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/110595
FOOD TRENDS Gourmet Popcorn Overflowing A W hat's driving the choices moms make in the grocery store? "Cart to Kitchen 2013: Slicing Into Moms' Food Decisions," a recent study of more than 1,000 mothers conducted by Fleishman-Hillard and TheMotherhood.com, reports that a staggering 96 percent of American mothers plan to make changes to their food-buying habits in 2013. Anything marketers can do to help moms organize their meal planning and shopping will go a long way, as 67 percent want to be more organized and 33 percent want to shop less. Nutrition is top on their minds, with more than half planning on reducing purchases of snacks, sugar, processed foods, soda and carbohydrates. Specific ingredients they're looking to avoid: highfructose corn syrup, sugar, artificial dyes and gluten. Opening the door for specialty food manufacturers is the fact that, overwhelmingly, moms don't think major brands are relating to them and their needs. And when it comes to advice, they turn to the opinions of bloggers and peers before experts like doctors and dieticians—an important takeaway for food marketers. British TV Invades the Kitchen B ritain's "Downton Abbey" has made its mark on the American TV viewing public, with its popularity steadily growing. But it's not only dramatic plots viewers are craving—it's the dining habits in this period piece. For a peek into class-segregated Edwardian cooking, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Mary's Crab Canapes to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding has been delighting "Downton Abbey" fans. Retailers should take advantage of the potential marketing opportunity via a themed tasting or specials based on the recipes, which include Sybil's Ginger Nut Biscuits, Ethel's Beloved Crepes Suzette, Mr. Bates' Chicken and Mushroom Pie and Mrs. Isobel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches. Farmers Hit Cyberspace T here's no denying that there are more farmers markets than ever before, but not everyone has had easy access to them—until now. America's Farmstand is an online retailer offering unprecedented access to products from more than 125 farms and suppliers nationwide, vetted against 30 criteria, including growing methods and sustainability practices. The products go directly from farm to consumer anywhere in the U.S. "I was committed from the very beginning to doing things differently—absolutely no warehousing, and an opportunity for foods to be enjoyed mere hours after harvest." says founder Todd Greenfield. Featured products include Coach Farm's Fresh Milk Ricotta, Divine Brine's Bread & Butter Pickles, The Grain Exchange Gluten Free Waffle Mix and Victoria's Kitchen's Almond Water. Greenfield also created Adopt a Crop, where customers can adopt a farm animal or crop during a harvest season and are rewarded with that farm's harvest bounty, delivered directly to their door. Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. 18 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com PHOTO: POPCORN BOARD PHOTO: BIGSTOCK Moms' Food-Buying Habits Shift t last year's Summer Fancy Food Show, the Specialty Food Association's (formerly NASFT) trendspotter panel predicted that popcorn would be the hottest snack trend of the year—a trend that has continued to flourish with Time magazine naming it 2013's snack trend of the year. According to The Popcorn Board, Americans consume some 16 billion quarts of popcorn a year—51 quarts per person—and specialty brands are eating up a growing portion of the market. Recent favorites include 479° Popcorn's Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar, Masala Pop's Chai Masala Caramel with Oregon Hazelnuts, Oogie's Gourmet Popcorn Kettle Corn Spicy Chipotle & Lime, Urban Accents' Tangy Dill Popcorn Seasonings and Drizzles, and J&D's BaconPop, microwave popcorn that tastes like bacon. Retailers dedicated to the kernel are popping up as well, like London's Pop, a shop serving up flavors like English toffee with sea salt, New Hampshire's Michelle's Sweet Shoppe offering Buffalo Ranch, and Indiana's Not Just Popcorn's Baklava variety.