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A Short Life but an Enduring Legacy
Like many of you, I was shocked to hear of the car accident that resulted in the death of Taylor Griffin and the serious injuries of Carrie Davenport, both of importer Rogers International. I will not pretend that I knew Taylor well, but as a member of the specialty food community, his death hit close to home. In my case, it was physically close to home as well; Taylor, Carrie and I all live within about 20 miles of each other in Maine.
Maiden Voyage
From home kitchen to commercial kitchen... diving into the industrialization of (our) food.
Grow_Your_Food_Company_with_Parity_ERP
Many times software systems can be a competitive advantage for many food companies looking to scale up. Is this the right move for your company?
Editor's Letter: What Lies Ahead
January is trend-spotting season, so we at Specialty Food Magazine are forecasting some of what we see coming in 2012. We’ve devoted this issue to exploring what will be the big trends and food movements of the coming year. Throughout the magazine, buyers, sellers and marketers have weighed in on everything from new retail formats to uncommon and attention-getting cheeses to what’s ahead for the candy and confections sector.
TELL US
What will be the biggest specialty food trends of 2012?
Leave your predictions in the blog comments area.
Tay's Gourmet "Power Granola"
Former MIss Texas turns "Granola Queen"
This may be the best damn granola you’ve ever tasted! Turning 45 may be the best thing that ever happened to granola....at least that is what Tay’s fans have told her. Her quest for a healthy lifestyle; yoga, working out, eating healthy led to the creation and eventual success of Tay’s Gourmet Power Granola. Get on board the trend of all natural, Power Granola.....
“Power Bodies fuel Powerful Minds!”
Getting a Read on Food Trends For 2012
In 2011 we saw a lot of bacon, doughnuts and cupcakes; sometimes all in one delectable morsel. We have scoured lists of 2012 top food trends from The Food Channel, ABC News, Phil Lempert (aka The Supermarket Guru) and Esquire Magazine and the following is a summary of what to expect in 2012.
New Raw Bars
Athena’s Silverland Desserts, a leading natural gourmet food manufacturer and the first existing commercial baker of brownies, announces the launch of a line of all natural, raw bars in 9 varieties
The Man Says: You Need Calcium
Do you ever wonder why there are so many Got Milk ads all over your television screen and magazine pages? And the abundance of calcium supplements, gummy calcium bears and strange caramel/chocolate calcium chews in the stores? Right. The Man is obviously trying to tell us something- and it’s that we don’t get enough calcium. Calcium is super important for our bones, brains, bodily fluids, hormones, muscles, heart, blood and teeth. We need it. 25% of Americans have bone related diseases, thanks to all the phosphorus in the soda we drink, which prevents calcium absorption. The way it works is that calcium needs to turn into ion in order to get absorbed into our bodies. This is very difficult for it to do though so most of the time it leaves our bodies whenever we do our daily private business. So what are we supposed to do to get calcium? ...
Eating Some Water
Imagine being stuck on an island with gorgeous palm trees, the sea breeze tickling your toes and the sound of the ocean waves crashing in your ears…but the island is deserted. And you will die in 3 weeks if you don’t get any food. Oh wait, unless you die within the first three days from not getting any water. Food and water are pretty important staples in our lives. Nowadays, we’re doing more and more to try to live healthier through foods that we eat. We all know that cooking with the freshest, healthiest ingredients possible is best for us, but I bet what you didn’t realize though is how much we cook with water! (Oh come on, you knew it was coming, this blog is about water!) It doesn’t seem like much but we really do use water in our every day cooking routines. Boiling vegetables, washing produce, cooking ...
A Little Anti-Aging Secret
Psst. Hey. Let me tell you a secret. An anti-aging secret. Yeah that’s right! So listen up carefully. Do you always wonder why those Asian chicks never seem to age? Why do so many of them look SO YOUNG? What is the DEAL with that? Let me tell you a story. All of our cells have to get rid of waste. Foods that are unhealthy create more waste, and those that are healthier create less waste- but all of them create waste (I know, lame huh?). All of this waste is super acidic and our body has a hard time getting rid of all of it because of our lifestyle, types of foods we eat and the polluted environment. When our body gets clogged up with all that waste, they become solid (ew) and start developing into fatty acid, cholesterol, clogging up skin pores creating pimples, acne and wrinkles from ...
Why Drink Water with a High pH Level?
Ok, so we all know that water is very important and that we should be drinking a lot of it (Eight, eight ounce glasses a day like mother used to say) But why, specifically, should we be drinking water with a high pH level? What’s the big deal? What are the benefits compared to other waters? Depending on which type of water brands with high pH you choose will determine the benefits you get. For instance, the majority of high pH water on the store shelves is made with inorganic minerals that your body cannot process well. This means the benefits are not much different from drinking regular bottled water. On the other hand, if the high pH water is made with ionic and absorbable minerals (similar to the one in fruits and vegetables) then the benefits are plentiful. Biological processes within our body create acidic waste. And we usually ...
