r y i n g , w h i c h a l l o w s f o o d s t o c o o k

a t m u c h l o w e r t e m p e r a t u r e s w h i l e a b s o r b i n g l e s s o i l a n d r e t a i n i n g m o r e o f t h e i r c o l o r, n u t r i e n t s , t e x t u re a n d f l a v o r

P o p a d e l i c s a re a l s o a g o o d s o u rc e o f p ro t e i n a n d f i b e r

Popadelics does not contain any psilocy bin or any other psychedelics or narcotics Purchases will support the Fun Gal Snacks Foundation, a charitable organization from the creators of Popadelics that will support various causes centered on health and wellness Most notably, the Fun Gal Snacks

F o u n d a t i o n will support the Johns Hopkins Center of Psychedelic & Consciousness Research and its exploration for innovative treatments for improved mental health

packs more than 20 grams of plant protein, 3 to 5 grams of net carbs and 1 gram of sugar per bar

Founded by Daniel Katz in 2015 in re sponse to sensitivity to dairy products, all No Cow products are vegan, certified gluten free and kosher, Non GMO Project Verified and soy free

• Stone Street Coffee has introduced Wall Street Espresso Blend Nespresso Com patible Capsules to meet the growing de mand in the world of ready to brew coffee Freshness is paramount to Stone Street Coffee, and the company is built on that foundation From sourcing to quality assur ance to their commitment to small batch roasting, it ensures that its coffee beans are the best they can be

T

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• No Cow has launched its chocolate Dipped protein bars Dipped in rich, plant based chocolate with zero compromise to the bar’s macro profile, each bar is powered with a proprietar y blend of rice and pea

• Wild Orchard teas aren’t new, but the certified organic award winning teas are now available to consumers online at Wildorchard com and Amazon com On line availability includes Wild Orchard’s outstanding loose leaf and powdered teas, with tea bags and compostable pods (for Keurig style single ser ve machines) ex pected by summer

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Other new products include:

• Perfect Day and betterland foods will launch betterland milk in two varieties, Whole and Extra Creamy, to retailers this summer The launch marks a milestone moment for both companies, the industry

a $17 billion categor y ac cording to IRI, with 95 percent household penetration and the planet, thanks to Perfect Day’s sustainable protein

Perfect Day’s animal free protein is produced using pre cision fermentation, creating a

protein No Cow Dipped bars come in fla vors reminiscent of many classic American candies and treats: Chocolate Sea Salt, Chocolate Salted Caramel, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Mint Cookie, Chocolate Sprinkled Donut, Chocolate Coconut Almond Each bar

• Canada’s Guru Or ganic Energy Corp launched a six week na tional campaign, Made With Plants, to highlight its position as the only plant based drink in its category and introduce a new flavor, Guayusa Tropical Punch nation wide after its initial re lease in Quebec

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Option for Standard Beverage Packs

Graphic Packaging International has launched a minimal material, paperboard alternative to plastic rings and shrink film for standard beverage cans: EnviroClip “EnviroClip enables beverage companies to significantly increase sustainability by replacing plastic packaging for can multi packs with a recyclable and renewable so lution,” said Ricardo de Genova, SVP global innovation and new business “Its launch complements our KeelClip bever age can multipack solution and means we are now able to meet customer require ments across a full spectrum of different

sized operations

EnviroClip is made from

single ply of paperboard, produced using renewable fiber from sustainably managed forests No adhesive or plastic laminations

used in its construction

The solution can be used for both 12 ounce (330ml) and 16 ounce (500ml) standard cans in four and six pack config urations Graphic Packaging’s high speed equipment features a proprietar y custom overhead clipping system that delivers con sistent application of the EnviroClip ring to the cans and helps to ensure pack quality and performance

The cans remain easy to detach at the point of consumption while the overall pack design features finger holes to ensure easy and comfortable carrying There’s also

Consumers Prioritize Climate Action, Prefer Options to Single-Use Plastics

Most consumers responding to a multi country research study on attitudes toward single use plastics and expectations of brands and retailers for sustainable options agreed that climate action is urgent and see a connection to plastic as a contributor to climate change

The study was commissioned by Ari zona based Footprint, a global materials science technology company focused on creating a healthy planet The study, which was conducted by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, dove into attitudes among consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands

The sur vey findings strongly under scored the significant roles that brands and retailers are expected to play in creating a more sustainable planet Across all coun tries and age demographics examined, 87 percent of consumers agreed that compa nies have a responsibility to protect the planet and its people, with generation Z and millennials especially expressing a con stant source of stress and anxiety about the future of the planet Eighty five percent of people said brands should play a major role in solving sustainability because they’re the ones causing the problem and a majority of respondents (78 percent) also concurred that companies and brands are not cur rently doing enough to protect the planet

In particular:

• 72 percent are dissatisfied with the amount of plastic food packaging waste they end up with at home

• 80 percent say takeaway restaurants need to act faster to get rid of plastic pack aging and utensils

• 86 percent say grocery stores should do more to reduce the amount of plastic pack aging being sold

“This new study shows that brands tak ing a leadership role in offering sustainable alternatives to single use plastics have an enormous opportunity to not only make a difference for our planet, but also influence consumers through sustainable packag ing,” said Footprint co founder and CEO Troy Swope “Not only do consumers ex pect companies to lead, now we ’ ve crossed into new territor y where the majority of people surveyed will actually make choices about where they shop and what they buy based on sustainable offerings ”

When asked who should take responsi bility for reducing plastic waste, 76 percent of respondents said companies who pro duce and/or grow goods, followed by gro cery stores (62 percent), national and local governments (57 percent) and lastly indi viduals (52 percent)

However, consumers demonstrated a willingness to change their personal pur chasing behaviors based on sustainability

factors For example:

•63 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services if they help protect the environment

• 68 percent are more likely to choose a brand, store or restaurant that uses sustain able packaging

• 65 percent would switch grocery stores if they knew the store was committed to sustainable packaging rather than plastic

• 77 percent are more likely to buy prod ucts if they could be sure they were pack aged sustainably

Furthermore, consumers generally ex press negative emotions when buying prod ucts that are packaged in plastic, including “guilty,” “annoyed” and “frustrated,” while sustainable packaging inspires consumers to feel “reassured,” “happy” and “relieved ” Brands that choose sustainable options will likely have their products associated with more positive emotions

