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/1194330
WINTER 2020 1 Denise Purcell Editor, SFA Specialty Food dpurcell@specialtyfood.com Specialty Food Association members: Discuss this topic in the Solution Center on specialtyfood.com editor's letter W e're kicking off the first issue of the year with a refreshed look for Specialty Food magazine and all our media platforms. The makeover is part of the larger Specialty Food Association rebrand launched in late fall that will be out in full effect at the upcoming Winter Fancy Food Show. We're proud of the redesigned visual elements throughout the magazine, intended to energize readers and draw them into each page (and many thanks to the content and design team for bringing them to life, in particular Art Director Michael Gage Costa and Creative Director Maria San Andres). But the overall rebrand is way beyond cosmetic. SFA President Phil Kafarakis explains its rationale and a broader exciting membership policy transformation in detail in our Q&A on p. 26, where he describes how it represents our shifting and evolving industry and plans to better serve it. At its crux, the rebrand is about community, connection, and innovation, themes we strive to reflect in our content to give readers what they need to know to address the future. This issue particularly takes a forward-looking approach with our feature, "2020 Outlook: The Industry Weighs In," in which buyers and makers opine on the legislative concerns, retail formats, and tech trends that will shape the coming year. We also highlight our Trendspotter Panel's 2020 predictions and the attitudes and consumer needs that underpin the emergence of trends as varied as regenerative agriculture and canned cocktails. Each Winter issue also gives us a chance to showcase SFA's Leadership Awards honorees for business leadership, vision, and citizenship. The accomplishments of this year's winners run the gamut of the industry, from a CEO of an incubator that helps startups, to a founder promoting today's sustainable and transparent food system, to a leader of a 117-year-old business balancing tradition while shepherding the company into the future. You can read about these stars on p. 42 and learn more about them at the Winter Show, in addition to a host of other standouts slated for our education sessions and the SFA News Live interview platform. Sharing experience and knowledge has always been a hallmark of the specialty food industry and one we want to capture in our rebrand as well as continue to bring to our content and SFA programming. The Specialty Food Maker section in each magazine issue is dedicated to the producer side of our industry as a resource to keep informed and stay prepared. That extends to the efforts of our education group through live programs at the show and throughout the year as well as monthly member regulatory conference calls and more resources. As SFA rolls out its new identity and initiatives, we look forward to learning more from you about the types of content and programs that help you stay current and competitive in specialty foods, and developing more platforms to serve and inform you as 2020 unfolds. A NEW LOOK TO REFLECT THE FUTURE