Gourmet News • November 2021

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VOLUME 86 • NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 2021 • $7.00 • Ginger’s BreadBoys Cookie Kits Help Make Home-Cooked Memories Year Round PAGE 6

• ‘Father of Modern Plastic’ Baekeland and the Legacy of His Historic Invention PAGE 8

• Danimer Scientific Earmarks Grant to Expand Research of HOSO in Plastic Alternative PAGE 8

• Innovation, Millennials Drive Changes, Gains in Frozen Seafood Market PAGE 10

• Florida Crystals Sugar Reveals Rebrand, Commitment to Sustainability, Transparency PAGE 12

• Michigan State Students Create Award-Winning Red Dagger Hot Sauce Bottle PAGE 14

N E W S P A P E R

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• Sweet Gifts PAGES 22 & 23

• Editor’s Picks PAGE 24

• Advertiser Index PAGE 26

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I N D U S T R Y

LALA Brand Sweetens U.S. Market With Authentic Hispanic Desserts

BY A.J. FLICK

With more than 62 million U.S. residents having Hispanic roots, the opportunities to bring familiar and favorite tastes expands with the population.

This summer, LALA brand introduced fresh dairy products with the authentic taste of Mexico. Among the products were three flavors of dessert yogurt smoothies, and two flavors of fruit and crema desserts.

“We were founded over six decades ago in La Laguna, Mexico,” said Matthew Okeson, head of Texas-based LALA U.S. Inc.’s innovation team. “LALA coming from La Laguna, which is a big

This time of year, it’s a sweet Italian tradition to give panettone – a domed, sweet, rich confection that’s more like a fruity bread than cake – as a gift.

“Panettone is very specific to a time of year from November to January or February, the coldest months of

Innovation Often Misunderstood, Expert Says

dairy-producing region in Mexico.”

LALA is a familiar brand in Mexico, primarily known for its milk products. The company expanded into the U.S. market with drinkable yogurts in the 2000s, which were instantly popular, and has been expanding since then.

“In talking to our Hispanic consumers, they’re looking for comfort and nostalgia,” Okeson said. “Here in the United States, it can be a cultural gateway for consumers, to

help tie them back to their Hispanic heritage through our brand.”

The Postres Auténticos yogurt smoothies line includes one of the most popular tastes in Hispanic desserts drawn from the decadent milk cakes called tres leches.

“It’s indulgent and sweet,” Okeson said. “It should remind consumers of the

the year,” said Marco Mazzacani, director of business development for Antiqui Sapori Dell’Etna, maker of Pistì pastries.

“But now there are a lot of chefs and pastry chefs who are trying to present and serve panettone, for example, with ice cream, to convince people to eat panettone for the

rest of the year.”

Pistì’s artisan panettone is made with pistachio green grain dough mixed with dried fruits or pistachio cream between layers and topped with pistachios and other nuts, sugar, dark chocolate glaze or white chocolate.

“It’s not a light sweet,” Mazzacani noted.

Founded 20 years ago by two young entrepreneurs, Nino

There’s one big problem getting in the way of innovation.

“Nobody knows what it means anymore,” said Natalie Taake, senior innovation manager for Kroger.

“Businesses are always so focused on strategy, tactics and roadmaps. Innovation ends up feeling like a really fluffy word.”

Taake spoke on “How to Prevent Innovation” at the fall summit for My Private Label, which was rebranded as the Retail Brands Institute during the conference.

“No organization is actively trying to prevent innovation,” Taake said. “But innovation gets overlooked as a powerful weapon.

Over time, innovation gets deprioritized as lip service, a fluffy, overused word.”

Taake discussed “five simple steps on how innovation dies in an organization.”

“Step 1, trying to make everybody happy,” she said. “By failing to realize the one-size-fits-all solution is no longer relevant in a fragmented market, we miss the opportunity to meet consumers’ individualized needs by dumbing things down, trying to make

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Pistì Shares Italy’s Sweet Traditions of Pistachio Delicacies With the World

BY A.J. FLICK

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F O R

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BY A.J. FLICK

World Leaders Commit to Tackling Hunger, Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss in Historic Global Meeting In a historic global meeting, more than 150 countries made commitments to transform their food systems, while championing greater participation and equity – especially amongst farmers, women, youths and indigenous groups.

The first UN Food Systems Summit in September convened world leaders in an effort to spur national and regional action to deliver the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals through transforming food systems. Among the goals for 2030

are zero hunger, zero poverty, gender equality and climate action.

Following from the latest IPCC report, which raised a “code red” for human-driven global heating, the U.S. administration, one of the world’s major agricultural producers, pledged $10 billion over five years to address climate change and help feed those most vulnerable without exhausting natural resources.

Half of these funds will be invested domestically in “recognition that all countries, even those

that produce a surplus of food, must take steps to improve nutrition and adapt their food systems to a changing climate.”

Food systems transformations are key in supporting the three billion people globally who are malnourished and protecting the resource base on which global livelihoods rely.

The Summit, called by the UN secretary-general in 2019 to accelerate global progress by leveraging the interconnected importance of food systems, featured commitments from more

than 85 heads of state around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of people living in poverty in 2020 by up to 124 million people, and it is projected that around 600 million people will still live in poverty by 2030.

Partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of undernourishment increased to around 9.9 percent in 2020, with estimates of hungry people Continued on PAGE 16

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NOVEMBER 2021

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Cooking memories. By the time you read this, we’ll be in the midst of the winter baking season.

And as we’ve all heard, baking became one of the biggest trends during pandemic lockdowns.

While my parents raised my siblings and me (two girls and a boy) to think beyond our gender when thinking about our futures, my sister and I still got our share of toys you might consider girly – such as the Kenner Easy-Bake Oven, which we loved. I didn’t give our old toy much thought until I was working for a news bureau in Washington, D.C., and wrote about a new Smithsonian exhibit, which stopped me in my tracks. I still remember how I started my article: “My Kenner Easy-Bake Oven is in the Smithsonian.” No, it wasn’t our old oven, but the same model (minus the batter spills and crumbs).

By my teens, I loved to bake cakes and cookies in a real oven. I made hot cross buns for Easter and fruitcakes for Christmas. I always loved fruitcakes – although I’ll grant you, they aren’t all great.

I favored the lighter fruitcakes over the molasses-laden kind. It’s been years since I’ve done that kind of baking, but the memories were awakened by Robert Lambert, whose gourmet fruitcakes are shipped out all over the country this time of year. He uses his grandmother’s original recipe, with his own touches.

“There are fine Brazil nuts, local pecans and whole blanched toasted almonds,” he told me. “Walnuts are blanched before toasting to reduce their bitterness. Grandma’s glacéed cherries and pineapple are still here, but candying my own rare and exotic citrus peels to use utterly transforms this oft-maligned tradition.

“The classic pure lemon flavor of Lisbon lemon peel will be replacing the Meyer lemon this season,” he added. “Also joining the

candied bergamot, Rangpur lime, blood orange peels, the rare Buddha’s hand citron and my candied young ginger is Shekwasha peel, a rare Japanese aromatic of which I am particularly fond. I will not be able to get it again, as the tree is lost. But starting this year I’m using Hunza raisins, a small golden raisin with a greenish cast and bright, unique flavor from a pristine Pakistani valley high in the Himalayas. Each cake is soaked in the finest French cognac infused with herbs and spices, topped with a candied blood orange peel star.”

Robert’s White Fruitcake is included in our roundup of Sweet Gifts, as are Ginger’s BreadBoys, kits for gingerbread cookies that even include the cookie cutter. Virginia Bramante (Ginger is a family nickname) told me her kits were selling like, well, hotcakes during the pandemic, but she’s seen a slowdown this year, almost as if retailers are overly cautious about stocking too much product as the pandemic continues and the holiday gifting season approaches.

I spoke to the charming Celia Sims, who loves making Ginger’s BreadBoys and cooking memories with her granddaughter.

When my nephew Andrew was about 6, my sister gifted the two of us a Kenner Easy-Bake Oven, remembering the fun she and I had. The first time we used it, Andy told me that I should mix the cakes and he could pour them and slide them into the oven.

“How’d you get to be so good at this?” he asked me. I shrugged. “I guess because my mom taught me,” I said. Andy stepped back.

“YOU have a mommy?” he asked incredulously. That’s the day Andy learned who his grandparents were. Cooking memories.

There’s no set recipe. GN

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NOVEMBER 2021

Ginger’s BreadBoys Cookie Kits Help Make Home-Cooked Memories Year Round ger) spent years perfecting her gingerbread deluxe) isn’t too much.

Baking is second nature to Celia Sims of cookies long before the idea of creating “No, gracious,” she said. “Your chilNorth Carolina.

Ginger’s BreadBoys. dren, grandchildren, neighborhood kids “As a matter of fact, putting together a “Ginger’s BreadBoys comes from an loaf of bread is my therapy,” she said. “I honest place,” said Bramante, who love being in the kitchen.” lives in Washington, D.C., but is from Many a morning, Sims questions her North Carolina. “It took me years to husband on what he wants for dinner and get it perfected. I went through many he wonders why she’s thinking about dintrials and tribulations.” ner so early in the day, she said.

Bramante began making ginger“Well, I’m planning my day,” she tells bread cookies and sharing them with him. “I need to know where I’m going.” friends in cookie exchanges in pursuit Her granddaughter is another reason she of recreating a childhood memory, likes being in the kitchen because cooking when she entered a bakery and was is often a shared experience. overjoyed to see a cookie with her “I’ll pick her up after school and she’ll name in it. ask, ‘Are we cooking something today?’

“When you’re 2, 3, 4, your name Those are some of the memories I have of takes on great importance,” she said. my grandmother and my mother. I hope “If something had your name on it, it I’m setting a pattern for her.” was all yours within the family.”

This time of year, one of their favorite Gingerbread was a taste that took things to do is make gingerbread cookies. her time to actually enjoy, though.

PHOTO CREDIT GINGER’S BREADBOYS Several years ago, she learned that she had And creating a delicious gingerbread a mutual friend with cookie was just as PHOTO CREDIT CELIA SIMS Virginia Bramante, time consuming – as is can enjoy making them. For 2- or 3-yearcreator of Ginger’s the process of making olds, you get the dough ready, cut ‘em out BreadBoys, a kit that gingerbread cookies. and they can stick on the candy. Then contains everything Eventually, the idea of you eat the cookies! Everybody loves from the mix to the creating a gingerbread them.” cookie cutter. mix and assembling a kit As with everything else, the pandemic “Oh, it’s perfect!” that made it easy to has affected Bramante’s business.