Interestingly, while Gen Z has a reputa tion for being the most concerned about cli mate change and sustainability issues, the importance of these issues is felt nearly equally across generations, with 83 percent of respondents saying that it’s urgent that we do all we can to tackle climate change And 73 percent believe there is a direct link between how much plastic packaging peo ple use and climate change All generations worry about how their actions might impact

Old Croc Named Top Sliced Cheese at World Champion Cheese Contest

Trugman

space to print high impact brand and sus tainability messages

“ S i n c e i t s i n t ro d u c t i o n , K e e l C l i p h a s g a i n e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l re c o g n i t i

future generations, with Boomers being slightly less concerned (68 percent), com pared to 72 percent of Gen X, 77 percent of Millennials and 74 percent of Gen Z

When asked about their sustainable habits, consumers are most likely to say they take straightforward steps such as re cycling at home (89 percent monthly), avoiding single use plastic (72 percent monthly) and refusing plastic bags while shopping (70 percent monthly)

Eighty percent of consumers like the idea of a plastic free shopping aisle and 83 per cent like the idea of a sustainable or plas tic free search option for online grocer y shopping, while 85 percent support sus tainable/plastic free packaging options for takeout Over half (53 percent) said they prefer to shop for their groceries online be cause it’s easier to tell if a product comes in sustainable packaging

“There’s a genuine opportunity here for brands to help consumers by making sus tainable choices more accessible, conven ient and straightfor ward” said Marie Stafford, global director for Wunderman Thompson Intelligence “This is not just about doing the right thing; there’s a pow erful business case here, too We have found that most people show a marked preference for brands who are demonstrat ing commitment and taking action on sus tainability issues ” GN

Aged for more than 12 months, Old Croc’s new Aged Cheddar Slices deliver a creamy and nutty taste with superb melting properties making it perfect for burgers, paninis and grilled sandwiches Old Croc’s Aged Cheddar is made with the milk of grass fed cows with non GMO ingredients

added hormones

Specialty Food

Continued from PAGE 1

directing funds to the International Com mittee of the Red Cross to support the vic tims of the war in Ukraine This decision is a natural extension of our belief that there is greater power in unity than there is in di vision; we believe that we are all stronger together ”

SEG, parent company and home of Fresco y Más, Har veys Supermarket and Winn Dixie grocery stores, then extended additional support for Ukraine relief with a donation of more than $1 1 million worth of cleaning and sanitation supplies, per sonal protective equipment and nonperish able food items to humanitarian nonprofit organization Mission 823

“We refuse to stand idle when the people of Ukraine are in urgent need,” Hucker said “As a grocer, we know how important it is for our communities to have access to basic yet essential products, and through our partnership with Mission 823, it is our hope we can help provide some sense of comfort to the Ukrainian people SEG stands with Ukraine ”

SEG’s donation will benefit Mission 823, a humanitarian nonprofit organization on the ground in Ukraine that seeks to help and pro tect at risk children, including orphans and those on the streets suffering from post trau matic stress disorder and childhood traumas felt in war torn areas The organization also works with local task forces to help rescue children from human trafficking

“The situation in Ukraine continues to worsen and among the most affected are children,” said Mission 823 founder Shawn Sullivan “Thanks to SEG, we will be able to help more people during the most trying time of their lives ”

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits matched 100 percent of all employee donations made to three charitable organizations

World Central Kitchen, United Nations High Com missioner for Refugees and Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere over a 90 day period

Employees could con tribute through the company ’ s internal giving platform, Vol unCheers Online, in order to be eligible for the donation match

“Southern Glazer’s stands in support of the Ukrainian people,” said CEO Wayne E Chaplin “We are deeply saddened by the crisis and our hearts are with those who have been impacted by this terrible situa tion Our family values represent a spirit of inclusiveness and giving back that is part of our cultural DNA, which is why we ’ ve chosen to support three organizations that have stepped in to provide much needed aid Our employees never hesitate to lend a helping hand in times of crisis and we are happy to amplify their generosity through this campaign ”

Napa Seafood Foundation mobilized to help the people of Ukraine through World Central Kitchen The foundation provided seafood meals to healthcare workers, first responders and volunteers who are putting

their lives on the line and doing whatever they can for Ukraine relief

Like many industries, the seafood indus tr y was affected by the COVID 19 pan demic The Napa Seafood Foundation partnered with Red Lobster and local restaurants to create and deliver more than 18,000 seafood meals to healthcare workers across the United States

Thanks to the success and groundwork laid down, Napa Seafood Foundation was able to quickly activate and provide seafood to heroes working anywhere, including Ukraine relief

Napa Seafood Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) organization based in San Rafael, Calif

Michigan based food solutions company SpartanNash recently shipped the first of several con tainers of critical supplies as part of its $1 million commitment for Ukraine relief SpartanNash’s mil itary division coordinated the ex port, which included baby formula, diapers, over the counter medicines, sports energy drinks and personal hygiene items

“Collecting product donations in the U S is one thing, but having the international logistic relation ships to get them abroad quickly is another,” said SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam “International freight shipping is an extremely delicate and intri cate specialty, as so many details go into these journeys, and coordinating these shipments is one of SpartanNash’s global supply chain strengths ”

The overseas and rail journey can take up to 50 days, but SpartanNash was able to ex pedite this shipment to fewer than 17 days, taking a route to get as close to the conflict as safely possible in Warsaw, Poland Spar tanNash partnered with Convoy of Hope to

nation pallets ready to ship overseas The company will continue collecting donations from key vendor partners in the United States and working closely with the Convoy of Hope team for on the ground distribution in affected areas throughout Europe

Virginia based Performance Food Group Company donated $50,000 to World Cen tral Kitchen to help support the organiza tion’s Ukraine relief efforts to provide meals to refugees

PFG has provided support to World Cen tral Kitchen in the past to help the organi zation respond to communities dealing with natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes

by Archbishop of Częstochowa Waclaw Depo at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa The Archbishop joined the Vatican and Pope Francis’ call for prayer and world peace

Eataly decided to dissolve operations in Moscow due to the Russian military inva sion of Ukraine

“Eataly has ended our franchising agree ment for Eataly Moscow, the only Eataly store operating in Russia,” said CEO Nicola Fer inetti “During a moment of escalating human itarian crisis, our hearts are with the victims of this devastating conflict We as a company and as human beings unequivocally condemn the war in Ukraine, and join the world in hoping for a peaceful resolution

