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/986636
trends & happenings Empower Through Flour Twenty female chefs united to support I Am That Girl, a nonprofit that provides young women with the resources they need for their personal development. Through Empower Through Flour—a month-long campaign that ran in March—they raised more than $5,000 through the sale of pastries. The donation will be used to grow IATG's peer-led local chapter programs, mobile app, and research-backed curricula. Angela Garbacz, owner of Goldenrod Pastries, an all-women–powered bakery in Lincoln, Neb., who spearheaded the effort, says, "As a female-owned and -operated busi- ness, Goldenrod Pastries is dedicated to set- ting a great example for these young women." She adds, "I truly believe that the more energy, time, and resources we can put towards their advancement, the better our future will be." Items that helped raise funds included Heart- Shaped Lavender-Lemon Shortbread Cookies, Butterfly Sugar Cookies with Blackberry Royal Icing, and That's What Girls Are Made of Purple Velvet Cake. Estimated sales of salty snacks by 2023, according to Videojet Technologies. 3-D Printing Could Create Customized Food, Limit Waste Researchers found 3-D printing could be used to create customized food that meets the individual nutrition requirements of each household member, reports ScienceDaily. Scientists at Ewha Womans University in South Korea are working to optimize 3-D printing technology to use powders to create food materials and products that exhibit longer storage times and enhanced functionality in terms of body absorption. For the study, the researchers used a prototype 3-D printer to create food with microstructures that replicated the physical properties and nanoscale texture they observed in actual food samples. The researchers expect 3-D printing at home or at the commercial level will greatly reduce food waste and the cost involved with storage and transportation, according to the report. $63,000,000,000 E-Commerce Spotlights the Little Guys Established grocery chains may feel pressure to expand into e-commerce to compete with giants like Thrive and Amazon, but they need to differentiate. With 36 percent of consumers not yet committed to one grocery platform, and 60 percent willing to look at new companies when buying groceries online, according to a RichRelevance survey, retailers like Albertsons are focusing on small brands in its new digital marketplace, while Kroger's online portal allows cottage brands to apply directly to category buyers. Both give small manufacturers a shot at distribution not only online, but at established brick-and-mortar stores. INSET: COURTESY OF GOLDENROD PASTRIES PHOTO: DANIEL MULLER 18 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com