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/68592
CANDY COUNTER Coco-Zen, a confectioner making chocolate truffles in the San Francisco Bay Area, pays $1,000 a year to be able to use the logo on its products. nuts, fruit and fillings. Among all fair-trade categories, U.S. store shelves now carry 10,000 products featuring the Fair Trade Certified label. Research conducted by Harvard, the London School of Economics, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology revealed in 2011 that a substantial segment of consumers are willing to pay up to 8 per- cent more for products—across the board— carrying the logo. And there is room to grow: Research from marketing firm Cone Communications reports that 94 percent of consumers are likely to switch to a similar brand if it is associated with promoting a good cause, particularly when the product is vetted through an independent third party. Lake Champlain's Fitzpatrick notes that the company didn't plan to launch a fair-trade product but has found unexpected benefits to producing a fair-trade, organic hot chocolate and fair-trade, organic sweet- ened cocoa. "We were looking for an organic product for our line of cocoa and ended up finding one that was high quality and tasted the way we wanted it to," she explains. "The fact that it was fair trade was ancillary, which we now see definitely as a benefit. We're see- ing it's what customers are looking for." Sweetriot, a small New York City company that makes all-natural chocolate treats called Peaces, took the leap one year ago to become certified fair trade. Founder Sarah Endline says she and her partners had always taken great care in how they sourced their beans. "But we saw it was important to the consumer that there was certification," she says. "There are so many messages that go out today in the marketplace, and the fair-trade symbol is one people know and can trust. To retailers, it actually does mat- ter. When you're a small, growing company, these things make a difference." |SFM| Julie Besonen is food editor for Paper magazine and restaurant columnist for nycgo.com. is Always in Season Good Taste DIPS CHEESEBALLS SOUPS SAUCES DESSERTS 5320 College Blvd. Overland Park, KS 66211 Tel: 816-861-0400 www.laurieskitchen.com www.oldworldspices.com Summer Fancy Food Show Booth #5967 64 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com Laurie's Kitchen is a division of Old World Spices & Seasonings, Inc. Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 5967