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/567722
product roundup Dang Foods Savory Coconut Chips. A certified benefit corporation, or B Corp, which means environmen- tal and social considerations are brought into every decision, Dang Foods thinks far beyond its coconut chips, which come in inventive flavors, like the new chile lime or savory bacon. Founder Vincent Kitirattragarn views business as a vehicle to improve the world. Each year the company makes a donation to a different cause that's relevant to employees' lives. In 2013, Dang donated proceeds to devastated coconut farms in the Philippines following a typhoon; 2014 involved work with Last Mile Health fighting Ebola in Liberia. This year, the dona- tion went to Boston Children's Hospital. "Financial success alone is an empty pursuit," he says. "Real fulfillment comes from improving communities." dangfoods.com Drink Maple. When a consumer picks up a bottle (or Tetra Pak) of Drink Maple, the com- pany will supply 200 gallons of drinking water to developing nations beset by drought or disas- ter. Co-founder and triathlete Kate Weiler developed the maple water product, which launched officially at the end of 2013, as an organic, nutrient-packed hydrator for athletes like herself. That led her naturally to a partner- ship with More Than Sport, a nonprofit that takes the competitive spirit of sport to drive volunteerism. In March of this year, the duo of organizations helped provide disaster relief after a Category 5 cyclone hit the South Pacific island of Vanatu, donating 80 million gallons of clean drinking water to displaced families. drinkmaple.com Live Soda Kombucha in Refreshing Rhuberry and Pomtastic Blueberry. Live Soda's Trevor Ross started his company and decided to give back—but not in that order. He founded his beverage business in order to fund cancer research after losing his sister to breast cancer. Proceeds of every bottle of all eight flavors of the sparkling kombucha, including the new Refreshing Rhuberry and Pomtastic Blueberry, go to support cancer-focused organizations. "I funneled my grief into finding ways to keep the rest of my family healthy," says Ross. He had in mind his father, who loves sugary sodas, which spurred him to develop a healthier alternative. The result: an all- organic and non-GMO refreshment that offers the probiotic ben- efits of kombucha tea. livesodakombucha.com Madecasse Chocolate Baking Discs. Even though 70 percent of the world's cocoa comes from Africa, few have thought to produce chocolate on the ground there. PeaceCorps alumni Brett Beach and Tim McCollum decided to change that when they fell in love with Madagascar while stationed in Africa. They founded Madecasse, a chocolate and vanilla company that has created meaningful income for more than 200 people in Madagascar through skills training, higher wages, and packaging production for a line of chocolate bars, vanilla extract, and vanilla beans, plus the new chocolate baking discs. Further, the company has taken an environmental stance, protecting nearly 70,000 cacao trees on 250 acres of forests through sustainable farm- ing techniques. madecasse.com Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze. Munk Pack is not only fueling consumers' next adventure, but giving some of that fuel to Mother Earth too. The 1-year-young snack company, which produces oatmeal-based fruit squeeze packs, participates in 1% for the Planet, a global conglomeration of companies that commit to donating 1 percent of their annual net revenues to support various environmental causes. It makes perfect senses for the brand: the non-GMO certified, whole-grain, vegan product line is popular with avid hikers and competitive triathletes as well as urban commuters for its high fiber, sustainable energy, and convenient packaging. Flavors include blueberry acai f lax, apple quinoa cinnamon, and raspberry coconut. munkpack.com "Financial success alone is an empty pursuit," says Vincent Kitirattragarn, founder of Dang Foods. "Real fulfllment comes from improving communities." 84 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com