Sims said. “It has make the cookies took “I have to say, last year was better,” she everything you need hold. said. “Mine is a very, very young company. except basic butter.

“I wanted it to be This is our fourth selling season.”

She went to a lot of seamless,” she said. “I Bramante sees Ginger’s BreadBoys as a trouble to make sure wanted it to taste good. business she will continue after she retires that her product was There were many pitfrom her career as a project manager. user friendly. It’s falls. It was too crumbly, “I’m taking things slow,” she said. “I easy to do and it’s too hard to roll out, too want to do things right.” fun to do.” much flour in there or it Last year, Bramante got a sizable order Sims and her burns, it’s too crispy.” from a company buying corporate gifts. granddaughter disOnce she perfected “October, November, December, it was covered by accident the recipe, she set about crazy crazy,” she recalled keeping up with that upside down, the unfrosted BreadBoys creating the kits. inventory. look like reindeer heads, so now they dec“I did all the work for you,” she said. “I This year, she had many inquiries at orate reindeers and boys. put it all in a box and it’s a fun activity. And trade shows, but orders didn’t flood in.

Best of all, Sims said, the finished prodwhen you break it all down, it works out to “Crickets,” she said. uct is not only pleasing, but delicious. a dollar a cookie. Try going to Starbucks “I think people are not making those “Oh, gosh, they’re incredible!” she said. and getting a cookie for a dollar.” kinds of decisions because of the pan“The ginger flavor is not overpowering.”

Sims said the price (the kits range from demic,” she said. “They’re not planning Bramante (her family nickname is Gin$24.95 for a basic kit to $74.95 for the ahead, spending the money until they abBY A.J. FLICK

solutely see what’s going on.

“But I have every confidence that in November, December, we’ll get the orders from the gift stores,” she said.

Bramante prides herself on making a product that is as homegrown as possible, buying from U.S. vendors even if it’s tempting pricewise to look overseas for materials.

This year, she introduced a glutenfree gingerbread cookie mix.

Just don’t expect to see any other kind of cookie mix.

“I know this one thing,” she said. “I don’t know sugar cookies. I don’t know any other type of baking. I know this. I have thought through everything. This is what I know. That’s the point. I want to share this product with everybody. It’s my product for the world.” GN

PHOTO CREDIT CELIA SIMS

Wisdom Natural Brands Leader Carol May Dies Carol May, who helped her husband, James A. May Sr., turn a sweet leaf into a multimillion-dollar company, died in August at the age of 76. Their son, Michael P. May was recently announced as the CEO of Wisdom Natural Brands, maker of SweetLeaf sweeteners and Wisdom of the Ancients natural foods and beverages, in addition to his duties as president.

Michael May served as vice president of business development, chief operating officer and executive vice president before assuming his role as president in 2017. May brings rich knowledge, tremendous experience and his family’s legacy to his new role, continuing to lead the company toward national and international growth

through innovation of plant-based sweeteners, foods and beverages.

Under May’s direction, the company will deliver on his parents’ founding mission.

He will continue the company’s 40-year legacy of developing groundbreaking and award-winning zero-sugar, zero-calorie natural sweeteners.

“Our mission at Wisdom Natural Brands is simple and ambitious. We want to change the world through our traceable, sustainable, better-for-you products and services,” says May. “I am driven each and every day with an intense passion to constantly improve everything we do in achieving that mission.”

Wisdom Natural Brands has grown from

a small Arizona company to a multimilliondollar international brand with more than 100 plant-based sweeteners and food and beverage products sold in almost 70 countries worldwide. With 38 awards for taste and innovation, the company remains a recognized leader in natural and organic sweeteners.

Carol May was widely recognized for her support of the natural and organic sweetener industry and her tireless commitment to ensuring her company’s products were always the highest quality, delicious and the best alternative to sugar.

Carol May won numerous accolades over the years and was a member of the Dean’s Council of the College of Liberal Arts &

Sciences, Arizona State University, and a partner with the Department of Psychology in developing prevention research pertaining to the reduction of dietary sugars in order to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Under her leadership, Wisdom Natural Brands supported the American Heart Association, where Carol served on the American Heart Association Industry Nutrition Advisory Forum.

Even with dozens of awards and honors, Carol said her greatest achievements included being a proud mother of six children, grandmother of seven children and working with her world-renowned husband, who was known as “The Father of Stevia.” GN

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‘Father of Modern Plastic’ Baekeland and the Legacy of His Historic Invention

BY A.J. FLICK

In 1907, a Belgian immigrant named Leo Baekeland mixed the right amounts of phenol and formaldehyde and used heat and pressure to create a material called Bakelite and become the “father of modern plastics.”

Bakelite was hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and it made Baekeland a rich man.

Baekeland, who sold his Bakelite Corporation in 1938 and died five years later at

age 80, would never know that plastic wasn’t the wonderland it set out to be. Now, plastic has turned into landfill disasters.

“It’s more a sign of our human failings, not plastic’s failings,” says research chemist Burk Wagner in the award-winning documentary, “All Things Bakelite: All Things Plastic.”

“Plastic is a perfect example of the double-edged sword,” Jeffrey Meikle, author of “American Plastic” says in the documentary. “The promise of plastic has always

been that we can mold, make or create anything we can envision. On the other hand, we have the issue of toxicity, solid waste – all of these things that we also can’t deal with.”

“It’s probably a good thing that Leo Baekeland could not foresee the misuse of plastic today,” says Hugh Karraker, Baekeland’s great-grandson and executive producer of the film. “Bakelite is not biodegradable. It’ll be with us forever.”

“There is hope,” Jeannette Garcia, an

IBM Research staff chemist, says.

IBM is working on a recyclable polymer.

“I do think the new plastics are the great grandchildren of Bakelite,” Garcia says.

“Friendlier plastics are definitely coming if we continue to do the research we’re doing now.”

The hour-long documentary by filmmaker John Maher has won numerous awards at film festivals (you can see it on iTunes, GoogleTV, YouTube, VUDU and appletv+). GN

Danimer Scientific Earmarks Grant to Expand Research of HOSO in Plastic Alternative Danimer Scientific, Inc. has announced it will use a $400,000 grant from United Soybean Board to expand a project using high-oleic soybean oil to produce polyhydroxyalkanoate, a sustainable biopolymer that serves as a biodegradable alternative to plastic.

Danimer’s collaboration with the United Soybean Board continues with the grant, after the successful completion of a one-year project to develop a practical model for using HOSO as a feedstock in manufacturing Nodax, Danimer’s signa-

ture polyhydroxyalkanoate or PHA, which is used to create a wide variety of products including straws, bottles and flexible film packaging. The second year of the project will focus on scaling up the use of HOSO on a commercial level, the company said.

“HOSO is readily available material in the United States, likely making it a viable and cost-effective feedstock in the production of Nodax,” said Phil Van Trump, Danimer’s chief science and technology officer.

High-oleic soybeans are grown exclusively in the United States. The oil produced from the crop provides increased functionality and improved shelf life for applications across the food and manufacturing industries.

“The first year of our research has produced excellent results that show HOSO is a viable feedstock in the manufacture of Nodax,” said Carol Leggett, Danimer’s director of microbiology. “HOSO is expected to serve as a valuable tool to strengthen our supply chain and bottom line. The progress

we’ve made to this point would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Omni Tech International, SmithBucklin and the United Soybean Board and their farmer members.”

“Our 78 volunteer farmer-directors work on behalf of all soybean farmers to achieve maximum value for their investments and increase preference for U.S. soy, so we are excited to continue working with Danimer to drive soybean innovation,” said United Soybean Board farmerdirector Ed Lammers. GN

Ocean’s Halo Eliminates Plastic Tray from Seaweed Snacks Line Ocean’s Halo has launched a trayless seaweed snack, removing the plastic holding tray from the packaging. Since September, Sea Salt flavored Seaweed Snack will be sold without a tray in almost 500 supermarkets nationwide as well as online.

Removing the tray will keep at least 15 million pieces of plastic waste out of landfills and oceans every year, according to the company, which is one of the fastest-growing Asian-inspired brands offering seaweed snacks, broth, noodles and sauces.

“Consumers increasingly want sustainable products and we believe eliminating this plastic packaging waste is a game-changing innovation,” said CEO Robert Mock. “We have been working on

this patent-pending technology for a long time and are excited that it’s finally come to fruition. This is a win for consumers, merchants and the planet. We hope it will become the industry standard.”

The Trayless Sea Salt Seaweed Snack was first available in-store in U.S. retailers including Walmart and online at Walmart.com and Amazon.com, as well as exclusively later this year at Ocado.com in the United Kingdom.

In addition to the plastic reduction, removing the plastic tray will reduce the brand’s overall carbon footprint by 50 percent and will also account for nearly four times more shelf efficiency at super mar-

kets and on customers’ home shelves and cabinets.

Ocean’s Halo is committed to sustainability and dedicated to further packaging innovation, the company said.

According to an August poll by Consumer Brands/Ipsos, 87 percent of American shoppers, from boomers thru GenZ, are concerned about plastics and packaging waste; however, consumers have limited environmental-friendly options when it comes to packaging.

The popularity of seaweed in the healthy snack category, which is a $2 billion industry, has grown substantially in recent years, specifically among younger consumers who demand adventurous, healthy and

sustainable food choices. All of Ocean Halo’s seaweed snacks are nutrient dense, USDA-certified organic, non-GMO, vegan and gluten-free.

Seaweed is a sustainable future food that doesn’t need soil, fresh water or fertilizer.

It simply grows in the ocean with sunlight while it absorbs carbon from the environment, making it truly a carbon-negative crop.

Ocean’s Halo donates to ocean conservation initiatives via 1% for the Planet, an organization that inspires businesses and individuals to support the environment. In 2020, the company provided 13 million pounds of food and beverages to food banks in an effort to fight hunger. GN

StePac Launches Lean, Recyclable Top Seal Solution Israel-based StePac Ltd. has expanded its range of top seals with new solutions to boost the retail fresh produce packaging sector. Its upgraded portfolio includes lean and fully recyclable easy-peel film structures designed to be sealed onto trays or containers housing produce for on-the-go convenience.

The user-friendly and appealing films are

engineered with StePac’s flagship Modified Atmosphere Packaging condensation control technology, which significantly extends the shelf life of fresh produce and preserves their quality and nutritional value. Its builtin modified atmosphere properties slow respiration inside the packaging, effectively delaying ageing and inhibiting microbial decay.

