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 57 PO Box 311 Newman CA 95360 | 209.862.3033 | 800.255.1641 info@jasperspecialtyfoods.com | www.jasperspecialtyfoods.com # 5964 # 5964 C O M E V I S I T U S BOOTH TM TM California Almonds Plant-based Protein Crafted in Small Batches Dry-roasted with High Quality Ingredients SPECIALTY FOODS TM JASPER SPECIALTY FOODS Specializing in the production of unique almond related food snacks, confections, and other treats for the gourmet food market. PO Box 311 Newman CA 95360 | 209.862.3033 | 800.255.1641 info@jasperspecialtyfoods.com | www.jasperspecialtyfoods.com Fancy Food Show Booth #5964 The company, which launched as a food truck in 2009, wanted to create its own variety of hand-held Indian street foods. It takes the relatively unfamiliar flavors of Indian cuisine and introduces them in more familiar hand-held forms such as burritos, tacos, quesadillas, pizza, and fries "to make it approachable for the everyday American consumer," says Kapoor. The food is spicy, but not so much that it overpowers the dishes, he explains. "It's spice-forward, but not 'kick you in your gut' spicy. Spice doesn't have to mean red chili powder that burns. Coriander, cumin, asafetida, turmeric, fennel, allspice, cloves, chili powder, etc., are all spices that we use in our food." In addition to the burritos and bowls, Retail Products Target Grab-and-Go Snackers Anshu Dua, co-founder and CEO of The Chaat Co., New York, is seeking to create the Sabra of Indian street foods. The startup is launching its products, a line of fresh Indian snack packs, into a limited number of retail stores, including some Whole Foods Market locations in the Northeast, and into some college and corporate foodservice grab-and- go retail displays. "When you look at what Sabra did with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods like hummus, babaganoush, etc., they basically took very ethnic foods and flavors and snack-ified them," Dua says. "Twelve years ago, Americans had no clue what hummus was." The Chaat Co.'s new snack-pack line includes popped chickpea chips with chaat masala, along with a variety of different Indian chutneys—tamarind, mango, coconut, and tomato. "These are inspired by flavors from different parts of India," Dua says, noting that mango and tamarind are flavors typically used in northern India, while tomato reflects southern Indian cuisine. "You will find these chutneys as condiments for a variety of different types of street food in India," says Dua. "We tried to capture many of the ingredients and the flavors from that, and created a snacking experience for Americans so they can experience Indian food like they never had before and in a whole new way versus the typical buffet line experience that most Americans have today." Dua says the Indian foods many Americans have become familiar with through traditional, sit-down Indian restaurants were developed by an older generation of Indian entrepreneurs who were seeking to create menus that appealed to Indian-Americans with the comfort foods of their homeland. Now, he says, Indian food producers like himself are targeting a younger generation of consumers who enjoy experimenting with new flavors, and also enjoy snacking and sharing foods. Likewise, Deepak Amin, president and CEO of Union, N.J.-based Deep Foods, parent of the Tandoor Chef line of frozen Indian foods and the Deep Indian Kitchen restaurant chain in New York, says Deep Foods is looking to bring back more hand- held Indian street foods into its product line. "It's all about grab-and-go items, and items that are full of flavor," he says. The company is in the process of transitioning all its products to the Deep Indian Kitchen brand, which it has previously used for authentic foods targeting the Indian consumer market. "We are going back to our roots and offering all the different products we have under one umbrella," says Amin. "As awareness is growing, we are seeing that all of the other [traditional Indian] offerings we have are becoming more relevant."