“As we continue to monitor the sit uation and support the people of Ukraine, Eataly will be working across all our locations in North America and EMEA and network of suppliers to provide critical supplies, donations of food and other fundrais ing initiatives ”

receive and put the necessities in the hands of Ukrainians across eastern Europe

“This is a humanitarian disaster and SpartanNash is uniquely positioned to sup port Ukrainians in addition to the Ameri can military heroes who are serving on the front lines of this crisis,” Sarsam said

“In any crisis situation, rapid response is vital, and we are glad to partner with Spar tanNash to leverage its expertise in global food logistics,” said Ethan Forhetz, vice president of public engagement for Convoy of Hope “Getting close to a war zone and responding during a crisis is no simple task We rely on our disaster response ex perts and local volunteers to deliver hope to the impacted communities ”

SpartanNash has dozens of additional do

“Ever since the situation in Ukraine began, many of us wondered what we can do to help and how can we make the most impact,” said George Holm, PFG’s chairman and CEO “When we learned WCK was on the ground in eastern Europe providing hot meals to Ukrainians impacted by the current crisis, we were proud to join the interna tional community and support those in need through the inspirational efforts of WCK ”

“World Central Kitchen is grateful for PFG’s support and belief in our mission They share our belief that a plate of food is more than just nourishment, it’s hope and a sign that someone cares, ” said Jason Collis, World Central Kitchen’s vice president of relief “Their support will allow us to continue to provide fresh and comforting meals to Ukrainians fleeing their homes as well as those staying in the coun try ”

What started as a mission to nourish the body turned into a mission of nourishing the soul to bring peace and prayer to the people of Ukraine Goya arrived in Poland to distribute more than 15,000 rosaries that were do nated by Americans from around the coun try for Ukraine relief

A hand written letter with a request for rosaries from the Dominican priests in Ukraine was sent just as the Goya team ar rived in Poland with the 15,000 rosaries; 7,500 rosaries were delivered into Ukraine

The Goya team went to the Ukraine bor der in Hrebenne, invited by the Dominican priests and Our Lady of Mercy Sisters to the Knights of Columbus Mercy Hut Welcome Center, where a temporary chapel has been set up to distribute the rosaries

On mid March, the third phase of Goya’s humanitarian and now spiritual mission brought the Goya team to Częstochowa, the spiritual capital of Poland, where a globally televised Holy Mass was celebrated

As stated in our front cover story, the war in Ukraine will have a lasting effect on the global food supply chain Eat Well Investment Group Inc ’ s portfolio company, Belle Pulses, made plans to upgrade and expand its production fa cilities to meet recent demand increases caused by the supply chain crisis

International markets for pulses entered a period of unprecedented uncertainty fol lowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting wave of sanctions from North America, European Union member states and most of the North Atlantic Treaty Or ganization member countries On average, Russia produces 3,800,000 metric tonnes and exports around 1,000,000 tonnes of peas annually and Ukraine’s pea exports can reach up to 500,000 tonnes per year

Belle produced approximately 90,000 metric tonnes of protein in 2021 As a re sponse to increased global demand, Belle is planning increased shifts at its main plant in Saskatchewan to increase Canadian an nual production capacity to nearly 100,000 metric tonnes annually while adding up to an additional 15,000 metric tonnes per year of annual production capacity at its United States facility

“Belle is receiving increased recognition from international customers looking to se cure quality, safe and reliable proteins at scale,” said Mark Coles, chief investment officer “Shareholders should know that Belle is increasing its production capacity as it is our goal to help support the global food industry Belle has emerged as a piv otal player in global pulse protein produc tion and continues to draw significant interest in its products We will continue to expand Belle’s operations and are looking forward to showing the world its ability to procure, process and deliver proteins to the international marketplace ”

The importance of high quality, transpar ent, and sustainably produced agricultural products and pulse crops has become in creasingly important on a global scale and recent supply chain disruptions and sharp increases in fertilizer prices have created a significant strain on food production In addition to corn and wheat, pulses are at the center of the global food industry

Churro

Continued

1

mix (just add water), San Diablo Classic Cinnamon Sugar, dulce de leche (Mexican caramel) reusable filling bottle and party extras for fun

never tasted San Diablo’s award winning churro mix served at events, Porter swears the company took care to make sure the dry mix tastes the same

“It’s so easy to make, like boiling water,” Porter said

Customers are encouraged to get creative in how they serve the churros, but the com pany has plenty of recipes and videos on its website and social media to help

Churro Fried Banana Split, anyone? Oh, yes, it’s a thing, Porter said Did someone order the Bacon Hot Dog Churro? “It’s what a corn dog wants to be when it grows up, ” Porter joked

“On the food truck, we tease that we all know CPR and have a defibrillator,” Porter said

So, what exactly is a churro?

colored papel picado (Mexican paper flag strands), an artisan made noisemaker called a matraca, six Mexican flag tooth picks and lotería cards to play Mexican bingo It comes wrapped with a festive Mexican red, white and green bow

The limited edition Mother’s Day Churro Fiesta in a Box sends a special person deep fried happiness with San Diablo’s Churro Fi esta in a Box glitzed out with an artisan made long stemmed red paper rose and mini red paper rose bouquet; artisan made, handwoven placemat; artisan made in Mexico, single source dark chocolate bars from La Rifa Chocolatería; San Diablo’s new Angel Dust cinnamon sugar with edible gold glitter to dazzle with golden churros; blank Mother’s Day card for a personalized hand written note you could write or have us write It comes wrapped with a gold ribbon

Remember that secret menu that might influence future kits? It may include (are you sitting down?) roasted crickets

Porter laughed heartily

“Bugs are all the rage in Mexico!” he said “Crickets, ants, even at nice restau rants, it’s a huge thing ”

But would he put a roasted scorpion in a churro?