“We are leading the transition from the use of traditional clamshells for packaging fresh berries to leaner, greener and more attractive top-seal solutions,” said Gary Ward, business development manager.

The new top seal generates as much as 25 to 30 percent reduction in plastic use compared to clamshells, is fully recyclable and provides shelf-life extension proper-

ties, enhancing food quality while reducing waste, all of which fall in line with our sustainability strategy.

“Last, but not least, it also ensures food safety,” Ward said.

The resealable film also features a tamper evidence seal, assuring customers that the packaging has not been breached or sabotaged in any way before purchase. GN

PHOTO CREDIT LIZ HUFF

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Innovation, Millennials Drive Changes, Gains in Frozen Seafood Market The seafood industry is enjoying elevated sales and growth in the frozen category, thanks to innovations and millennials, according to a whitepaper by SeafoodSource.

In July, frozen seafood sales at U.S. retailers topped all other frozen proteins, rising nearly 44 percent compared to July 2019, according to data from 210 Analytics and IRI Worldwide.

“For the first six months of 2021, frozen seafood has drawn in more shoppers, more trips and greater spending per trip – that’s the growth trifecta every category dreams of,” 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink told SeafoodSource, citing IRI data.

The category’s performance so far in 2021 is the result of continuous, “very-high demand in comparison with the pre-pandemic normal of 2019,” Roerink said. “Dollar sales are still sitting more than 40

percent over the levels seen in 2019 month after month. This consistency, combined with the growth trifecta behind the sales numbers, points to ongoing strength in months – and years – to come.”

While frozen fish sales lead the category, frozen raw shrimp sales jumped nearly 62 percent, Roerink said.

“It’s important to point out that frozen seafood has been a growth engine for more than five years,” Roerink said.

However, 2020 is considered among the most impressive for the frozen food sector, which was called a “pandemic powerhouse” in the Power of Frozen 2021 report, published by the American Frozen Food Institute and FMI in February. The overall category in the U.S. rang up $65.1 billion in retail sales in 2020, with frozen seafood (more than 35 percent) beating out frozen

poultry (more than 34 percent) and frozen appetizers (nearly 29 percent) with the largest percentage of dollar growth last year.

Millennials, “the core frozen food shoppers,” have played a big part in fueling this growth, Roerink said. They view the category favorably in terms of nutrition, freshness, quality and convenience, and can influence other demographics to do the same, she said.

“As millennial spending has geared up based on their growing household sizes and budgets, frozen foods have seen above-average growth, and frozen seafood along with it,” Roerink said. Frozen food products cater to the modern traits prized by millennials and other consumer groups, FMI’s Doug Baker said. “(Shoppers) are looking for meal plans, culinary creativity and convenient, cost-effective solutions,” Baker said. “The frozen foods

category offers these benefits to shoppers and that’s why we see all areas – from meal ingredients to meal-solutions – reaching new audiences and increasing purchases.”

Roerink said the expansion experienced by the frozen category has been driven by many factors, including the industry’s commitment to innovation.

“Many trends that pop up in perishable departments originated in frozen foods,” Roerink said.

“Think about spiralized zucchini replacing noodles; riced cauliflower replacing rice.

Think about all the plant-forward options to address the rising interest in vegan and vegetarian dishes. Additionally, frozen food manufacturers have done a tremendous job in optimizing their package real estate with relevant information and callouts that often change every so many years.” GN

Nomad Foods, BlueNalu to Introduce Cell-Cultured Seafood in Europe As demand for sustainably produced, healthy seafood products continues to grow in Europe, Nomad Foods and BlueNalu have teamed up to explore introducing cellcultured seafood in the European Union and United Kingdom.

Europe is the largest importer of seafood in the world – due to high consumption rates, with EU citizens eating more than three times as much as they produce.

The agreement between Nomad, Europe’s leading frozen food company, and BlueNalu, a leading U.S. company developing seafood products directly from fish cells, represents the first of its kind in Europe between a consumer packaged goods company and a cell-cultured seafood company.

The agreement also signifies a mutual interest in the commercialization of cell-cultured seafood in Europe to help meet rising demand and support wider efforts to safeguard the long-term availability of quality, affordable seafood that is healthy for people

and sustainable for the planet. It includes a collaboration to conduct market research and identify consumer insights, assess regulatory requirements, and explore new business and product opportunities that would be unlocked by the introduction of cell-cultured seafood throughout Europe.

“The food industry is at a transformational moment as consumer demand for nutritious, high-quality food is growing, the importance of sustainability has never been more apparent, and the role of technology in delivering these needs is accelerating,” said Stéfan Descheemaeker, Nomad CEO. “We are at the forefront of a generational shift towards healthier, more sustainable eating and are delighted to announce our collaboration with BlueNalu,” he said.

“Their breakthrough technology in cellcultured seafood perfectly aligns with our purpose and will enable us to continue to introduce innovative and great tasting seafood products that are good for people,

good for the planet and accessible to all.”

“As the latest IPCC report on the climate crisis demonstrates, the decisions we make over the next decade will have a profound impact on life on this planet for generations to come,” said Lou Cooperhouse, president and CEO of BlueNalu.

“We are excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Nomad Foods, which has revered, market-leading brands such as Birds Eye, Findus and iglo, to accelerate our market strategy in Europe,” he said.

“With this announcement, BlueNalu is well-positioned to bring our leading-edge innovation into Europe in the coming years, which complements our existing collaborations in Asia and North America.”

BlueNalu’s non-GMO technology platform is designed to produce a wide array of seafood products from a variety of species in order to meet consumer demand and supplement gaps in supply in each region where it goes to market.

BlueNalu has implemented a species selection strategy that complements the current seafood supply chain, focusing on fish species that are typically imported, difficult to farm-raise, are overfished or non-sustainable, and/or contain higher levels of environmental contaminants. Cell-cultured seafood has the potential to democratize sustainable, nutritious seafood, minimize food waste, improve transparency, and support the biodiversity in the ocean, according to the company. BlueNalu’s cell-cultured seafood products could offer a healthy, regenerative, consistent, and predictable seafood solution that is traceable, secure, and safe.

BlueNalu is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for the planet. The company began operations in 2018 and is based in San Diego, California.

Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. GN

Bring Your Own Bucket: Airscape Insert Allows for Bulk Storage of Goods Montana-based Airscape, maker of coffee and food storage containers, has released an improved version of its Airscape Bucket Insert. The new insert fits larger buckets and features a nitrogen port, turning any round three-, five- or seven-gallon bucket into the best bulk storage solution.

The Airscape Bucket Insert uses the same patented technology as the inner lid of Airscape’s storage containers, removing and locking out air, light and moisture to preserve the freshness and flavor of the con-

tents.

“Our Airscape Bucket Insert allows anyone to turn a plastic bucket into an Airscape container for bulk storage – and using the new integrated port to flush the contents with nitrogen means whatever you’re storing inside will stay fresh for longer,” said Jess Nepstad, CEO of Planetary Design, LLC, the company that owns Airscape. “While we originally designed the insert for coffee roasters and shops to store coffee beans in, we’ve seen them put

to use in breweries, on farms and at home.”

The Airscape Bucket Insert is made of BPA-free, food-grade plastic and works in the same manner as the inner lid of Airscape’s storage containers, by inserting it into a round three-, five- or sevengallon bucket (not included). Squeeze the handle and push down to the level of the contents, then release the handle to lock out air, light and moisture. The new insert also features an integrated nitro-

gen port to flush the contents with nitrogen gas and further preserve freshness and flavor.

The insert has many uses in the food industry and at home. Store green and freshly roasted coffee beans, hops and brewing grains, nuts and seeds, cannabis, grilling and smoking pellets, pet food and chicken feed and more. It can even be used for pickling or fermenting (with an airlock) or for temporary storage of food waste that will be composted. GN

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Florida Crystals Sugar Reveals Rebrand, Commitment to Sustainability, Transparency After six decades of sustainably growing sugarcane on family-owned farms and crafting cane sugars, West Palm Beachbased Florida Crystals has launched a rebrand that reflects its history and mission.

“For the past 60 years, we’ve grown, harvested and milled sugarcane giving us full visibility of how our specialty cane sugars are crafted,” said Paula Summers, vice president of marketing. “We’re dedicated to creating happiness by giving people pure sweetness they can feel good about with every bite. And, we wanted the Florida Crystals logo and

product packaging to help share our brand’s story.”

Bakers are choosing ingredients that are clean and minimally processed and also offer transparency. This insight led Florida Crystals, the only U.S. grower of organic sugarcane, into sharing more details about its agricultural and sugarcrafting practices.

The new logo and design feature natural hues and sugarcane stalks at the forefront to represent the brand’s commitment to

sustainability and providing sweetness that is organic, homegrown and minimally processed. Within the logo is a hidden bird that pays tribute to the more than 800 barn owls that call the farms home and help control pests naturally – a symbol of the brand’s innovative and sustainable farming approach.

Florida Crystals’ new packaging design is an award winner of Graphic Design USA’s 2021 American Package Design Awards in the Food and Beverage category. The new design includes a larger product window, giving consumers a peek at the sweetness inside; organized certifications to ease understanding of each product’s key attributes; and an origin statement to let consumers know that the sugar comes

from sugarcane grown on family-owned farms.

The back shares Florida Crystals’ farming practices, as well as a design element that highlights products that are homegrown sustainably.

As a part of Florida Crystals commitment to reducing waste, its recyclable sugar pouches and jugs now feature a How2Recycle label to guide consumers to recycle properly.

“From crop rotation to precision agriculture, harvesting homegrown sweetness that’s as kind to our consumers as it is to our planet is the heart and soul of all that we do,” said Suzzette Arroyo, marketing director. “The brand prides itself on offering honest to goodness sugar.” GN

Stacy’s Pita Chips, Hello Sunshine Partner to Amplify Success of Female Founders Stacy’s Pita Chips continues its commitment to promoting female founders by partnering with Oscar-winning actress and producer Reese Witherspoon and the media company she founded, Hello Sunshine, to spotlight the 10 inspiring winners of the 2021 Stacy’s Rise Project.

New this year, Stacy’s is also amplifying founders by launching FoundedByHer.org, an online business directory featuring female founders from across the United States. In celebration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on Nov. 19, anyone can support founders through the FoundedByHer curated gift boxes.

As a female-founded brand that grew from a sandwich cart to nationwide distribution, Texas-based Stacy’s is building upon its legacy of helping women rise through the Stacy’s Rise Project, a grant and mentorship program dedicated to helping women grow their businesses. Earlier this year, Stacy’s, with longtime partner Hello Alice, received an overwhelming amount of interest in the Rise Project from founders across the nation with an almost 300 percent increase in ap-

plications from previous years prior.

