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
FOODS IN FOCUS Feedback from real-world use has helped several producers make finishing touches to ensure a truly user-friendly product, with instructions often the final component to receive eleventh-hour changes. Bellavance's bread kit and Elizabeth Jean's pie kit underwent testing by friends and family to work out the kinks, while Balian gave out a number of Arnabal's granola kits to 50 existing customers for feedback. Belle Chevre took its cheese kit's instruction manual as an opportunity to remind users the process should be fun. Whimsical hand-drawn visuals and bold typeface give the instructions a playful nature, while offering up plenty of tips, tricks and even variations to try. "We've spent more time around the instructions, really, than we did on the recipe," Malakasis says. Timing and Success It's no question the current food movement absorbing the nation has played a role in the advent and ultimate popularity of these doit-yourself kits. "I think we're in a unique time right now," Arora says. He describes the connection to food as a pendulum: past generations that made everything from scratch were followed by the rise of supermarkets and super-convenience enjoyed by increasingly busier baby boomers. As for millennials, Arora's own group, he says: "I think our generation realized, 'You know what, we went to one extreme from the other extreme, and there's a cool middle ground here.'" This movement has opened a wider swath of consumers to developing a connection with their food, without sacrificing conve- MORE DIY KITS • 479 Popcorn: Pop It Yourself ÒP.I.Y.Ó Kits; 479popcorn.com • Brand Castle: Kids Baking Kits, Cake Pop Kits; brandcastle.com • EasiYo: Yogurt Making Kit; easiyo.com • Glee: Candy Kits in chocolate, gummies and chewing gum; gleegum.com • Japan Gold: Meal Kits in sushi, soba and udon; japangoldusa.com • Numi Organic Tea: Artisan Blending Kit; numitea.com • Nuts About Granola: Granola Basics Box Mix; nutsaboutgranola.com • Roaring Brook Dairy: Mozzarella Cheesemaking Kit (pictured), Butter Kit; roaringbrookdairy.com • Williams-Sonoma: Brooklyn Brine Home Pickling Kit; williams-sonoma.com • Xcell International: Creme Brulee Set, Funnel Cake Kit; bettertaste.com focused on the idea that beer is food, and we tried to simplify the process without dumbing it down."—Erica Shea "We and Stephen Valand, Brooklyn Brew Shop nience. The ease of use offered by DIY kits extends it even further. The diversity of customers buying the Beer Making Kit surprised even its founders. "Originally, we made this for people who we thought were like us—young city dwellers who are into food," write Shea and Valand. "But we soon found that people in Alaska were ordering our kits. Pastors in Tennessee were brewing along with their entire congregations. And people who gave up brewing years ago were now getting back into the hobby they once loved." The DIY market is hardly saturated, though, which can pose a problem for producers and buyers alike. "When I first started I thought, this is great, I've got it all to myself, I'm the only one on the market," Average Joe's Bellavance recalls. He quickly realized the problem: the combination of ingredients, as well as tools, in his bread kits left buyers struggling to place his product. "You've got a lot of educating and persuading to do." Staying Power Its current success doesn't ensure the DIY category's long-term future, but producers seem content riding the wave; a number even have new products in the works or already coming to market. Elizabeth Jean's, for example, has recently rolled out a Berry Pie Kit in that line. The swift evolution of specialty foods in recent decades makes safe predictions hard to come by. "I don't think these kits are going to replace people actually going to the store and buying cheese," Malakasis suggests of her own kits' place in the market. "But it's something fun to do and say, 'Look, I made my own cheese.'" The diversity of the potential audience, too, indicates some staying power. Variety and refills don't hurt either: Home brewers can pick up equipment and refills of mixes (in such choices as Everyday IPA, Smoked Wheat and more) piecemeal, encouraging (continued on p. 58) 46 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com