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
Arnabal International's GourmetKitchens DIY Granola Kit shows off the versatility of the company's flavored oils, such as its blood orange variety. Desire and Demand Ranging from simple assembly to bona fide alchemy (at least in the eyes of the end user), DIY kits have come about in myriad ways. Some were created to complement an existing line of products, while others started as personal hobbies that became the foundation of a new business. But what they all have in common is that they open the door for culinary creation. "There's this whole interest in getting back into the kitchen," says Fromagerie Belle Chevre owner Tasia Malakasis, "or just knowing how to do things that we've outsourced in our own homes." Malakasis has overseen Belle Chevre's award-winning goat cheese products for five years and taught many cheesemaking SOUP SO GOOD... ™ YOU'LL CALL IT DINNER! South of the Border Tortilla Soup No Added Salt, Preservatives or MSG 13 Gluten Free Varieties 100% NATURAL HOMEMADE IN MINUTES serve 4-5 in about 30 minutes frontiersoups.com 800.253.0550 Waukegan, Illinois 44 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com classes along the way. "The funny thing is that people are always so surprised at how easy it is," she observes. "They're like, 'Aren't there more ingredients?' and 'Aren't there more steps?'" This recurring experience sparked the idea that would eventually become the company's Make Your Own Goat Cheese kit, further reinforced when she found that the few existing cheese kits on the market weren't showing up in stores that carried Belle Chevre cheeses. Another veteran, Arnabal International has been in the oil business since 2001. When sampling products, the company has often used a favorite granola recipe to show off the versatility of flavored oils such as its blood orange variety. Nairy Balian, president of Arnabal, says a friend suggested she make the recipe into a kit. Introduced on Food Day in 2011, the GourmetKitchens DIY Granola Kit went on to become a sofi Silver Finalist for Outstanding Food Gift in 2012. "When we received the sofi Award, it was a validation," says Balian. "We're not the only ones who think this is a great idea." In fact, the sofi Gold that year went to another DIY kit: Back to the Roots' Grow Your Own Mushroom Garden. "There were some other kinds of mushroom kits on the market," at the time Back to the Roots devised its inaugural product, says co-founder Nikhil Arora. "But nothing that made it easy, and that was where we saw an opportunity." The new business hit all the right chords: Its award-winning product is now available nationwide (in stores as varied as Whole Foods, Home Depot and, soon, Toys R Us), and has even earned Arora and co-founder Alejandro Velez recognition from the White House Business Council for their business savvy and sustainability efforts. For the Brooklyn Brew Shop, an avid hobby became a fullfledged business. Erica Shea and Stephen Valand were brewing beer in five-gallon batches—an overwhelming amount for Shea's tiny Manhattan apartment. "We scaled down the brewing process to one gallon so that we could make beer in Erica's kitchen, right on her stovetop," they write in an email. "The smaller size not only allowed us to brew in a smaller space, but it allowed us to make really interesting beers using the same ingredients you'd find in a craft brewery." Thinking others might like the compact brewing operation, the Beer Making Kit was born.