“It’s a sustainable source of protein and I’d do it for fun and shock value,” he said “Roasted cricket and Nutella all it is is a crunch and the Nutella drowns out the grossness ”

It’s hard to imagine Porter did anything else but churros, but his professional his tory includes being an executive in health care, airline, toy and nonprofit businesses

“The idea was to take the churro magic into homes to create strong, positive mo ments, memories of making amazing chur ros, ” Porter said “For many people, churros are a novelty and hard to find We wanted to make that deep fried happiness accessible to everyone, something that any one can do at home kind of demystify churros for those that think they’re so hard to do ”

San Diablo recently realized that while churros aren’t exactly healthy food (empha sis on the “deep fried”), Fiesta in a Box came along during a time when many con sumers were equipping their kitchens with air fryers

“They still taste delicious,” Porter said of air fried churros “Churros were originally intended to deep fry, but so are French fries and they’re still delicious in an air fryer So now in five minutes, you can air fr y and have fresh churros to devour ”

Fiesta in a Box has been a hit with con sumers nationwide As more people become aware of the churro kits, they’ve been pop ular as corporate gifts and real estate agents, who give them to home buyers as a house warming gift and with retailers looking for different gifts for holiday season ordering

“The whole point is to use it as a vehicle for creating happiness and building lasting memories,” Porter said

“Consider the churro as a cin namon sugary hug from an angel,” Porter said “One thing I love in particular is that our churros are crispy on the outside, but there’s the richness of the dough the butter and egg in our recipe that comes through with softness in combination with the tex ture of the ridges that get golden crispy

“It’s the best of both worlds with the in fusion of filling, dulce de leche, homemade lemon curd and my favorite, raspberry jam any combination ”

San Diablo’s food truck has a secret menu (perhaps a not so secret menu, since they post it) that includes the Cinnamon Diablo Cayenne Inferno “I’m a spice guy, ” Porter said “For every single meal, I like to have spice in it ” On the other extreme, imagine a thick, dark chocolate ganache on a churro, with coconut cream and a rasp berry on top

This year, San Diablo plans to introduce themed kits, such as for Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Day of the Dead and year end holidays in addition to kits for milestone events such as birthdays

Both kits sell for $89 99 on the com pany ’ s website The non themed Fiesta in a Box sells for $59 99

“I joke that it was just a natural transi tion to go into the gourmet food industry,” Porter said

“I have constantly been in businesses where there’s been a common thread among all the disparate experiences and that’s a complete obsession with the customer brand experience

“It was a natural thing for me to move in that direction, with passion for things that have really brought me a great amount of ful fillment,” he said

Porter paused when he was asked what advice he would have for anyone considering an unex pected path as his life took

“When I did yoga this morning, the yogi wasn’t talking about this, but I think it applies: Respect your limits and explore your potential,” Porter said “I just love that It’s great life advice and it fits what you were asking ”

Porter respected his limits when he had the idea to create artisan churros He’d never made one in his life and had just three days to present some to a panel in hopes of launching at a huge Utah event

The limited edition Cinco de Mayo Churro Fiesta in a Box contains everything needed to throw a churro party for Cinco de Mayo (tacos not included) It includes San Diablo’s Churro Fiesta in a Box decked out for your Mexican themed celebration with: artisan made decor (two large paper blossoms, two 6 foot long strands of multi

with churros,” he said “I’m asking your readers to think about potential moments to celebrate or start a new tradition Birth days A soccer game The first Sunday of the month Whatever it is, there’s always a reason to celebrate and dial things up to make a day special ” San Diablo is also innovating to make the churros even more enticing to consumers, especially those with special diets

So he contacted a longtime friend, Chef Mindy Booth, to help with the initial batch

Having passed the audition, Porter assem bled a team of 20 artisans in a few weeks to launch San Diablo at a Thanksgiving event called Cornbelly’s

Supply Chain

Although most who buy the kit have able to be agile and change plans as needed to make up for the shortfall The most suc cessful brands are focusing on staying in stock Being on the shelf gets you the sale now and the confidence of the retailer going forward ”

“All bets are off,” Thayer said “It’s one

Specialty

“It has always been our investment the s i s t h a t t h e g l o b e w i l l s h i f t t o m o re s u s t a i n a b l e a n d e n v i ro n m e n t a l l y f r i e n d l y proteins The next

t

thing coming out of the pandemic, when ocean freight dropped a little bit and de mand dropped There’s so much demand now, but now the war is cutting supply off It’s not just Russia and Ukraine being im pacted, but Europe and now us ” International alliances also factor in, Thayer said “With China Russia said their friend ship knows no limits, but is that really true?” he said “I hope China doesn’t look

world,” said CEO Marc Aneed

“Canada is already one of the largest pro ducers of agricultural products in the world at a time when people, companies and countries need to secure their food supply

The globe is now turning to Canada for se cure supply of pulse crops, proteins, and agricultural products

“Belle processes crops that are consid ered nitrogen fixers and typically require

“Watch for kits that we ’ re going to intro duce that have gluten free and vegan dough mixes,” Porter said “Hopefully, in the near future, we’ll have a flagship loca tion in Central Mexico We’re looking to expand into Mexico and Latin America and, ultimately, the world ”

at it as if Russia could take a whole country, it could take a country like Taiwan It’s all highly concerning ”

But there’s hope, he said

“One of the best things, first off, Putin had no idea that the response from Ukraine would be so strong And the NATO alliance that was fractured by our previous presi dent, they’ve all woken up and everyone is banding together,” he said

Whenever the war in Ukraine ends (at

less fertilizer than other common agricul tural crops, ” Aneed said “Pulses add nitro gen to the ground instead of removing it like traditional crops thereby allowing proper plant crop rotations that help to re juvenate valuable farmland ”

Eat Well owns 100 percent of the 42 year old Belle Pulses, one of Canada’s largest processors of plant based proteins Belle supplies a broad range of customers in over 35 countries, including global

“Don’t hold back,” Porter advised “We have unlimited potential to make a good impact in the world and whatever that

this writing, peace talks appeared distant), the effect on the global supply chain will be felt long after it’s over, Thayer said

“ I t i s d e p re s s i n g , ” h e s a i d “ T h e w a y I t h i n k a b o u t i t , i t ’ s r i p p l e s o n t h e p o n d E v e r y o n e u s e s a r o c k t h r o w n i n t o t h e p o n d m a k i n g a c o u p l e o f r i p p l e s , b u t t h e p a n d e m i c w a s a b o u l d e r i n t h e p o n d N a t u r e f i n d s a w a y o f c o m i n g b a c k , b u t t h e n s o m e o n e d r o p p e d a b o m b i n t h e p o n d ” G N

strategic food companies and significant in gredient distributors Belle is increasing its production capacity up to 115,000 tons of fully traceable product, yielding over 20,000 tons of pure plant protein (or the equivalent of producing millions of ham burgers annually and saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of cattle) Manage ment said the company keeps approxi mately 89,500 tonnes of methane from entering the atmosphere each year GN

“There is always a reason to celebrate

Rooster Rojo Urges Tequila

Lovers to ‘Sip Don’ t Slam’

symbol of Mexico, emphasizing the prove nance of the collection Using only 100 per cent blue weber agave, Rooster Rojo Tequila is produced at the base of the Volćan de Tequila, a UNESCO protected area in Mexico Crafted by the Fabrica de Tequilas Finos specialists and blended with water filtered through Mexican silver, Rooster Rojo is the first tequila to use this technique

was led by Ian Haworth, creative director of Haworth House Creative in partnership with Giles Calver of Sedley Place, both based in the United Kingdom

