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/654717
Print and Apply Your Own Product Labels! ©2015 Primera Technology, Inc. Primera is a registered trademark of Primera Technology, Inc. All data and company names used in sample outputs are fctitious. 1-800-797-2772 sales@primera.com www.primeralabel.com not all caramel is created equal SANDERSCANDY.COM SWEETS & SNACKS BOOTH #883 SUMMER FF BOOTH #1774 No Artificial Colors No Trans Fats No Partially Hydrogenated Oils No Artificial Sweeteners No High Fructose Corn Syrup No Artificial Flavors Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 1657 Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 1774 proven popular, come in f lavors like Key Lime Mango, California Lemon Mandarin, and Pomegranate Pink Grapefruit. They work in party-size punch bowls, for variations on martinis and margaritas, or to make sparkling water more interesting. "They're a little more expensive than what's on the market, but they're thicker and more concentrated, and have more f lavor," she says. From her years of acute observation she has learned, "You need to choose to be the cheapest or be the best. Somewhere in the middle are a million products that are hard to get recognized. If you give people a high-quality product they'll talk about it and remember hearing about it from someone while standing around at a party. It has to be memorable, or else give them something they're going to shop for on price. I always say you can't fool the consumer. Don't even try. They're way too smart." To convince a customer to pay $6 for a specialty barbecue sauce instead of $3 for an industrial brand, for instance, she advises allow- ing heavy sampling. "You have to let people know why it's worth it," she says. "The market has changed and there's more pressure on small, independent business owners to have better products than the mass-market grocery down the road." Today the company has 42 jams, finishing sauces, mustard blends, vinaigrettes, and cocktail mixers. An Updated Look Cooper views her customers as people who are happy to look at what's new and different, but she holds a steady course, taking baby steps when it comes to changes. Two or so years ago she halted product development in order to devote her time to re-branding. After 16 years she had decided it was time to update the labels with illustrations of fruits and vegetables. "They had to talk on the shelf by themselves," she describes as her motive. The re-labeling happened gradually, category by category, with Cooper listening all the while to small business owners and consumers who had trouble getting used to the new stylized look. "It's a disrupter when you change your label, but overall it turned out fine," she says, noting that there had been a 20-percent growth in sales since the re-branding. What hasn't changed is buying fresh produce, including apri- cots, citrus, and Bartlett pears, from California farmers. Earth & Vine is not certified organic, however. "We wouldn't rule it out down the road," Cooper explains, "but our customers trust the fact that we're using good, clean products. We know the farms and how everything is processed. I definitely do not want to source anything from China even if it is organic. Our quality has never changed after 18 and a half years, and that's something I'm very proud of." producer profile 70 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com Julie Besonen is food editor for Paper magazine and a restaurant columnist for nycgo.com.