The 10 winners will each receive a $10,000 grant, mentoring from Frito-Lay and PepsiCo leadership and the opportunity to participate in a speaker series featuring Frito-Lay leadership and notable founders. Perhaps most importantly, they are also welcomed into a built-in community to experience the power of women coming together to lift each other up, celebrate each other’s successes, and achieve their dreams.

To welcome and amplify the 2021 finalists as well as extend visibility to founders in 2022, the brand is kicking off a partnership with Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine.

“I truly believe that when one woman rises, we all rise, and that is why my team at Hello Sunshine and I partnered with Stacy’s, beginning with the 2021 Stacy’s Rise Project,” Witherspoon said. “This partnership and project are so important because it not only provides essential funding, but also provides unmatched support through mentorship and connections to

help female founders take their business to the next level.”

To better understand the challenges and opportunities female founders face, Stacy’s commissioned a survey among 500 U.S. female entrepreneurs, defined as those who are currently or plan to own a business with the intent of making a profit. One of the key findings was that unconscious bias, defined as “prejudice” or “social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness,” proves a hurdle in female entrepreneurs’ business journeys.

Notably, of the 500 respondents, more than one third (34 percent) believe they frequently experience unconscious bias from other people and 76 percent believe they have encountered challenges their male counterparts have not. When it comes to having a support system, the survey reinforced the importance of having female leaders and mentors, with more than 45 percent of respondents saying it was very important.

Representing the specialty food industry

in the Stacy’s Rise Class of 2021 are Sara Fludd, who founded Pop Goes the Waffle, dedicated to authentic liege waffle via retail, wholesale and e-commerce; Samotria Holmes, who founded Holmes Sweet Home, a specialty food producer hyper focused on ingredient quality and supporting its local economy; Sue Kakuk, who founded Kakookies, grab-n-go cookies made with real food ingredients and plantbased protein; Jocelyn Ramirez, who founded Todo Verde, a plant-based Mexican food business based out of East Los Angeles; Adrienne Walker, who founded BlueHenry LLC, a manufacturer of quality all-natural beverage garnishes; Amber Balakian, who founded Balakian Farms, a manufacturer of fruit and vegetable CPG products; Alberta Liao, who founded Jinka, the first vegan tuna spread product in the refrigerated section; Julie Butcher, who founded The Vegan Knife, which offers allergy friendly and vegan cupcake/cakes and donut mixes; and Sajani Amarasiri, who founded Kola Goodies Inc., which makes botanical-rich superfood latte blends. GN

Jackson’s Celebrates New Factory with Rebrand With the opening of a state-of-the-art factory, Wisconsin-based Jackson’s the Snack Super brand has adopted new packaging, branding and website.

Jackson’s, which uses sweet potatoes and ancestral oils for its products, recently moved into its new factory in Muskego, making it the only brand producing in a facility that’s entirely devoted to sweet potato chips.

Jackson’s sources only non-GMO heirloom sweet potatoes directly from farmers, cooks them low and slow in ancestral oils – such as coconut and avocado – and pairs seasonings that bring out the best sweet po-

tato flavor.

The result is an expanded product line that takes Jackson’s signature sweet potato chips to a new level, while introducing new varieties that perfectly complement sweet potatoes’ flavor profile. All varieties are NonGMO Project Verified, vegan, gluten free, paleo, nut free and kosher. They are available in redesigned 1.5- and 5-ounce bags in four flavors: Sea Salt Sweet Potato Chips with Coconut Oil, Sea Salt Sweet Potato Chips with Avocado

Oil, Spicy Tomatillo Sweet Potato Chips with Avocado Oil and Carolina BBQ Sweet Potato Chips with Avocado Oil.

Scott and Megan Reamer created Jackson’s in their kitchen while seeking low inflammation snacks to suit their son

Jackson’s restrictive diet.

“The product we’re making today is the best we’ve ever produced,” Scott Reamer said, “just like it was when we started with small batches in our family kitchen. And that makes all the effort by our Jackson’s team well worth it.

Megan and I are excited for the new direction the brand is taking. The new packaging truly reflects the greatness of what’s inside.”

Jackson’s is available online and in select retailers nationwide including Whole Foods Market and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. GN

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Michigan State Students Create Award-Winning Red Dagger Hot Sauce Bottle A team of four Mighigan State University students won top honors in the 2021 Glass Packaging Design Competition at MSU’s School of packaging for creating a hot sauce bottle in the shape of a dagger: Red Dagger Hot Sauce.

Brenden Tulpa, Mitchell VanNote, Maddie Vasquez, Reed Vogt and Kailey Wood crafted flint glass into a dagger shape. The blade, handguard and neck details are all embossed features of the bottle. To cap off the dagger look, the neck and closure are designed to look like the handle and pommel, by which consumers could wield the bottle.

Ardagh Glass Packaging – North America (AGP – NA) partnered with the university for the competition, which drew entries from 43 student teams.

“Getting to see the next generation put

their heads together to design premier food and beverage packaging in glass makes certain that the future of packaging de-

Innovation Continued from PAGE 1 everyone happy and then no one is happy.”

For instance, Kroger used its private brands to reach consumers who like spicy ranch flavors on several levels, with its Kroger brand sriracha ranch dressing, Private Selection fire roasted poblano ranch and Simple Truth spicy ranch dressing.

“Step 2,” she said, “swing with the pendulum. Confusing innovation with new product development puts you at risk of being late to the market by not anticipating the future needs of consumers.

“The pendulum always swings back,” she said, whether it’s Prohibition, the “good egg, bad egg” debate or grapefruit.

“One of the best examples in modern times is grapefruit. Twenty years ago, there were many grapefruit-flavored product launches. In 2006, there was noise

LALA Continued from PAGE 1 Hispanic tradition in yogurt form.”

LALA’s other smoothie flavors are Fresas con Crema (strawberries and cream) and Arroz con Leche (rice pudding).

The smoothies are meant to be enjoyed after a meal or as a late-night snack and are made with real whole milk for a rich, creamy taste. Each 6.7-ounce bottle contains 5g of protein.

The Postres Auténticos fruit and crema desserts, sold in 4-ounce, single-serve cups, are inspired by traditional Hispanic desserts and come in two flavors: Fresas con Crema (strawberries and crema) and Duraznos con Crema (peaches and crema).

LALA’s popular Crema Mexicana is the base for the desserts, made with real fruit and sugar.

For those unfamiliar with Mexican crema, Okeson described it as almost like

sign is in good hands,” said Scott DeFife, President of the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI).

“Thank you again to the MSU School of

Packaging and Ardagh Glass Packaging – North America (AGP – NA) for making this wonderful partnership possible for another year.”

AGP – NA hosted the winning team and its instructor, Angela Brann, for a tour of the company’s Winchester, Indiana, glass manufacturing facility and welcomed the students to its Indianapolis headquarters for meetings with the Ardagh executive team. The students were presented with a Lucite model of their winning design at a dinner ceremony.

“This project overall was a great way for my classmates and me to experience the industry firsthand,” said junior Maddie Vasquez.

“As a new instructor at MSU, I was very excited to participate in the site visit at Ardagh and meet with Dale DeVore, chairman of the GPI Academic Program,” said Brann. “After viewing the glass con-

tainer production process in Winchester, Indiana, and meeting with the team at the Ardagh facility in Indianapolis, the students and I learned more about the many roles, technologies, and quality requirements associated with producing glass containers.

“The peek into the daily activities of the industry professionals generated many career-related questions for our winning design team. As our students seek internships and future careers, the experience of learning from a company focused on high quality will be very beneficial to them. We have been so fortunate to be a part of this partnership for so many years,” she said.

The 44 student teams, all randomly assigned from the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Packaging with Glass and Metal class, worked on the project throughout the semester as they learned about the design and manufacture of glass bottles and jars. GN

about how grapefruit couldn’t be consumed by people who used certain heart medications. Everything stays flat until something happens in 2014. The lime crisis. I remember going into Kroger and there was not one single lime in the produce section.”

One of the industries affected greatly was alcoholic drinks.

“What did bartenders do? They started using grapefruit instead. I know a bartender who had a tattoo of a lime with ‘2014, never forget.’ A trend started in cocktail bars as they started using more grapefruit. The pendulum swung back hard and the market grew by 126 percent.

“Innovation means thinking ahead.

Whoever is better prepared will win on shelves,” Taake said.

“Step 3, ask consumers what they want,” she continued. “That’s our job to know their unspoken needs.

“Take pumpkin spice. There’s no better

example. This product flavor has been around for almost 20 years. Its success did not happen overnight.”

Yet early consumer testing didn’t foretell its popularity – quite the opposite.

“But startups didn’t stop there,” she said.

“They developed a product they thought tasted great and sure enough, pumpkin spice became something consumers either love or they hate. They’ve built a cult around this. How many of you see pumpkin spice in your own home?

“Stop asking consumers what they want or believe they can articulate what they want to you,” Taake said.

“Step 4,” she said, “it’s everyone’s responsibility.

“If everyone is innovating, no one is innovating,” Taake said. “There are always fires to be put out. Without dedicated minds that are not focused on day-to-day business, innovation is going to go by the wayside. You need a dedicated, robust team

with different skills.

“One thing that brings everything together, regardless of inspiration, thorough analytical data or observation is the ability to spot patterns where others can’t see something and predict the path forward,” she said.

“You need jacks and jills of all trades, people who like stepping out of their comfort zone,” Taake said.

“Step 5, make no mistakes,” she said. “By aiming for perfection and always playing it safe, you’ll never create anything transformative.

“It’s OK to get it wrong sometimes,” she said. “Pivoting is more important than perfection.”

Taake learned a concept from her father that she uses when talking about innovation.

“Innovation is your weapon,” she said, “a weapon that’s at least as good of a gun as your enemy’s.” GN

sour cream, but not as tart. It’s a common ingredient in Mexican dishes as well as sweet Mexican shaved-ice treats called raspados.

“The Postres Auténticos family of dessert products are authentic, nourishing and high quality,” said Jorge Ramos, CEO of LALA U.S. “The flavors of the smoothies and cremas are inspired by Hispanic dinner table traditions.”

Not surprisingly, the majority of LALA’s consumers are Hispanic and the products cater to their preferences. But the company is also eager to introduce non-Hispanics in the United States to its products.

“Many people are looking for more cultural experiences and looking to explore,” he said. “They might have known about Hispanic food that is hot and spicy, but haven’t explored the sweet side.