Amber Beverage Group wants the world to rethink tequila specifically, how it is con sumed

The global spirits company is launching an advertising campaign for its brand, Rooster RojoTequila, with a “Sip Don’t Slam” theme, highlighting how premium tequilas should be savored, not swallowed all at once

The campaign, which comprises film footage, social media content and print ads, was shot in urban Los Angeles

The multi award winning Rooster Rojo range includes four variants: Blanco, Re posado, Añejo, and Smoked Pineapple Tequila the latter only recently released and a world first, delivering an innovative flavor profile All are 38 percent ABV

The brand’s logo, the proud rooster, is a

“The global tequila category grew on av erage by 5 percent between 2016 and 2020 each year, ” Zlatkus said “In the premium tequila segment where Rooster Rojo is placed the premium tequila category has grown by 12 percent on average each year since 2016

“The Rooster Rojo brand grew fourfold in volume and value between 2020 and 2021, so is in a strong position for contin uing and rapid growth in 2022 and be yond,” he said

The advertising campaign creative work

“We received an exciting brief from Amber Beverage Group to step change the Rooster Rojo brand and position it as a fresh, for ward looking and challenging convention,” Haworth said “We believe that our urban, edgy campaign, ‘Sip Don’t Slam,’ represents a cool, urban, yet accessi ble vibe

t s a n d a f o o d t r u c k T h e c o n c e p t c h a l l e n g e s t r a d i t i o n a l t e q u i l a a d v e r t i s i n g a n d f e e d s i n t o t h e c u r r e n t s l o w l i v i n g t r e n d ‘ S i p D o n ’t S l a m ’ r e f l e c t s

Alkame’s West Coast Copacker Acquires NW Jam, Jelly Makers

West Coast Copacker, a wholly owned sub sidiary of Alkame Holdings, recently closed acquisitions of two specialty food brands, Maury Island Farm Jams and Preserves and Quinn’s Pepper Jellies

The U S jam, jelly and preserve market is expected to record a compound annual growth rate of 1 7 percent during the fore cast period 2020 2025, according to Modor Intelligence, a market intelligence and ad visor y firm The market is stable with a steady growth rate in both value and vol

Southern Recipe

ume of product consumption

Consumer preference for more affordable and comfort food items is driving the con sumption of jams, jellies and preserves in the U S market

Maur y Island Farms has produced re gionally for close to 20 years, specializing in using non GMO fruit sourced from the Pacific Northwest,with all natural ingredi ents in its preser ves, jams and toppings with no flavorings, syrups or colorings

Quinn’s Pepper Jellies was founded in

tion to than men

Former President George W Bush was presented with Southern Recipe Small Batch products to give to his pork rind lov ing father, former President George H W Bush

the Pacific Northwest by two sisters in 1987 and named after their shared middle name Quinn’s brings together unlikely in gredients and focuses all natural Pepper Jellies on local Pacific Northwest produce and premium ingredients in a diversity of flavors including jalapeño, peach habanero, raspberry, cilantro lime and marionberry

T h e s e p ro d u c t s h a v e b e e n s o l e l y f o c u s e d o n t h e P a c i f i c N o r t h w e s t re g i o n o n l y a n d g e n e r a t i n g c l o s e t o a m i l l i o n d o l l a r s a y e a r i n re v e n u e , p ro v i d i n g

taste ”

In the process, Southern Recipe Small Batch became a brand that kept the tradi tional pork rind fans and drew in younger generations and women

A l k a m e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p a n d t h e s e brands into new markets and regions with a t a rg e t p ro d u c t i o n o u t p u t ro u g h l y f o u r t i m e s t h e c a p a c i t y o f t h e p re v i o u s m a n u f a c t u r i n g c a p a b i l i t i e s

“The increasing demand for convenient clean label foods has boosted the market f o r j a m , j e l l y a n d p re s e r v e s i n t h e U S , and we had the foresight to acquire these two long established brands already in the marketplace,” said Robert Eakle, Alkame CEO GN

Singleton said “I never dreamed about put ting asparagus in an air fryer or bacon as paragus I didn’t come up with that Who would have known that pork rinds could be so much fun?”

“We wanted graphics that really told the stor y of the brand,” Singleton said “The new messaging with new im agery tells consumers we taste the best and will give you a flavor experience you never dreamed possible in pork rinds ”

And could the new branding perhaps draw more women consumers to a prod uct typically associated with men and, in particular in Singleton’s own words red neck bubbas?

“We didn’t set out to appeal to the female customer,” Sin gleton said, “it came with the evolution of the brand ”

While Southern Recipe Small Batch prided itself on its striking flavors from the beginning, it was a famous Texan who spurred the company to re eval uate its nutritional value, something that female consumers tend to pay more atten

“I love them, too,” George W said, ac cording to Singleton, “but they’re too high in salt for me ”

“That really bothered me, ” Singleton said “If I lose Presi dent Bubba, I’m going to lose ever y redneck paycheck!

“But we started taking the salt out and it didn’t hurt anything,” he said “We started using sunflower oil and giving the lightest taste, a hint of fantastic season ings that don’t overwhelm the pork rinds We paid atten tion not just to taste, but to olfactory notes, because smell has so much to do with

Recent changes to the recipe created in the 1950s in Lima, Ohio, go beyond cutting down on salt, changes that appeal to today’s consumers

“The ver y first thing we do when we think of doing something new is ask, ‘Do we dare change Mar y Rudolph’s recipe?’” Singleton said “When we took the fear of Mary out of the equa tion, the thought occurred to me to start asking about food coloring or MSG and while we ’ re at it, looking at seasonings, too, and maybe we can find a way to do this without all the stuff being added that no one was asking us to put in there So we did that, too!”

