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/623506
EDITOR'S LETTER Behind the Buzzword: Innovation in Action WINTER 2016 1 SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION MEMBERS: Discuss this topic in the Solution Center on specialtyfood.com J ust try to have a business planning meeting without the word "innovation" coming up. Like a lot of overused buzzwords, it can often feel vague, "corporate," and meaningless. But the concept of intentionally warding off stagnation is a necessary one for any business to thrive. And the stakes are higher than ever, with innovation being more about transforming existing models or categories than it is about improvements to the familiar. (I crafted that last sentence while sitting in an Uber rather than an NYC taxi.) Denise Purcell Editor, Specialty Food Magazine dpurcell@specialtyfood.com Seeing—or reading about—innovation in action helps take the hollowness out of the term, and you can learn more about individual successes in innovation in both this issue of Specialty Food Magazine and at the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show. In our feature, "The Innovators," on p. 42, we inter- viewed game-changers who are bucking convention to make an impact, from ice-cream makers taking an indulgent treat and repositioning it as a smart snack choice to childhood friends who created a new generation of spirits made with grains like quinoa because they recognized that the whiskey category was "ripe for disruption." Additionally, on p. 29, you'll meet the winners of the 2016 Leadership Awards, each of whom are trendsetters in their respective spaces, creating social, economic, and environmen- tal impact through innovation. This year's group includes a former U.S. soldier who empowered Afghan farmers to exchange growing poppies for the opium trade to growing saffron for export instead, and a food-tech startup that has revolutionized the mayonnaise category with its plant- based option. To further explore the topic, on Tuesday, Jan. 19, we will devote a two-hour education session at the Winter Fancy Food Show to "The Future is Now: Innovations That Will Change How We Produce, Sell, and Eat," a series of quick-format talks from five speakers about such far-reaching topics as the retail store of 2065, disruptive e-commerce and delivery models, and new solutions to the mounting problem of food waste. These talks will be filmed and available for download after the Winter Show in the Knowledge Center on specialtyfood.com. Innovation may be a modern buzzword, but it's hardly a new idea. Originality is what built the specialty food market in the first place, and that's clear from looking at the inductees to this year's Hall of Fame. The list is full of individuals who imported unheard-of delicacies for their time, introduced fine coffee and specialty foods to the then un-indoctrinated people of a southern town, and set up a shop in New York City's Upper West Side that would help launch the concept of prepared meals. You can see a list of this year's inductees on p. 145 and, if you're read- ing this at the Winter Show, attend the Hall of Fame and Leadership Awards ceremony on Monday, Jan. 18, where we'll celebrate the innovators who pioneered the industry, all while recognizing those who continually transform it today.