“We see that as a secondary opportunity to bring Hispanic culture to those who

have never tasted this before,” Okeson said.

Initial reaction to the new LALA desserts was overwhelmingly positive, Okeson said.

“We want to see how well they are re-

tion team listened to LALA consumers who already relied on the brand for breakfast, but wanted other products more suitable for them throughout the day.

The company is focused on the Hispanic specialty channel with retailers familiar to Hispanic consumers as El Rancho and El Super, but is exploring ways to expand into other channels.

Okeson said with the U.S. Census projecting Hispanics will be the second-largest ethnic group by 2030, there’s a lot of opportunity for LALA and mainstream grocers to bring consumers in.

“We really want to be that authentic discovery for consumers,” Okeson said.

Earlier this year, LALA added three traditional Mexican cheeses, allowing U.S. consumers to experience a more savory side of cheese, Okeson said. GN

ceived in the marketplace before expanding further,” he said. “We do have other ideas and concepts in the works.”

LALA is more active than ever in collecting consumer-driven insights. The innova-

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Once Upon a Farm, Save the Children Launch A Million Meals Initiative, Cookie Once Upon a Farm and Save the Children are building on their multi-year partnership with the initiative A Million Meals, including a limited-edition Farmer Jen’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie.

The initiative aims to help provide 1,000,000 nutritious meals to children in food insecure U.S. communities by 2024.

“We are so excited to work together with Save the Children to bring A Million Meals to light,” said Once Upon a Farm’s co-founder, Jennifer Garner. “My work with Save the Children over the past 15 years has deepened and informed my advocacy for early childhood nutrition, and

in many ways, is what led me to co-founding Once Upon a Farm.

“We’ve always had big ambitions – chief among them to bring healthy, nutritious food to kids everywhere. With this incredible initiative, we hope to deliver on this promise in an impactful way.”

An estimated 13 million children are struggling with hunger in America, two million more than before the start of the pandemic. Studies prove that hunger can negatively affect children’s academic performance and behavior in school, preventing them from developing to their full potential. To help children reach their full

potential, Once Upon a Farm’s A Million Meals pledge will consist of financial investments, product donations, companywide volunteer opportunities and other programming that support Save the Children’s early education and food programs delivering nutritious meals to kids in need.

“All across America, more children are hungry than before COVID, putting their growth, development and well-being at risk – and one hungry child is one too many,” said Betsy Zorio, Save the Children’s vice president of U.S. programs.

In addition, Once Upon a Farm’s second limited-edition, give-back blend – Farmer

Jen’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie – is available to purchase online. With every Farmer Jen pouch purchased, 25 cents will be donated to Save the Children, up to $50,000.

This new blend is part of a growing Once Upon a Farm & Save the Children product line with a third charitable blend set to debut next year.

Farmer Jen’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie is inspired by her favorite oatmeal cookie recipe and pumpkins grown on the centuryold Garner family farm in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. The no-sugar-added recipe is the perfect combination of organic pumpkin, silky coconut milk and sweet vanilla. GN

World Leaders

Many countries announced national initiatives to ensure their food systems met not only the nutritional needs of their populations but also goals around climate change, biodiversity, and decent livelihoods for all.

“We must use the power of ingenuity to improve on food systems so they provide safe, nutritious, affordable, and accessible

food for all, while conserving natural resources, and combating the climate crisis,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Among the new initiatives launched by civil society, financial institutions, academia and philanthropists was a new $922 million, five-year investment into nutritious food systems, announced by Melinda

Gates on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Undernutrition is costing the global economy up to $3.5 trillion every single year,” Melinda Gates said. “Resilient food systems that deliver safe, affordable and nutritious food for everybody will drive greater health and prosperity, for both individuals and for nations.” GN

to develop international markets for Pistì.

Pistì didn’t alter its already popular recipes to reach consumers beyond Italy’s borders, keeping its high-quality ingredients in simple recipes.

“This is probably the key,” he said. “Not just of Pistì products, but you know for sure this is the key for Italian food in general. Probably compared to French cuisine or other international traditions, the key of Italian food is the simplicity.

Only a few ingredients, but of very high quality.

“It’s quite a simple recipe,” Mazzacani added.

“We use only a few ingredients. We use pistachios.

We use almonds. We use walnuts. We add sugar or honey and sometimes, that’s it. It’s just the knowhow, to know how to make the product, but the ingredient list, it’s very simple.”

Bronte doesn’t produce the large quantities of pistachios as other countries do, Mazzacani said. But there’s something about the quality of the earth that Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, creates that gives the pistachios a taste admired around the world.

“To be honest,” Mazzacani said, “I’m not a great expert on pistachios, but even a person like me can taste the difference.”

While most of Pistì’s revenue comes from Italian consumers, the company is working with an importer to expand to other European companies. Pistì is available in the United States through The French Farm. Mazzacani is contacting other U.S. importers and

distributors, hoping to reach a wider North American consumer base.

The company’s best-selling product is its spreadable pistachio creams, but it also offers pesti paté, chopped pistachios, pistachio cookies, chiccosi (chocolate-covered pistachios), nougats and other Italian delights.

“Panettones are quite popular in New York City at the moment,” Mazzacani said. “There are a lot of cheap panettones that are quite popular, but our panettones have quite a short shelf life because we use high-quality ingredients. The price point may be quite high, but the quality is very good.”

The products’ short shelf life does, of course, complicate exportation, prompting Pistì to rely on air freight to get the panettoni to foreign retailers in time.

“We’re looking for partners willing to

As an example of the thoughtfulness that Pistì puts into its products that are often given as sweet gifts, the packages come wrapped in bows. And as with everything Pistì makes, the bows are tied by hand.

“It’s not possible to make it with ma-

Continued from PAGE 1 reaching between 720 and 811 million globally in 2020. Meanwhile, 2 in 3 children are not fed the minimum diverse diets they need in early childhood to grow healthily.

Pistì Continued from PAGE 1 Marino and Vincenzo Longhitano, Antiqui Aspori Dell’Etna (it means “ancient flavor from Etna”) was founded on the idea of making gourmet Italian pastries with the highly regarded pistachios grown in the shadow of Mount Etna.

Now, Pistì is the biggest company in Italy producing pistachio products, earning more than €60 million ($69.3 million) last year. Still, as big as the company has grown, it still operates as an artisanal pastry maker with every confection fully made by individuals, not machines.

“The focus is 100 percent on the quality of products we use,” Mazzacani said. “The recipe the company is using at the moment – Nino told me this – belongs to Nino’s grandmother’s recipe book.”

The company is based in the small Sicilian village of Bronte, the Italian capital for pistachio products.

“There is a great tradition of pastry and confectionery products in the south of Italy,” Mazzacani said. “They have a lot of pistachios, a lot of hazelnuts, a lot of almonds and walnuts.

“So, in the beginning, they started to present these delicious products to the other parts of Italy. The feedback they received was very, very positive,” Mazzacani said.

Other European markets began to taste and love Pistì products as well, said Mazzacani, who was hired a couple of years ago

work with high-quality products at a price people are willing to spend for quality products.”

chines,” Mazzacani noted.

Of the 80 employees in Pistì’s permanent workforce (employees increase for harvesting), most are young women from Sicily.

That’s no accident. Marino and Longhitano wanted to give young Sicilians in a tight job market the chance to get a good job with a growing company.

“Generally, in the south of Italy, there is a problem in terms of a lack of jobs, especially for the young people and young women,” Mazzacani said. “Vincenzo and Nino were very smart to perceive this opportunity and this potential represented by the great tradition of Sicilian pastry.”

Mazzacani praises Marino and Longhitano for having the foresight to share Pistì with other parts of the world.

“As soon as our customers taste our product for the first time, they generally fall in love with it,” Mazzacano said, smiling, “and they’re going to buy it once again.

“So I’m confident that the reception in North America will be as good as in other parts of the world. Let’s see.” GN

SUPPLEMENT TO

NOVEMBER 2021

GOURMET NEWS

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T H E

B U S I N E S S

N E W S P A P E R

F O R

featured products

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I N D U S T R Y

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GOURMET NEWS

MarDona Stuffed Olive Collection MarDona has produced a gourmet olive snack to meet anyone’s palate. The company has taken quality fresh olives and stuffed them with the finest gourmet treats.

The Savory Blue cheese is a perfect balance of the olive and cheese. The Turkish Red Hot Pepper is just what the label says, very hot!

The Garlic stuffed olive is made two ways: the Natural Garlic insert and the Italian Style with spices in the brine making the garlic stand out a little more. Let’s not forget the Jalapeño Stuffed Olive with a good bal-

ance of heat and olive.

These five great products join the other MarDona favorites: Mild or Hot Muffuletta, Olive Antipasto, the Mild or Hot Giardiniera, the Sweet and Spicy Garlic Cloves and the Spicy Brussels Sprouts.

No matter what your mood is, these items are great as snacks, salad additions, sandwich toppers and more.

MarDona Specialty Foods 855.Oil Spray (645.7772) www.truffleoilsandmore.com

Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland: Traceable to its Origin Gruyère AOP, the inimitable cheese from Switzerland that has been made in the same way for over 900 years, does not follow trends. Traceability has always been an essential part of quality control for Gruyère AOP and is a cornerstone of the cheese’s production.

When being formed, every wheel of Gruyère AOP is marked with a unique number and the code of the creamery that produced it.

The day and month of production are also noted. These black markings are made with casein, a milk protein that’s entirely natural. The name, Le Gruyère AOP, and the code of the creamery is also on the form that surrounds the cheese as it is made, which then distinctly embosses the edge of each wheel, further guaranteeing authenticity. The buyer can then go to www.gruyere.com/en/zone-

Vermont Coffee Company Organic Friend Blend Whole Bean Coffee For Vermont Coffee Company, Coffee Roasted for Friends® is more than a slogan – it is its mission statement and core to how the company does business. This means making coffee that’s not only great in flavor, but also great in its potential to do good, which is why the new Organic Friend Blend Whole Bean Coffee was created – to bring people together.

Slow roasted using 100 percent renewable energy, this special blend features a USDA-certified organic coffee combination of both light- and dark-roast arabica beans that delivers smooth, balanced flavor in every sip. Ever dedicated to its “Friend Philosophy,” Vermont Coffee Company has also pledged 5 percent of

this blend’s sales to support food sefor curity coffee farmers and Vermont communities.

Because being a friend, to both people and the is planet, what great coffee is all about.

