Buyers' Picks: Jan./Feb. 2004

Lynne Wilkie Table & Vine, Northhampton, MA
Staying away from the more rich foods like chocolate, olive oil and hollandaise sauce and replacing them with lighter, less fattening foods such as grapeseed or safflower oils, sugar-free chocolates or mustards is how our shoppers start watching calories. Water and lighter snacks such as pretzels also become popular. My picks include:
• Belgium’s Best Bel Arte Sugar-Free Chocolate
• East Shore Specialty Pretzels
• Salute Santé Grapeseed Oil
• Voss Sparkling Water
• Stonewall Kitchen Horseradish Mustard

Julie Bursey, In•grédi•ents Specialty Food Shop, New London, NH
Our low-carb section does very well. Lots of customers are looking for less fat and less carbs, especially after the holidays. Our own Chicken Waldorf Salad sells exceptionally well, along with Stonefield Bison meat which has less fat than beef. Frozen yogurt is a big seller along with yogurt cheese and high-fiber cereals. My picks include:
• Heini’s Garden Vegetable Yogurt Cheese
• Carb Sense Garlic & Herb Pizza Crust Mix
• Kashi GoLean Cereal
• Stonefield Bison Meat
• Sweet Scoops Frozen Yogurt
• Chicken Waldorf Salad

Jim Trimble Village Market, Oakland, CA
A lot of people will eat differently, trying to lose those extra five pounds they may have put on during the holidays. Soup is always a big post-holiday seller along with natural and organic products. Clover Cottage Cheese and organic yogurt sell like crazy after the holidays. My picks include:
• Clover Cottage Cheese
• Walnut Acres Soups
• Stonyfield Farm Natural
• Horizon Organic Yogurt and Organic Yogurt

Janet Ostrow, Premier Gourmet, Buffalo, NY
Customers are looking for lighter foods than what they may have purchased during the holidays, with the exception of Superbowl Sunday. Wasabi and soy snacks and sugar-free chocolate do well. French Twists from Barry’s Bakery—a puffed pastry that is non-dairy—are popular low-calorie treats. We also sell a lot of fresh apples from a local grower. My picks include:
• Barry’s Bakery French Twists
• Premier Gourmet Fresh Roasted Coffees
• Society Hill Snacks Wasabi Peas and Soy Nuts
• Locally grown apples
• Galler Sugar-Free Chocolate Bars

Jaime Kubik, Cardullo’s Gourmet Shoppe, Cambridge, MA
With so many people on high-protein and low-carb diets, our fresh deli meats and cheese do exceptionally well. People are staying away from pasta and are replacing starches with low-sugar and low-carb products such as low-sugar preserves, teas and, believe it or not, dark chocolate, which has the least amount of sugar. Dolfin dark chocolate is one of our hidden treasures and is very satisfying to someone who wants to give into a craving. My picks include:
• Dolfin 88% Dark Chocolate (shown)
• Laci Le Beau Super Dieters Tea
• Thursday Cottage Strawberry Low Sugar Jam
• Deli meats and cheese

Related Articles

• Strong Year-Round Sellers
• Artisan Loaves and Health Benefits Grow U.S. Bread Market
• South African Wine: Melding of Old and New Worlds
• New York's Other Little Italy

Connect with NASFT

---