Oser Communications Group

1 3 October 2018 SNACKING NEWS DAHlicious Organic Launches Single Serve Lassi DAHlicious Organic™, maker of organic, India-style, probiotic-rich lassi and yogurt, announced the launch of its new single- serve 10-ounce lassi. Costco was the launch partner for this new product, de- signed for portability and personal con- sumption. Costco carries one SKU of the single-serve lassi: an assorted eight-pack of four Alphonso Mango and four Field Strawberry lassi for $12.99. Costco stores in the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest regions began to offer the multipack start- ing in July. The club store chain is an existing retail partner for DAHlicious Organic, which currently offers a two-pack of 32-ounce mango lassi in Costco stores across the United States and Canada. Lassi (pronounced lus'-see), is Hindi for a yogurt drink, made in the 4,000- year handcrafted, slow-cultured tradi- tion of India. DAHlicious Organic is the only yogurt company specifically dedi- cated to slow-culturing. This unique culturing method creates a rich and smooth texture, complex flavors and high probiotic counts, which are sus- tained throughout the shelf life of the product. Both sizes of the lassi are USDA organic, made with organic grass-fed whole milk. "DAHlicious Organic is excited to en- rich and strengthen our partnership with Costco with the addition of our single serve lassi in an eight-count multipack," said Tom Burns, Chief Executive Officer of DAHlicious Organic. "Single-serve of- fers the opportunity for easy, on-the-go consumption and personalized choice for the consumer." Burns continued, "This new form factor also positions DAHlicious Organic lassi perfectly as a snack, which is the way our customers enjoy lassi the most. The eight- count multipack also delivers tremendous value for Costco shoppers." DAHlicious Organic products can be found at Costco, Costco Canada, Market Basket, Select Safeway stores, Whole Foods and select specialty retailers. The company expects its products to be avail- able at additional national retailers this year. DAHlicious Organic has three slow- cultured product lines: India-style or- ganic grass-fed whole milk Lassi yogurt drink - 60 billion probiotics per bottle; India-style organic almond milk lassi yogurt drink – 60 billion probiotics per bottle; and India-style organic almond milk cup yogurt — 15 billion probiotics per cup. For more information visit www .dahlicious.com. n Hungarian Chocolatier's Prize-Winning Products Now in U.S. very much bean to bar," says AnnaLisa. Meszaros began making chocolate in 2009. A video on www.chocome.com shows Meszaros working alongside cocoa farmers in every step of produc- tion, from harvest to fermentation under banana leaves in purpose-made wooden crates and drying in di- rect sunlight on shallow wooden trays rolled in and out of sheds as tropical rains threaten. When the beans are delivered for roasting, each variety needs its own specific time and tempera- ture, but careful roasting is the key to developing flavor and aroma, he says. Then the roasted beans are crushed with rollers, the chaff is blown away and the bean fragments –the nibs – are cooked to re- lease the cocoa butter. He sources cacao from Caribbean coun- tries because that is where cacao origi- nated, he says in the video. He explains that there are four varieties of cacao: Criollo, "extremely rare and exception- ally flavorful;" Forestero, widely grown in Africa and South America; Trinitario, a cross between Criollo and Forestero; and Na- cional, grown only in Equador, and in small quantities. Meszaros says that he learned a great deal by spending time talking to the men and women who grow cacao. Next, he traveled to France to work with food scientists to develop the exact flavor profile he was seeking. In the end, his pref- erence was for Trinitario chocolate from Peru combined with beans from the Do- minican Re- p u b l i c . Meszaros says the flavor de- scriptors for C h o c o M e chocolate are " c o n v i n c i n g cocoa taste, d o m i n a n t sourness, red fruity notes, and lingering aftertaste." The bars and squares feature hand- laid inclusions of freeze-dried fruits and flowers as well as nuts, candied citrus peels, herbs and edible gold and edible sil- ver. Each is a hand-crafted work of art. "It's pretty incredible – that's what we hear over and over," AnnaLisa says. "The freeze-drying process is unique – very slow, so it preserves the essence of the fruit and flowers. Every aspect of produc- tion is unique, with so much attention to detail." ChocoMe's products range from 40 per- cent to 65 percent cacao, and some white chocolate products are available, too. Some signature bars offer as much as 77 percent cacao. Freeze-dried fruits include strawberries, raspberries, peach, cherries, black cur- rants, blackberries and cranberries, she said. Rose and violet petals, jasmine and spearmint are all crystallized before inclu- sion, and the nuts are carefully sourced as well – almonds and Bronte pistachios from Sicily, hazelnuts from Italy's Piedmont, and American pecans. "Every step is done by hand," AnnaLisa says. The confections are manufactured just outside Budapest, and the company employs more than 35 people to make its products. ChocoMe has racked up dozens of awards, from the Great Taste Awards in the United Kingdom, the Academy of Choco- late and the International Chocolate Awards. "This is an interesting time in Hungary," AnnaLisa says. "Not many Americans know much about Hungary – and I didn't, either, until I married a Hungarian." Hun- gary became a democracy in 1989, and "this is the first democratic generation, so there are lots of entrepreneurs and every- thing in top notch." ChocoMe is available in more than 50 countries, but the Underhays are the sole importers for the U.S. ChocoMe products are currently available in hotel amenities shops, spas, gourmet stores, cheese shops and wine shops. For more information, visit www.finest imports.us or call 305.846.0073. n BY ROBIN MATHER Two American sisters based in Florida have begun importing the internationally acclaimed products of Hungarian Gabor Meszaros' confection company, ChocoMe. AnnaLisa and Esther Underhay, both harpists who have traveled extensively abroad, became friends with Meszaros and now import his chocolates through their Finest Imports company. The sisters are co- Owners of Finest Imports, with AnnaLisa acting as Marketing Director and Es- ther as Director of Opera- tions. ChocoMe produces Entrée bars as well as 100-gram (about three and a half- ounces) boxes, called "Raffinée," which means "sophisticated" or "cultured" in French. It also makes 50-gram squares called "Carré," and all Entrée bar flavors are available as Carrés. Meszaros sources his chocolate from the Caribbean and South America, and works with a chef outside Paris, France, to make his proprietary blends of chocolate. "It's

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