How Does Your Business Give Back?
The specialty food trade is known for its social consciousness. The November/December issue of Specialty Food Magazine highlighted five such companies setting an example by giving back (Read Article). Let us know about the philanthropic causes or events in which you participate in the comments section below.
Plugged In Consumers
You may have noticed Chris Crocker, our Senior Vice President of Media, grinning from this column in our October issue. After my third call from industry friends asking where I’d disappeared to, I thought I should explain: I literally fell out of a tree on Labor Day and didn’t think it wise that I write my October column from a hospital bed under the influence of narcotics. Now I’m healing up and ready for another column!
Editor's Letter: Philanthropic Pride
Recently, I attended the second annual Art of Farming event at
Sotheby’s in Manhattan. This reception and auction provides a platform for local farmers, purveyors, chefs and suppliers to support local agriculture and sustainable food options for New Yorkers. In addition to area chefs preparing the evening’s food, local specialty food companies such as Rick’s Picks and SchoolHouse Kitchen helped sponsor the event.
Does Qure Alkaline Water Expire or Lose Alkalinity Over Time?
I know you are thinking, okay, all things eventually go bad as times goes on, so will my alkaline water expire? What is the shelf life? Will it lose all of its alkalinity over time and will all the positive properties disappear? What if I buy a huge case – will it go bad? The answer is no. QURE water’s scientists have done numerous tests to prove that as long as the water is kept in a sealed bottle, the alkalinity will stay within the water. They even have seven year old test samples and the water has kept its alkalinity! Plus, it shouldn’t be taking you seven years to finish up a bottle of water in the first place! Although the bottle has a two year recommended life, QURE water can out live its container several times over if kept sealed and safe in another container. Even if you ...
ACID MONSTERS
What’s so terrible about internal acidic waste anyway? What happens to our bodies if we become too acidic? It’s not like we’re going to turn into hybrid acid monsters! …or will we? Ok so you don’t turn into a hybrid acid monster, but even if you don’t, your body can end up doing some pretty monstrous things to itself if you end up becoming over acidic! The acidic waste building up in your body comes from all around us. It comes from our fast paced stressful lifestyles and the endless environmental pollution streaming out of the factories. Our junk food laden diet also makes our body acidic with all the artificial sweeteners and flavoring, food coloring, sodas, caffeine, alcohol and more. Even our homes are filled with things that are detrimental to our bodies such as regular household chemicals, synthetic materials, pharmaceutical drugs, polluted tap water, distilled, purified and inorganic ...
The New Weight Loss Alternative
I’m sure you’ve seen and rolled your eyes at least once at the latest weight loss solutions and fad diets. Such as replacing two meals a day with a bar/shake/bowl of cereal/pill/piece of paper. A vibrating band that will jiggle your fat off. Only eating jello. Cutting out all carbs. Only eating carbs. Cabbage soup diet. Cookie Diet. Lemonade diet. And the list goes on forever because people are always looking for simple weight loss solutions that don’t require a lot of work or thinking. I personally love food and of course would like to keep the fat off but I’m deathly afraid of the possible malnutrition and weird side effects that those diets might cause. So what’s an effective, natural way to keep that fat off and not go hungry? Water. Again, this blog is about water. What did you think I was going to say? Pandas? If water ...
Bi-Rite Market’s new book available online and in stores
Sam Mogannam's Bi-Rite is an awesome store in San Francisco and he'll be at Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street in Williamsburg this Friday, October 28 from 6:30-8pm where he'll be promoting his new book Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food and moderating the panel discussion on Stocking Up: How the Grocer and Consumer Can Take Back Food Choice.
Consumer Research: Staff Edition
It's hard to find a more curious or discerning group of specialty food consumers than those who work in the trade. So, when presenting our Today's Specialty Food Consumer annual report, we turned to the best representatives we know—the staff of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Pictured in this year's report are several staff members who lent their time to help illustrate the habits, demographics and activities of today's specialty food consumers.
The "Business" of Specialty Foods
Filling in for Matt Thomas this month is guest columnist Chris Crocker, NASFT's senior vice president, media.
Volpi
What Happens When A Salami Falls in Love With a Wine? Two great Italian loves - Wine and Salami - come together resulting in one of the most authentic and innovative products in today’s world of charcuterie. Old world style of Volpi’s Chianti, Pinot Grigio and Rose Wine Salami. These mouth-watering salami are infused with high quality wines, dry-cured and aged to perfection. Made with all natural fresh pork, minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients or nitrites. Like any good wine, Volpi wine salami are meant to be shared with family and friends.
VIDEO: The Perennial Plate Episode 72: After the Flood
This is a story near and dear to me, as these are my friends. The flooding that resulted from Hurricane Irene followed a week later by tropical rains that re-flooded farms in NY and VT was devastating.
About the NASFT
The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade is a non-profit organization composed of 2,900+ independent & innovative businesses committed to bringing great foods to market.
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