The new branding debuted at Expo West earlier this year and began appearing on store shelves in April

“I think we ’ ve got the most educated consumers in the histor y of the world,”

Southern Recipe Small Batch isn’t shy about promoting the healthier aspects of its pork rinds, which are gluten free with 40 percent less salt than other brands It’s the only pork rind that claims USDA ap proved 7 grams of collagen per serving and has only 1 gram of carbohydrates per serving

“Bubba’s so happy because he can say, ‘I told you all along I was not killing myself!’,” Sin gleton said, laughing

“We want to keep bubba happy because it’s hard to find a redneck with a paycheck,” he joked

Along with Korean BBQ, Cilantro Lime, Smoked Sea Salt, Pasilla Chili Cheese, Sea Salt with Cracked Black Pepper, Spicy Dill and other flavors, Singleton said new fla vors are in development and the brand ex pects to debut air fried pork rinds this summer

“We ain’t curing cancer, but we like to give everybody a little happiness,” Single ton said GN

Icons of Europ ean Taste

The producers of Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO, Grana Padano PDO and Prosciutto di Parma PDO are the focus of an ex citing joint promo tional campaign that seeks not only to raise awareness about these unique foods among American and Canadian retailers and consumers, but also to em phasize the im portance of quality, authenticity and tradition

Although these products are from Italy, they are indicative of the many traditional f o o d s f ro m E u ro p e t h a t a re u n i q u e t o their respective areas, as well as the pro d u c t i o n m e t h o d s w h i c h h a v e b e e n

h a n d e d d o w n f ro m g e n e r a t i o n t o g e n e r a t i o n b y p ro u d a r t i s a n s w h o a re i n t u n e w i t h t h e l a n d a n d t h e s e a s o n s

Because of the greatness of these foods and their popu larity both at home and abroad imita tions have naturally sprung up around the world Such products bear none of the his tory, tradition or quality of the originals While this may seem in evitable, and con

sumers are free to buy what they want, it’s important that they actually know what they are buying, how it is made and from what it is made

Icons of European Taste iconsofeuropeantaste.eu

Enstrom Almond Toffee Petites

Good things come in small packages Individually wrapped, Enstrom Almond Toffee Petites are the gold standard of snacking This artisan Almond Toffee is crafted from the perfect blend of fresh Cal ifor nia almonds, sweet cream butter and pure cane sugar, covered in a generous layer of rich chocolate to create a treat un like any other

For 60 years, the Enstrom family has crafted Almond Toffee with only the finest, freshest and sustainably sourced ingredi ents Every batch is still made in Grand Junction, Colorado, using founder Chet Enstrom’s original recipe, lovingly handed down through four generations Enstrom Almond Toffee is made with all natural in

g r e d i e n t s and is certi fied gluten free, and kosher dairy It’s quality you can taste in every bite

Visit www enstrom com to lear n more about these buttery Almond Toffee petites, as well as other premium offerings in our wholesale toffee line

Enstrom 800 252 5498 www.enstrom.com

Urb an Accents Ro asted Garlic & Rosemary Veggie Ro aster

Known for their culinary expertise, the fine food creators at Stonewall Kitchen have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to prepping the perfect vegetables Metic ulously crafted in small batches using gluten free ingredients, the Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Veggie Roaster from Urban Accents is their latest secret to elevating any side

Featuring a garlic forward, rosemary in fused combination that’s full of big, bold flavor, this beautiful blend adds irresistible savoriness to every dish it touches Not only does it lend itself perfectly to grilling and roasting, but it can also be enjoyed on top of everything from juicy steaks to sa

BeBOLD Energy Bars

Trivia: What’s the hottest new woman owned, plant based product launched by Stacy of Stacy’s Pita Chips? Refrigerated BeBOLD energy bars! Not only delish and created with the same integrity as the pita chips, but they’re gluten and dairy free, plant based and a simple combination of nuts, nut butters, oats, chia, wildflower honey and maple Soooo good! They come in two flavors: Chocolate Chip Almond But

vory stir fries for the perfect finish ing touch Your customers will love using it on favorite root veg gies such as sweet potatoes, sprinkling it on riced cauliflower or tossing it with broccoli, red onion, Brussels sprouts and a hint of lemon for a fresh take on a vegetable med ley

Stonewall Kitchen www.stonewallkitchen.com

MarDona Family Style Gourmet Pasta S auces

MarDona Specialty Foods is proud and pleased to present its new 24oz Family Style Gourmet Pasta Sauces Mar Dona worked hard to create these sauces to be versa tile and perfect for any favorite pasta dish as well as a perfect sauce for steak pizzaiola, chicken cacciatore, fried calamari or even just to dip in a favorite crusty bread Consumers will love the sauces be cause they are delicious, natural and enough to go around

MarDona uses only pure, natural ingre dients in the making of its gourmet sauces MarDona uses the best crushed tomatoes, fresh spices, pure olive oil and the finest ingredients Then, sauces are

Ariston Infused S ea S alts & Himalayan Ro ck S alt

Ariston Infused Sea Salts & Himalayan Rock Salt are just one of our newest prod uct lines here at Ariston Specialties in 2022 They are not only a gourmet food, but also have their own adjustable mill, making it a nice kitchen tool These seven delicious items are must for every kitchen in the United States:

• Plain Greek Sea Salt

• Plain Pink Authentic Himalayan Rock Salt

• Greek Salad Infused Sea Salt (Oregano, Rosemary, Sundried Tomato)

• Garlic & Basil infused Sea Salt

• Lemon & Turmeric infused Sea Salt Black Ink infused Sea Salt (Cuttlefish ink)

• Smoked infused Sea Salt (Smoked Beechwood)

Collect them all and make a lovely and tasty display in your store Order direct or on Faire at www aristonspecialties faire com Find us at the Summer Fancy

Show

Natural Expo East

ter and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter

The process? Oh yes, there is none Mix, press, pack and chill that’s it!

BeBOLD 855 623 2653

cooked slowly over a low heat for hours to bring the sauces to their well balanced thickness and great taste MarDona also keeps the sodium and calorie levels as low as possible The sauces are, of course, gluten free and have no sugar added MarDona prides it self on having the finest in gourmet products while pro viding them at afford able prices

Gourmet

MarDona Specialty

and enjoy the new

+ sauces

Lioni Latticini Stracciatella Panna di Latte

Lioni Latticini, well known producer of Fresh Mozzarella, Burrata and Bufala Cheese, proudly introduces Stracciatella Panna di Latte for sale in retail stores This ultra rich, creamy filling is the delicious center of Lioni’s a w a r d w i n n i n g burrata This ever popular fresh cheese is artfully crafted out of delicate shreds of pasta filata mozzarella and the finest authentic Italian cream

More than a spread, this luxurious cheese is traditionally used atop pizzas, folded into seasonal salads and added to a favorite pasta dish Lioni Stracciatella el evates the simplest dishes into sophisti cated and elegant culinary presentations

The sleek retail packaging reflects the

product’s Italian authenticity and distinct taste Lioni looks forward to seeing this new addition to its premium line on all its retail partners’ shelves

