Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1017167
Winners of the Share Your Story Contest Named A nn Foley of 10th Avenue Tea, La Grange, Ill., and Tommy Thekkekandam of Tom & Jenny's Candy, Durham, N.C., submitted the highest-scoring entries to the SFA's first-ever Social Media Share Your Story Contest, whereby food industry professionals were invited to upload their photo and share their specialty food story via Facebook, using 800 characters or less. — SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION NEWS— BY JULIE GALLAGHER Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges based on creativity (40%), composition (40%), and originality (20%). The winning stories received the same score, resulting in a tie. According to their entries, both food makers' products were introduced to help solve a problem: • 10th Avenue Tea: After reading that instant beverages contribute to millions of tons of plastic in landfills and oceans each year, they decided to create a convenient beverage that doesn't create waste—a recyclable shaker bottle. • Tom & Jenny's: As a dentist with a serious sweet tooth, Jenny and her husband, Tom, started experimenting in their home kitchen to create candy they could feel good about sharing. They even partnered with a James Beard awarded chef to perfect their sugar-free caramels. Twist and Shake Matcha Ann Foley, who co-founded 10th Avenue Tea with her sis- ter-in-law, Morgan Walsh, set out to make an instant tea bev- erage that was healthy, conve- nient, and had zero packaging waste, after learning that 9 bil- lion Keurig K-cups end up in landfills each year. The solution came in the form of an aluminum bottle that has a salt shaker top. "You just twist it open and shake about four shakes and add hot or cold water," she says of the patent-pending vessel. "One little bottle has about 45 servings in it. When finished, users can either recycle the bottle or refill it with our half-pound bulk bag." Consumers are also using the tea powder in unexpected ways such as adding it to smoothies, cocktails, and other recipes, Foley says. 10th Avenue Teas are available in about 300 stores, on Amazon.com, the Home Shopping Network, and will soon roll out to Chicago-area Target stores. "It's exciting and terrifying at the same time," Foley says. Healthy Caramels Jenny and Tom Thekk- ekandam found a mentor in chef Michael Laiskonis, a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Pastry Chef award recipient, who was twice named one of the "10 Best Pastry Chefs in America," and developed soft caramels that are sweetened with plant- derived sugar alcohols like xylitol and maltitol. "Though they taste just like sugar, they aren't processed by your body the same way, so you end up with a lower blood- sugar impact," according to the company's website. Every piece of caramel contains about one gram of xylitol, a "wonder-sweetener that actively reduces harmful acidity and cavity-causing bacteria in your teeth." The pair also worked to keep net carbs as low as possible since simple carbs can throw one's blood sugar out of whack. Each 5-piece serving contains 12 grams of net carbs, or 2.5 grams per piece, which is about 40 percent lower than your average sugar caramel. Julie Gallagher is the managing editor of Specialty Food Magazine. 26 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com