Vermont Coffee Company www.vermontcoffeecompany.com

Paesana & Beyond Meat Plant-Based Bolognese Sauces With a storied commitment to fresh gourmet ingredients, Paesana simmers with generations of Italian cooking. Now Paesana is bringing that kitchen tradition into the future with an all-new product for retailers.

Introducing Paesana’s Plant-Based Bolognese Sauces made with Beyond Meat. Available in Hearty or Spicy, this fresh take on an Italian classic satisfies consumers who crave a robust pasta sauce, but who also want to make a positive impact on the environment. With 4 grams of protein per serving and no cholesterol, soy, gluten, hormones or GMOs, it’s a delicious, guilt-

Le Gruyère AOP www.gruyere.com

OMG! Pretzels Sourdough Nuggets

ness in seconds.

The only cereal grain native to North America, wild rice is not even a rice at all.

It is the seed of Zizania palustris, a tall, blooming water grass that prospers in the Great Lakes region, as well as in the fruitful valley in the shadows of the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies. Fall River Wild Rice is a small grower-owned cooperative in the Fall River Valley, a rural mountain valley nestled between the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges.

tail location.

The company has handcrafted each of the eight flavors to perfection, one of the newest flavors being Sweet Chili. The Sweet Chili OMG! Pretzels combine the best of both sweet and spicy flavors using raw cane sugar and spice.

These nuggets pack a big punch that will light up your customers’ taste buds for a fiery sweet snack. This flavor-forward combination is bold, has no artificial ingredients, is vegetarianfriendly, and will keep your customers coming back for more. Once you pop one in your mouth, “OMG!” comes popping out.

Fall River Wild Rice 800.626.4366 www.fallriverwildrice.com

OMG! Pretzels creates an elevated snacking experience with “ridiculously delicious” gourmet flavored sourdough pretzel nuggets. As a womenand family-owned business, OMG! Pretzels prides itself 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 unbelievable crunch and flavor. Their gourmet status makes them a versatile snack, appetizer, 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-

Rocklea Road milk chocolate block, smooth and creamy plain milk chocolate block, milk chocolate peanut brittle block and last, but not least, milk chocolate caramel craving block. The balls range will include the milk chocolate chewy caramel balls and milk chocolate

chewy raspberry balls.

The new chocolate ranges will be nonGMO, 100 percent palm oil free as well as 100 percent cocoa raw material that is sourced sustainably. Darrell Lea loves making chocolate. And now Darrell Lea is proud to partner with the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, sourcing sustainable cocoa for its entire range of chocolate goodies. Darrell Lea knew this had to change. In 2018, the company made the decision to source 100 percent sustain-

able cocoa. To do so, Darrell Lea turned to Cocoa Horizons, whose award-winning cocoa sustainability program creates real change. Since then, Darrell Lea has not looked back.

Darrell Lea Chocolate Blocks and Balls Ranges Darrell Lea is proud to announce the arrival of chocolate blocks and balls ranges to the United States in the spring of 2022. These products – filled with yummy, crunchy, gooey, chewy bits – are here to bring a smile to your day. The block range will include the Traditional

NOVEMBER 2021

production and enter the creamery’s unique code to see exactly where the wheel of Gruyère AOP was produced.

Only the real Gruyère AOP is handmade in 170 creameries in its home region from a recipe that has been passed down for centuries. Its multi-layered, complex flavors start with the pristine, raw milk of cows grazing in local fields, and the aging is completed in local cellars and caves under strict supervision.

Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland is 100 percent natural and 100 percent additive free, naturally free of lactose and gluten, and it is just as delicious now as when first produced in 1115 AD.

Fall River Wild Rice Interest in plants and grains is soaring, as shoppers look for new ways to eat healthy.

High in protein and fiber, nutty and with a striking visual appeal, wild rice is one of the healthiest grains available. It was a staple food of several Native American tribes, who called it “manoomin” or “precious grain.”

Fall River Wild Rice brings this culinary gem to your store shelf. This naturally cultivated wild rice is great in salads, soups and stir fries. However, it also works well in mixes for pancakes and muffins and even in chocolate and desserts. Fall River’s Fully Cooked Wild Rice is high-protein good-

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free and eye-catching addition to any retail setting’s red sauce display.

The product also features a newly designed clear/transparent label with a sleek look that still maintains the instantly recognizable Paesana logo.

Gain consumer confidence and be first to market this new and unique product – a premium pasta sauce that, like all Paesana tomato-based sauces, is made with 100 percent imported Italian tomatoes.

Paesana 631.845.1717 www.paesana.com

OMG! Pretzels www.omgpretzels.com

Darrell Lea www.darrelllea.com

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GOURMET NEWS

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NOVEMBER 2021

Bone Suckin’ Steak Seasoning & Rub

Colby Cheese From Widmer’s Cheese Cellars

Turning your home into a steakhouse tonight is super easy – Rub Bone Suckin’ ® Steak Seasoning & Rub on steaks, place steaks on grill and enjoy the compliments.

Versatile enough to be used on just about anything – try it on potatoes!

Good Grilling recipes come from backyard with good cookouts friends. This was the inspiration for Bone Suckin’ Steak Seasoning & Rub. The unique blend of spices and herbs will make the most savory steaks you’ve ever had!

Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten free, fat free, kosher, pareve, no MSG.

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, Inc.’s Colby is a first-place blue ribbon winner at the 2020 World Championship Cheese Contest. The cheese is an American Original developed in the village of Colby, Wisconsin, in 1885.

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars crafts its Colby in small batches using original family recipes to achieve a sweet, semi-soft cheese with milky flavors.

Similar in flavor to Cheddar, Colby is softer and has a more open texture and higher moisture content. Cheese makers spray the curds with cold water and stir them while they are still in the vat to prevent the curds from knitting together.

This procedure gives Colby a more elas-

4 Step Bone Suckin’ Steaks Ingredients: Rub Bone Suckin’ Steak Seasoning & Rub 4 steaks (ribeyes or your choice) Instructions: Step 1: Rub steaks on both sides with Bone Suckin’ Steak Seasoning & Rub 30-45 minutes before grilling. Allow to stand at room temperature.

Step 2: Preheat the grill with direct and indirect cooking areas.

Step 3: Sear the steaks over direct heat, then move to indirect heat to finish.

Step 4: Remove and let rest for five minutes. Enjoy!

Bone Suckin’ Sauce 800.446.0947 www.bonesuckin.com

Ardagh Glass Refrigerator Jars Ardagh Glass Packaging – North America (AGP – NA) offers 9-ounce glass refrigerator jars that are perfect for craft food producers. Proudly made in the United States, using high-quality flint (clear) glass, these 9-ounce refrigerator jars have a top seal vacuum lug closure that will keep your condiments, spreads and toppings fresh. These glass jars are 100 percent and endlessly recyclable and boast an excellent shelf life.

The 9-ounce refrigerator jars are offered in 12-pack cases available for purchase on AGP – NA’s BOB™ site (www.food.buyourbottles.com) with con-

venient online ordering and payment via credit card or PayPal. AGP – NA is dedicated to the craft food market with capabilities and resources to grow with you every stage of the way. By the pallet or truckload, BOB and AGP – NA have the ideal shapes and styles for you.

View AGP – NA’s entire stock portfolio at www.ardaghgroup.com/food2021.

Or, download the catalog at northamerica .ardaghproducts.com/food-catalog.

Ardagh Glass Packaging www.ardaghgroup.com

Top Tomato Bloody Mary Mix Top Tomato Bloody Mary Mix is produced locally in the heart of the Ozarks, in small batches with the highest quality ingredients. Filled with bits of real garden tomatoes, chopped onion and garlic, this mix brings a bit of a kick that pairs perfectly with anyone’s favorite spirit. Unlike many of its competitors, it’s gluten free. It also contains no MSG, no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup while being low in salt, sugar and in calories. Who knew a bloody mary mix could be so healthy?

Winning multiple awards every year, Top Tomato Bloody Mary Mix has become a nationally known mixer.

While it primarily is used as an alcoholic beverage, it makes a savory stand-alone drink and great to use within recipes. Now available in original flavor or get a kick with brand new Spicy Mix. Contact Circle B Ranch and Marina’s Kitchen today to supply this award-winning mix on your shelves.

Circle B Ranch 417.683.027 www.circlebranchfoods.com

Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Cheese Since its debut, Rogue Creamery’s Smokey Blue Cheese has rocketed to success – winning a devoted following of fans across the country. This cheese is referred to as Rogue’s “Gateway Blue” – its moderate blue character and complex, savory-sweet flavors make it appealing to even the most resolute blue cheese skeptics.

The first smoked blue cheese to be offered on the market, Smokey Blue is a true American Original. This groundbreaking recipe was recognized with the prestigious SIAL Product Innovation Award in Paris, France following its release in 2006.

Rogue Creamery cave-ages its Smokey Blue wheels for at least 90 days

tic texture than Cheddar.

Perfect for shredding, melting, or slicing, it complements burgers, fajitas, chili, rye bread, apples or pears. Widmer’s Colby is available in four flaPlain, vors: Jalapeño, Caraway Seed and Vegetable and Herb.

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars can be purchased in 5-pound pieces (two per order), 2.5-pound pieces (four per order), 1-pound pieces (10 per order) or 8-ounce pieces (20 per order).

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars 888.878.1107 www.widmerscheese.com

STAR Light Tasting Olive Oil When it comes to originality and authenticity, there is no better ally than STAR. STAR delivers quality to consumers with its premium, 100 percent, cold-pressed olive oils for everyday use. STAR’s extensive portfolio includes popular olive oils for chefs and home cooks alike.

Offering transparency and authenticity, STAR is a long standing member of the North American Olive Oil Association, a non-profit organization that guarantees the oil’s purity and quality by ensuring the manufacture is compliant with the standards set by the International Olive Oil Council.

Driven by a love for healthy eating and olive oil, STAR strives to educate the con-

sumer on how simple changes to lifestyles such as switching to STAR, mark the difference meal after meal.

Consumers’ preference for STAR’s Light Tasting Olive Oil is affirmed by its sales, rating it as “Best in Class” by Nielsen* (*52 weeks ending June 15, 2021).

Borges USA www.borgesusa.com

Fiorucci’s Charcuterie and Sandwich Variety Packs Fiorucci is the brand of specialty meats that delivers the true taste of Italy. For more than 165 years, Fiorucci has used oldworld recipes to produce a full line of authentic Italian charcuterie meats, cheeses and premium snacking products using only hand-trimmed cuts of premium pork and the finest ingredients, then slowly aging them to perfection. Since 1850, the Fiorucci family has been creating authentic Italian meats, honoring the tradition of the Italian dinner table.