According to Salvatore Salzarulo, founder and head of production at Lioni, “Stracciatella is the ideal extension to our retail product line It is a tremen dous opportunity to bring Lioni’s adored specialty cheese currently found in restaurants and foodservice direct to consumer ”

Stracciatella Panna di Latte has a shelf life of 21 days from date of manufacture and is available in six 1 pound cups for re tail and two 5 pound tubs for foodservice

Lioni Latticini,Inc. 908 686 6061

Urb an Accents Pizza Shakers

The specialty food experts at Stonewall Kitchen are adding more “pizzaz” than ever to your cus tomers’ favorite pies with mouthwatering pizza seasonings from Urban Accents

Crafted in small batches using gluten free ingredi ents, each one offers exceptional flavor with every shake

Considered a classic among pizza lovers everywhere, Parmesan is tur ned up a notch with the Really Cheezy Pizza Seasoning, which also includes a blend of herbs, onion and spices for umami rich taste in every bite Then there’s the Mediterranean inspired Herbalicious Pizza

Crave Brothers Marinated Fresh Mozzarella Ciliegine

Crave Brothers Marinated Fresh Moz zarella is a very versatile cheese that is available in both re tail cups and 3 pound foodservice tubs This award winning Marinated Fresh Mozzarella Ciliegine is cherry sized and featured in this one of a kind multi use item It comes pre packed in a delicious mix ture of an olive oil and canola oil blend with a special spice blend of Italian herbs and seasonings It is perfect for salads, bruschetta and all your deli needs! Its recent awards include sec ond place in the flavored cheese category at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest and first place at the 2018 World

Seasoning: featuring a mix of herbs, spices and garlic, it adds bold Italian flair to any slice of ‘za Fi nally, the Hot Cha Cha Pizza Seasoning boasts a combination of paprika and other zesty spices for a smoky chili taste that truly brings the heat Whether sprinkled on homemade or store bought pies or mixed with melted butter to create a unique dip for dunk ing crust, these ex ceptionally made pizza night picks are sure to be a customer favorite

Stonewall Kitchen www stonewallkitchen com

Ho ward Pro ducts Wax-It-All

Howard Wax It All is a food grade paste wax that is safe for any surface where food contact may occur This thick, smooth blend of beeswax, car nauba wax and food grade mineral oil helps to revive, seal and protect surfaces in and around your home Use

Wax It All on butcher block, concrete, stainless steel, granite, marble, soapstone, slate and lam inate countertop surfaces; metal, plastic fur niture and painted cabinets

Wax It All enhances beauty and pro tects surfaces to make them look better and last longer; is easy to use simply rub the wax on, let it absorb and buff off any excess; is safe for indoor and outdoor

countertop surfaces; and helps delay tar nishing and oxidation of bronze, copper, brass and even wrought iron

It also gives finishes a soft sheen and a smooth feel; locks in the oils and waxes after using Howard’s other food grade products; is great for woodworkers who need a hard, car nauba wax finish; and is made in the USA with food grade ingredients under strict quality controls

Minimum wholesale orders are only six cases (free freight)

Howard Products 800.266.9545

Jake’s Nut Ro asters S easoned Almonds from Jasp er Sp ecialty Fo o ds

Championship Cheese Contest Products are distributed to retail stores, restaurants and specialty stores across the United States Crave Broth ers is located in Wa terloo, Wisconsin, and produces award winning cheeses using an hours old milk and renewable energy produced on the family’s dairy farm Interested in carrying this award winning product? Contact your local dis tributor or Crave Brothers directly or visit the website for more information

Crave Brothers 920.478.4887

www cravecheese com

Les Anis de Flavigny Organic Range from The French Farm

Everything about Les Anis de Flavigny Mints from the design of the tins to the candy itself is steeped in tradition, folk lore and symbolism This delicately fla vored French candy is manufactured in the picturesque village of Flavigny, Burgundy, by a small, family owned company using the same recipe since 1591

The anise that lies at the heart of every candy has a warm, spicy flavor and a heady aromatic bouquet that bursts forth delightfully as the outer layers dissolve away in your mouth The 2 mg anise seed undergoes several delicate processes be fore it finally gets transformed into a per fectly shaped, 1 gm Anis de Flavigny Mint

After offering many different flavors for many years, The French Farm is now

a d d i n g

Les Anis de Flavi gny’s or g a n i c r a n g e ! Now wel c o m i n g c i n n a mon/orange, ginger, mandarine and regu lar anis, TFF is expanding its range of flavors to the delight of all its customers Packed by eight units in a case and im ported directly from France

The French Farm 713 660 0577 www.frenchfarm.com

Junior’s Coffee from White Coffee

Jake, a fourth generation member of the Jasper family, is proud to continue the farming traditions of his great grandfather that have been passed down for over 70 years

Since 1948, a commitment to quality and innovation has propelled many fine Jasper Specialty Foods products into the hands of health conscious almond lovers around the world Jake’s Nut Roasters is a creative line of specialty almond snacks with distinctively bold and unique flavors, which include Bleu Cheese Cracked Pep per, Bloody Mary, Mesquite Smoked, Hatch Chile, Maple, Barbecue and Buffalo

These almonds are in fact “Straight from Jake’s Orchard,” showcasing the com pany’s vertical integration and commit ment to sustainable growing practices Jake’s almonds provide an unparalleled

OMG! Pretzels Nuggets

OMG! Pretzels creates an elevated snack ing experience with its “ridiculously deli cious” gourmet flavored sourdough pretzel nuggets As a women and family owned business, OMG! Pretzels prides it self on using only premium ingredients and keeping products 100 percent made in America There are no gourmet pretzel nuggets on the market quite like OMG! Pretzels as each pretzel bursts with unbe lievable crunch and flavor Their gourmet status makes them a versatile snack, ap petizer or recipe addition Recognized as an award winning product with strong consumer satisfaction, these pretzels are a must have in every single home and re tail location OMG! Pretzels has handcrafted each of the eight flavors to perfection, one of the original and best selling flavors being Gar lic The delectable taste and perfect blend

snacking experience and make eating this healthy snack both fun and satisfying Jake’s Nut Roasters 7 ounce cans have a cool, classic appear ance that look great on store shelves, kitchen counters or table centerpieces

Produced in a dedi cated peanut free fa cility, these premium Califor nia almonds are dry roasted and sea soned in small batches to deliver excep tional quality Be on the lookout for a new Jake’s flavor coming soon Visit social media on Facebook and Instagram, @jakesnutroasters, or buy on Amazon

Jasper Specialty Foods 800 255 1641 www.jasperspecialtyfoods.com www.jakesnutroasters.com

of savory garlic and fresh herbs will have you s a y i n g , “OMG!” with every single bite These crunchy, gour met flavored pretzel wonders make the perfect stand alone snack and are an ele gant and delicious addition to cheese plat ters, soups and salads This flavor forward combination is bold, has no artificial ingre dients and no added sugars These crunchy garlic pretzels and will keep your customers coming back for more Once you pop one in your mouth, “OMG!” comes popping out!

