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/375622
Sea Salt and Caramel. A flavor trend that's showing no signs of slowing down is "anything salted," says Finley, whether it's salted caramel, salted chocolate, or any sweet flavor sprinkled with sea salt. "The salty-sweet combination still seems to be a thing," she says. But, she notes, "caramel is definitely the new ingredient," Finley says. Sheila G.'s, for example, has introduced a salted caramel version of its Brownie Brittle and Salem Baking Company has a chocolate dipped caramel with sea salt cookie. Finley says the newer, all-natural varieties of caramel benefit from a healthier perception than highly processed versions found in the mainstream market. Chocolate Chip with a Twist. Rhein says cookies with tra- ditional flavors like chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and ginger snap continue to do well with customers. Tate's Bake Shop is one such success as a well-established producer that continues to attract customers with variations on a classic cookie. It's their traditional flavor—chocolate chip—that customers still reach for most. While tradition reigns, the classic chocolate chip cookie has undergone a shift beyond f lavor twists. Rather than mimicking fresh-baked soft and thick chocolate chip cookies, many new prod- ucts have moved toward a thin, crispy texture. HannahMax and Tate's have done well with cookies that have crispier edges than old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies, notes Rhein. "They're overly cooked, so they have a snap to them," he says. Whether on-trend or staying true to classics, nutritious and health- ful or deeply indulgent, cookies seem as though they can do no wrong. Offering a variety that spans these trends is sure to keep consumers coming back for more. ings. In addition to its original and chocolate chip varieties, Effie's Homemade offers five products with cupboard-style ingredients: Oatcakes, Corncakes, Nutcakes, Ryecakes, and new Cocoacakes. Guilty Pleasures In spite of the general food trend toward health-conscious eating, many consumers have a sweet tooth that needs to be sated. Mintel Group reports that indulgence is a priority as one-third of cookie buyers continue to opt for varieties that sound as decadent as they taste. In the specialty food market, super-indulgent creations can even be sofi winners, like The Sticky Toffee Pudding Company's Millionare Shortbread, which took home gold this year. Finley says she has seen first-hand the rise in demand for ultra- decadent cookies at Too Good Gourmet. "For a while people were like, 'I'll hold back ' or 'I'll go to a 100-calorie pack.' Now it's like, 'I'm going to eat something that's sweet and I'm going to make it really [worth] the calories,'" she says. Popular f lavors for these special treats range from the classic to the more trendy—or a combination of both. Chocolate on Chocolate. At Eli's Manhattan, Rhein notes that the most popular treats involve chocolate in high doses. "It may be a chocolate, flour-based cookie with chocolate ganache or choco- late icing. Or maybe mini chocolate morsels," he says. Zesty Cookie has a double chocolate stout cookie made with Dutch cocoa and Belgian chocolate chunks. Cookie innovator HannahMax Baking offers a variety of its Cookie Chips called Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, dark chocolate cookies made with European dark cocoa and semisweet Belgian chocolate chips. Kara Mayer Robinson is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Parents, Emmy, and Time Out New York. BUYERS' PICKS Adam Rhein, Eli's Manhattan, New York, NY • Effie's Homemade Oatcakes • GinnyBakes Double Chocolate Happiness • Tate's Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies Dave Osner, Dorothy Lane Market, Oakwood, OH • HannahMax Cookie Chips Chocolate Chip • Jimmy's Cookies Chocolate Chip • My Dad's Cookies Lemon Drop and Black & White • Tate's Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies Jessie Rogers, Bi-Rite Market, San Francisco, CA • Atelier Kawashima French Macarons • Bi-Rite Creamery Cookies • Clairesquares Cookies • Il Molinetto Baci di Dama Italian hazelnut cookies • Sabores del Sur Alfajores butter cookies Grey Ghost Bakery Lemon Sugar Cookies (continued from p. 60) category spotlight 140 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com