Fiorucci is now introducing the perfect variety packs to easily create and enjoy authentic Italian charcuterie and sandto achieve perfect maturation. After aging, the wheels undergo a long, gentle cold-smoking using Oregon hazelnut shells. This infuses the cheese with nutty, caramelly aromas and notes of vanilla, bread pudding, and candied bacon – all of which find harmony with the cheese’s sweet cream flavors and mild blue spice.

wiches. The Italian sandwich variety pack features slices of hard salami, pepperoni and Genoa salami in 6-ounce resealable packages. The charcuterie variety pack features delicate sopressata, prosciutto and Italian dry salami. Both products are perfect for customers seeking convenience without sacrificing quality.

For more information on Fiorucci’s charcuterie and sandwich variety packs, please visit Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

Fiorucci Foods www.fioruccifoods.com Smokey Blue is available in 5-pound wheel format, crumble pouches for chefs, as well as in a new exactweight 4.2-ounce prepackaged wedge for the grab-and-go retail cheese case.

Rogue Creamery 866.396.4704 ext. 4 www.roguecreamery.com

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GOURMET NEWS

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NOVEMBER 2021

sweet

gifts Kuli Kuli Raspberry SuperBark

Luckily for us, Kuli Kuli’s new lowsugar, keto SuperBark is available all year long. But think about how good it would be on that cookie tray you’re making for friends and family or presenting to guests.

SuperBark is the snacking chocolate for those who won’t sacrifice nutrition when satisfying their sweet tooth. Deliciously flavored, plant-based and packed with sustainable superfoods, Raspberry Chia SuperBark is perfect as an empowering holiday gift. For more information, go to www.kulikulifoods.com.

Mingle Mocktails

It’s corporate gift time once again. Trying to think of a tasty, better-for-you gift? Consider Mingle Mocktails, which produces non-alcoholic bottles and cans of mimosas, bellinis, cosmos, mojitos, mules, variety packs and a gift set. The gift set includes a bottle of Blackberry Hibiscus Bellini, champagne flute or martini glass, and Mueller’s Signature Chocolate Covered Pretzels, along with a recipe card and entertaining tips, recipes for a mocktail or light cocktail and a note that can be personalized at checkout. For more information, go to www.minglemocktails.com.

Pistì Selections from The French Farm

From a small town at the foot of Etna called Bronte in Italy, Pistì collects and selects the best pistachios in the world to create products of the highest quality. Pistì was born almost from a game, the one that in 2001 led two young people, just 20 years old, to bet on a project capable of combining the Sicilian confectionery vocation

with a modern way of doing business.

The intuition that Nino Marino and Vincenzo Longhitano had then was to invent an artisan laboratory to produce typical Sicilian sweets such as nougat, almond and pistachio specialties, panettone – and Pistì was born!

The French Farm selection includes spreadable nut creams, nougat bars and crunchy pistachio snacks packaged beautifully, perfect for the holiday season.

Imported directly from Italy, all Pistì items are available at The French Farm. For more information, go to www.frenchfarm.com/pisti.

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NOVEMBER 2021

23

Robert Lambert White Fruitcake

Whey Better Cookie Co.

Those of us who love fruitcake will appreciate Robert Lambert’s scrumptious gourmet creations based on ones his English grandmother made at the family farm in northern Wisconsin 60 years ago. “Grandma’s glacéed cherries and pineapple are still here,” he says, “but candying my own rare and exotic citrus peels to use utterly transforms this oftmaligned tradition.” Each cake is soaked in the finest French cognac infused with herbs and spices, he says, topped with a candied blood orange peel star. “Add a new garnish for 2021,” he says. “The California bay laurel leaves I’ve been using for 20 years are no longer outside my door – but cedar is! And that’s what it shall be.” See the From the Editor column in this issue for more from Robert Lambert or go online to www.robertlambert.com.

There’s a bakery in Detroit where the gourmet cookies are so popular, there’s often a line out the door on Saturdays to taste a fresh batch. Feeling fortunate enough to have survived the worst of the pandemic, the Whey Better Cookie Co. is letting people know that anyone can taste their cookies by ordering online.

Flavors include Seaside Caramel, S’mores Overload, Double Chocolate S’marshmallow and Twisted Peanut Butter Dream.

Then there are the classics including chocolate chip, double chocolate chip and peanut butter, among others. Whey Better Cookie recommends heating the cookies for maximum gooeyness.

What makes Whey Better cookies different from all the rest is the added protein, at least 30 grams of protein in each. For more information, go to www.wheybettercookieco.com.

Terrapin Ridge Farms Holiday Giftsets

For the first time, Terrapin Ridge Farms is selling packaged Holiday Giftsets, by customer demand. The giftsets are ready to present as is and include the Gourmet Stocking Stuffer Giftset, a three-pack mini gift set; Charcuterie Lover Giftset, perfect for wine, cheese and charcuterie lovers; Grab and Go Giftsets, which can be opened and enjoyed on the spot; Squeeze Lover Stocking Stuffer with the company’s two top-selling Squeeze Garnishing Sauces included; and All You Can Squeeze Caddy Set, perfect for both the person who loves to cook and enjoys using a new sauce every day, as well as the novice chef who only needs to know how to open and squeeze to create a delicious sandwich or meal (this one can be gifted at any time of the year). For more information, go to www.terrapinridge.com.

Ginger’s BreadBoys

Niederegger’s We Love Chocolate

Niederegger combines exquisite ingredients in a shell of crunchy milk or dark chocolate with melt-in-the-mouth chocolate fillings. They use a particularly high proportion of cocoa butter for an intense chocolate pleasure. First crunchy, then melt-in-the-mouth – always chocolaty!

Need we say more? How about two new flavors: Pink Berry & Crispy Waffle and Coffee Crisp & Double Chocolate. Find out more at www.carlbrandt.com.

In addition to making a sweet gift waiting under the tree, Ginger’s BreadBoys cookie kits also make great corporate gifts. The company can send a bulk or pallet shipment to corporate headquarters for repackaging, handing out to employees or delivery to clients, upload a mailing list and mail each kit directly or from the company or package with a branded box/gift sleeve with a personal message. Gift sets include the Classic original kit; Deluxe adding two tea towels, an apron and pan grabber; Premium, adding two tea towels; and Just the Basics, a pared-down version of the Classic kit. For more information, go to www.gingersbreadboys.com.

24

EDITOR’S PICKS AYO Foods

To celebrate the return of dinner parties, cookouts and everything in between, AYO Foods, the popular line of West-African cuisine, has partnered with Top Chef alum Chef Eric Adjepong to introduce two new recipes to the AYO family: Waakye (beans and rice) and Chicken Yassa. Adjepong’s AYO dishes are now available at retailers nationwide where AYO Foods are sold.

Chef Adjepong is the perfect partner for AYO’s inaugural recipe collaboration given their shared love for the rich culture and flavors of West Africa. One of the most acclaimed finalists in Top Chef history (he was in seasons 16 and 17), Chef Adjepong draws from his Ghanian heritage to create memorable dishes that are bold, creative and comforting.

Chef Adjepong’s offerings are: Waakye, a delicious blend of South Sea Island red peas and jasmine rice slowcooked with coconut oil, millet leaves and served with a delicious red sauce; and Chicken Yassa, marinated and braised chicken thighs slow cooked with caramelized onions, lemon and served over jasmine rice.

AYO Foods www.ayo-foods.com

Elmhurst 1925 Oatnog, Seasonal Creamers

GOURMET NEWS

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NOVEMBER 2021

JURA Glacette with Insulating Sleeve

The new JURA Glacette is a handy new accessory for preparing exceptional milk specialty beverages with JURA automatic coffee machines. This easy-to-use accessory with insulating sleeve fits snugly around the JURA Glass Milk Container (sold separately), to keep milk cool and ready to use for up to two hours.

Cold milk is essential for perfecting a variety of coffee specialties. The Glacette ensures milk is kept at the optimum temperature for an extended period of time. The three-piece Glacette includes a sleeve that can be placed in the freezer until frozen and a two-piece container with a twistoff bottom. The cordless Glacette features a passive cooling process to maintain the optimal temperature without electricity.

The snug fit helps keep milk cold, for creating milk foam or froth for a variety of delicious specialties including cappuccino, flat white, latte macchiato, and more.

JURA 800.767.3554 www.jura.com

Keto Kick from That’s it.

Elmhurst 1925 has introduced its new Oatnog and plant-based creamers in Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Macchiato for the holiday season. All three varieties offer a creamy, dairy-free alternative to spice up any holiday beverage.

Oatnog is made with a creamy blend of cashew milk, oat milk and the familiar warm spices.

Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Macchiato creamers join the brand’s already popular core Oat Creamers, available in Unsweetened, Hazelnut, French Vanilla and Chai Spice. With 1g of sugar and 20 calories or fewer, these delectably clean creamers are sure to spice up any beverage this holiday season.

Warm fall flavors blend with oat and hemp cream for the perfect spice in the Pumpkin Spice Oat Creamer. Rich, buttery caramel mixes with layers of oat and hemp cream for the perfect balance of sweet and creamy in the Caramel Macchiato Oat Creamer.

Elmhurst’s plant-based products can be found in natural and traditional grocers nationwide and online

That’s it. gave the keto industry the ultimate wake-up call with the launch of its innovative Keto Kick coffee energy bar. Keto Kick is a groundbreaking keto energy bar made with only six real, whole ingredients, including 95mg of caffeine from Fair Trade, single-origin Ethiopian coffee beans. This snack has created a cleaner and simpler way to feed your body the whole foods and caffeine that it craves, while staying plantbased and keto certified.

Despite its popularity, maintaining a keto lifestyle on the go often means relying on processed convenience foods full of “dirty” ingredients and lacking any true nutrients. Staying true to the That’s it. brand, Keto Kick contains only six ingredients, no added sugar or sugar alcohols and caffeine sourced from real, single-origin coffee beans, rather than the caffeine additives frequently used in energy bars.

Keto Kick is available in two flavors: chocolate and vanilla. Its six all-natural ingredients include organic dates, FiberSMART Organic Soluble Tapioca Fiber Powder, organic garbanzo beans, organic Ethiopian single-origin Arabica coffee beans, sea salt and organic cacao or organic vanilla. Each 20g bar is certified USDA Organic, gluten free, non-GMO, kosher and free from the top 12 allergens. It contains 45 calories, five net carbs and eight grams of fiber.