TRADESHOWCALENDAR

(dates subject to change)

May 2 4

Petfood Forum Kansas City, Missouri www petfoodforumevents com

May 9 12

Food Safety Summit Rosemont, Illinois www foodsafetysummit com

16 18

Velocity Conference & Innovation Expo Charlotte, N C www velocityinstitute org

May 21 24

National Restaurant Association Show Chicago, Illinois www nationalrestaurantshow com

May 23 26

Sweets & Snacks Expo Chicago, Illinois www sweetsandsnacks com

June 5 7 IDDBA 2022 Atlanta, Georgia www iddba org

June 7 9

Global Pouch Forum Rosemont, Illinois wwww packagingstrategies com/ global pouch forum

June 12 14

Summer Fancy Food Show New York, New York www specialtyfood com

June 24 25 Coffee Fest Chicago, Illinois www coffeefest com/chicago

July 9 11

Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace Dallas, Texas www tramarketplace com

July 13 14

Organic Produce Summit Monterey, California www organicproducesummit com

July 20 23

American Cheese Society Annual Conference Portland, Oregon www cheesesociety or/2022 conference

July 28 29

Product Marketing Association Foodservice Conference Montrey, California www freshproduct com

August 28 30

Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo Los Angeles, California www westernfoodexpo com

August 28 30 Coffee Fest Los Angeles, California www coffeefest com/los angeles

October 7 8 Coffee Fest PNW Seattle,Washington www coffeefest com/pnw

October 25 28 The Gathering Orlando, Florida www thegatheringevent com/east

October 27 29

PMA Fresh Summit Orlando, Florida www pma com/events/freshsummit

ACS Adjusts Cheese Conference Events

The American Cheese Society will be held in person this year, for the first time since 2019, from July 20 23 in Portland, Oregon, although there will be some changes to the schedule

The ACS Judging & Competition, the largest event of its kind for American made cheeses, will take place May 19 20 at the Huntington Bank Stadium on the Univer sity of Minnesota, Minneapolis campus The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and will be held ahead of the annual conference for the first time

J&C will have a permanent home at the Huntington Bank Stadium, allowing ACS to hone its logistics from year to year ACS will be able to build a pool of experienced local volunteers, perfect its receiving and storage systems and create a permanent judging room layout

Results will still be announced at the an nual conference

The Festival of Cheese, Cheese Sale and Brunch of Champions will be removed from the annual conference as most of the cheese and dairy products at these events came from J&C Food safety was also a se rious consideration when making this de cision as cheeses were arriving up to a week and a half before the sale

Many conference favorites will be back this year, the ACS said Attendees can still look forward to getting together for educa tion and hands on training, sampling cheese and other specialty food products and networking with colleagues Confer ence favorites such as Meet the Cheese maker, Judging & Competition Awards, Midnite Mongers, Cheese Crawl and more will be back GN

Sweets & Snacks Expo to Switch Locations

The National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo will make a historic move to host the premier trade show for the confectionery and snack industries in a ro tation between Indianapolis and Las Vegas over the next 10 years This announcement comes as the show convenes to celebrate 25 years of candy and snack innovation

Beginning in 2024, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will cycle through a rotation of two years at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, followed by one year at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas until 2032 In May, McCormick Place in Chicago will host the 2022 and 2023 Sweets and Snacks Expos

“ I n d i a n a p o l i s a n d L a s Ve g a s a re t h e r i g h t f i t t o m e e t t h e g ro w i n g d e m a n d f o r o u r s h o w a n d e n a b l e i t t o c o n t i n u e p ro v i d i n g t h e i n n o v a t i o n , i n s i g h t s a n d c o n n e c t i o n s t h a t t h e c a n d y a n d s n a c k s i n d u s t r i e s w a n t a n d n e e d , ” s a i d J o h n D o w n s , N C A p re s i d e n t a n d C E O “ T h i s

d e c i s i o n i s a l l a b o u t t h e s h o w ’ s f u t u re , a n d i t w a s d r i v e n b y o u r e x h i b i t o r a n d a t t e n d e e c o m m u n i t y, f o r o u r e x h i b i t o r a n d a t t e n d e e c o m m u n i t y ”

The decision to relocate the Sweets & Snacks Expo to Indianapolis and Las Vegas was made after deliberation by the Sweets & Snacks Expo Committee, which is chaired by Ferrero/Fannie May Confections Vice President of Sales and Business Devel opment Ed Seibolt and the NCA Board of Trustees In 2021, the show relocated to In dianapolis because of the COVID 19 pan demic

“We saw great success in Indianapolis dur ing the 2021 Sweets & Snacks Expo, with many attendees expressing a desire to re turn,” said Seibolt “Similarly, Las Vegas is an international destination with the facilities and attractions to help the Sweets & Snacks Expo continue to scale I believe all parties will benefit tremendously from everything our new host cities have to offer ” GN

BIOFACH Returns With 6 Gatherings in 2022

The seven months from May to November will see no fewer than six gatherings of the international organic community around the globe, following two challenging years in the shadow of the pandemic The events will be hosted in Shanghai, São Paulo, Nuremberg, Delhi, Philadelphia and Riyadh In Brazil, the eager anticipation about BIOFACH America Latina after a two year intermission matches the excitement about a U S reunion, where BIOFACH America

enjoyed a successful restart in 2021 at its new location and exhibition venue in Philadelphia In 2022, BIOFACH in Nuremberg will take the form of a one off summer edition

At BIOFACH World, planning for 2023 is at full tilt, as the two remaining BIO FACH events out of a total of eight BIO FACH Japan (Tokyo) and BIOFACH South East Asia (Bangkok) are set to take place in March and July 2023 respectively

Sirha Europain Draws 25,000

More than 80 new products were pre sented, including eight that were rewarded with a Sirha Europain Award

The next edition of Sirha Europain will be held from Jan 20 23, 2024