Elmhurst 1925 www.elmhurst1925.com

That’s it. www.thatsitfruit.com

Gotham Greens Salad Dressings

Gotham Greens, a pioneer of sustainable greenhouse-grown salad greens, herbs, dressings, dips and cooking sauces, is expanding its fresh foods line to include two new plant-based, dairy-free salad dressings: Vegan Ranch and Vegan Caesar.

Crafted with premium ingredients including its own greenhousegrown basil, Gotham Greens’ new dressings transform these classic American favorites into modern dressings and dips made with no added sugar and no gluten.

Vegan Ranch brings an indulgent peppery and umami point of view that combines expeller-pressed sunflower oil, black pepper, white vinegar and dried parsley. Vegan Ranch offers an herbaceous twist with tangy, zesty and aromatic tasting notes, perfect for dressing fresh salads, dipping vegetable crudité and drizzling on pizza and breads.

Create restaurant-quality Caesar salads in your kitchen with savory and creamy Vegan Caesar. Made with silken tofu, organic miso, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, capers, black pepper and organic soy sauce – instead of dairy and anchovies – this dressing brings a peppery kick and pairs well with crunchy lettuce varieties.

Gotham Greens www.gothamgreens.com

Health-Ade Pop

Gut health beverage brand Health-Ade, best known for its flagship kombucha, has launched a modernized version of its prebiotic soda line, Health-Ade Pop, formerly known as Health-Ade Booch Pop. The better-for-you soda features fresh packaging and new flavors and formulations, with six delicious options: Pomegranate Berry, Lemon Lime, Ginger Fizz, Strawberry Vanilla, Apple Snap and Juicy Grape.

Health-Ade Pop comes at a time when there’s a groundswell of interest in gut health and its connection to overall health. Given this important trend, the shelfstable soda rounds out Health-Ade’s offerings, giving consumers an on-the-go beverage that supports gut health with a low-sugar, all-natural prebiotic formulation that meets growing consumer demand for a healthy soda with functional benefits.

Health-Ade www.health-ade.com

Keto Pint Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar

Keto Pint introduced its classic Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bar in July. Fresh-picked Oregon strawberries are used to create the low-carb, extra creamy strawberry ice cream covering the rich, dark chocolate shell. The strawberry ice cream bars contain only 2 grams of net carbs, and like all Keto Pint products, have no added sugar, are gluten free, soy free and use only rBST-free milk. (This is not a low-calorie food.)

Keto Pint 503.705.4290 www.ketopint.com

Saffron Road Asian Frozen Entrées

If you can’t leave home this year, at least you can let your meals get more exotic. Saffron Road, the top better-for-you, protein-based frozen entrée brand, has launched three elevated Asian dishes from Thai, Indian and Chinese traditions: Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken, Butter Chicken, and Sweet & Sour Chicken – the brand’s first foray into Chinese cuisine.

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Jasmine Rice uses a Cantonese recipe of vinegar and preserved plums combined with pure pineapple juice and ginger with classic rice vinegar, bell peppers and bok choy to create a novel, yet authentic “stir fry” version for a clean and light preparation reminiscent of warming spices.

Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice uses a family recipe from the Indian chef the Saffron Road Team works with, following the authentic tradition of simmering tomatoes, butter, cream and a classic selection of Indian spices.

Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken celebrates this traditional, yet complex Thai dish with a bowl bursting with delicious flavors including jasmine rice, antibiotic free chicken, red bell peppers and green peas, sautéed in a blend of coconut oil, exotic spices and finished with the sweetness of ripe, juicy pineapple.

Saffron Road www.saffronroad.com

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GOURMET NEWS

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NOVEMBER 2021

SMORGASBORD Marin French Cheese Co. Introduces Golden Gate Washed-Rind Triple Crème Cheese

Molasses Market Shows No Sign of Slowing, Set for $18.2B by 2026

California-based Marin French Cheese Co. has introduced Golden Gate, the first in its new line of premium cheeses, handcrafted at the country’s oldest cheese company.

The washed-rind, triple crème cheese is aptly named for the golden color of the cheese as well as the Golden Gate Bridge, the iconic gateway to Marin County where the historic creamery is located. The cultures naturally present in California’s coastal air result in an artisan cheese with a true sense of place.

Golden Gate undergoes four rounds of hand washing in its 14-day aging process, to lock in moisture that encourages the growth of Brevibacterium linens cultures, according to the company. Multiple rounds of handwashing in brine score the cheese to help it develop the cultures and build an

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for molasses, estimated at $13.5 billion in 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $18.2 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.1 percent, according to a market study published

by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Sugarcane is projected to record a 5.2 percent compound annual growth rate and reach $16.8 billion by 2026. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the sugar beet segment is readjusted to a revised 4.4 percent compound annual growth rate.

The 2021 U.S. market is estimated at $3.8 billion.

China is forecast to reach a projected market size of $3.8 billion by 2026 trailing a compound annual growth rate of 8.2 percent.

edible rind that preserves the cheese’s creamy texture and balances its earthy, rich flavor with just the right amount of salt.

The striking orange rind occurs naturally without the use of added colorant like annatto. Throughout the process, Golden Gate is stored at optimal humidity and temperature.

Marin French Cheese Co. Creamery Manager Caroline Di Giusto says Golden Gate requires additional training with personal attention from the cheesemaking team.

“This dedication is what makes Golden

Gate a truly artisanal cheese that’s interesting and enjoyable as it ages into a more pungent and gooier flavor profile for cheese aficionados, enthusiasts and explorers,” says Di Giusto. GN

Grow-NY to Award $3M Global Food and Agriculture Business Winners; Finalists to Pitch Plans at Summit Empire State Development and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners this month – a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes and four $250,000 prizes – for year three of Grow-NY, a food innovation and agriculture technology business challenge focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier.

“Round three of the Grow-NY business competition has once again attracted a group of exceptional startups and entrepreneurial talent from around the world,” said Empire State Development COO and Executive Deputy Commissioner Kevin Younis.

In all, 330 startups applied from 32 countries including Singapore, Israel and Switzerland. In the United States, 23 states were represented, including 138 entries from New York. 44 percent of applicants included a female founder and 51 percent included a founder from an underrepresented minority group, which is a significant increase from last year’s applicant pool. A panel of 30 independent judges, reflecting a depth and breadth of agriculture, food production, and entrepreneurial expertise, reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists who will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit.

The Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit, scheduled for Nov. 16-17, will be held inperson and virtually. The in-person event,

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WEBSITE

Ariston Specialties

19

www.aristonspecialties.com

Circle B Ranch

15

www.circlebranchpork.com

Country Fresh Food & Confections

27

ww.countryfreshfood.com

Daddy Sam’s

11

www.daddysams.com

Darrell Lea

2

www.darrelllea.com

DeBrand Fine Chocolates

28

www.debrand.com

Fall River Wild Rice

21

www.frwr.com

Fiorucci Foods Inc.

7

www.fioruccifoods.com

Glass Packaging Institute

13

www.gpi.org/

Hot Ruby

9

www.drinkhotruby.com

Howard Products

21

www.howardproducts.com

Jasper Specialty Foods

19

www.jakesnutroasters.com

Le Gruyère

5

www.cheesesfromswitzerland.com

Seneca Foods Corporation

19

www.peninsulapremiumcherries.com

Spicin Foods

25

www.spicinfoods.com

STAR Fine Foods

3

www.starfinefoods.com

Stonewall Kitchen

4

www.stonewallkitchen.com

where finalists will pitch their business ideas live in front of an audience and answer questions from a judging panel, will be held at the OnCenter in Syracuse. The event will align closely with the latest CDC’s recommended safety guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the competition is prepared to make adjustments as needed.

Under current plans, finalists will be onsite for the pitch competition and attendees will have the opportunity to experience a two-day symposium featuring panel discussions on the biggest issues facing the food and agriculture industry. There will also be a Summit Showcase featuring organizations that support the thriving startup community in New York State, focusing on the food and ag sectors. GN

Mother Earth’s Snack Launches Wholesome Snacks Mother Earth’s Snack has launched its premium, Q-9 SuperFood line of “better-foryou” snacks for online sale.

The Q-9 SuperFood line is named for its 100 percent quinoa base ingredient, a superfood that provides all nine essential amino acids, which our bodies do not make and must therefore be consumed. The quinoa seeds are ground into a flour-like consistency before being extruded and baked into savory heart-shaped Puffsavailable in four delicious flavors: Spinach Parmesan, Classic Ranch, Zesty Chili Lime and White Cheddar.

The certified organic, lightly sweetened wafer-like crispy Styx or smaller Bites are available in two filling varieties: White Chocolate with Vanilla Yogurt and Dark Italian Chocolate.

To accommodate wide-ranging dietary preferences, Mother Earth’s Q-9 SuperFood snacks are gluten free, kosher, non-GMO, certified organic and vegetarian friendly. GN

Vermouth Market to Reach $25.3B by 2026 The global vermouth market, estimated at $18.8 billion in 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $25.3 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 percent, according to a market study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Dry vermouth is projected to record a 3.4 percent compound annual growth rate and reach $7.4 billion.

Growth in the sweet & blanc vermouth segment is readjusted to a revised 5.4 percent compound annual growth rate.

The U.S. vermouth market is estimated at $5.4 billion in 2021. China is forecast to reach a projected market size of $5 billion by 2026 trailing a compound annual growth rate of 7.1 percent.

Cheese Powder Set for $912.8M Global Opportunity The global market for cheese powder, estimated at $445.2M in 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $912.8 million by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 percent, according to a market study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Parmesan is projected to record a 14.4 percent compound annual growth rate and reach $307.3 million. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Cheddar segment is readjusted to a revised 13 percent compound annual growth rate.

The 2021 U.S. market is estimated at $135.2 million. China is forecast to reach a projected market size of $196.9 million by 2026, trailing a compound annual growth rate of 16.6 percent.

In the global mozzarella segment, the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 10.5 percent compound annual growth rate estimated. These regional markets, accounting for a combined market size of 66 million in 2020, will reach a projected size of $132.8 million. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets.

Cooking Sauces Simmer with $48.7B Value by 2026 The global cooking sauces market, estimated at $39.5 billion in 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $48.7 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5 percent, according to a market study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc. The wet segment is projected to record a 3.6 percent compound annual growth rate and reach $40.6 billion. Growth in the dry segment is readjusted to a revised 3.1 percent compound annual growth rate.

The 2021 U.S. cooking sauces market, estimated at $10.9 billion. China is forecast to reach a projected market size of $9.4 billion by 2026 trailing a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent.