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Convenience Retailer Show Daily Wednesday, October 10, 2018 3 6 McKeon Products – A Legacy of Quality Self-Care Solutions An interview with Devin Benner, Chief Executive Officer, McKeon Products. CRSD: Tell our readers about the history of McKeon Products. DB: My father, Raymond Benner, who was a symphony orchestra musician and an avid swimmer, used a favorite earplug that he would buy from a local pharmacist. When the pharmacist retired, my father agreed to purchase this earplug business from him ... for a mere $2,000. The business was started in my parents' basement, and my moth- er, Cecilia, was very involved. While they really liked the moldable clay earplugs, they continued to improve them. Having the goals of making them more comfortable and even waterproof to reduce 'swimmer's ear,' my parents invented the world's first silicone earplugs. My dad was very enthused about the possibility of being able to improve people's lives with this new invention. He named them Mack's Pillow Soft Earplugs, because they looked and felt like little pillows. They've been the No. 1 selling earplugs in food, drug and mass merchants ever since then! CRSD: How has the company evolved? DB: After 30 years in the business, my father retired and I took his place as Chief Executive Officer. My brother, Pete Benner, is also a very integral part of our team, and today our company makes more than 90 different earplug solutions. We have also expanded into a broad range of other products, including sleep masks, ear dryers and ear cleaners, lens wipes, nasal dilators, ear muffs, Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs) and even mouthguards for bruxism (a condi- tion where people clench or grind their teeth at night). We are very proud to be able to say Mack's is the No. 1 Doctor Recommended Earplug Brand. CRSD: Tell our readers about your com- pany's focus on quality. DB: For us, quality is everything. If the product isn't where we want it to be, we won't sell it. For instance, we know that if earplugs aren't comfortable, people won't wear them. We've designed our FlightGuard earplugs, that relieve flying discomfort, to be the most comfortable solution in the industry, utilizing super soft, extremely comfortable flanges. Our foam and silicone earplugs are constantly being upgraded and improved to be so comfortable, consumers actually want to wear them. A couple of years ago, we launched a mouthguard for bruxism, called LunaGuard. It's the thinnest in the mar- ket and extremely comfortable, but we are in the process of making it even bet- ter! And we won't stop there ... we have a number of additional oral care solutions in development that are really different. We're also very involved in developing PSAPs that are a more cost-effective and convenient enhancement to hearing. It's all very exciting. We will always be focusing on a bet- ter solution to help our consumers take care of themselves. Nantucket Spider: Natural Insect Repellents By Nancy Jack, Chief Executive Officer, Nantucket Spider, LLC Many years ago, my business partner, Jeffrey Busch, and I had each reached the conclusion that we would never use DEET or other chemical repellents on ourselves or our families. The problem was, the natural repellents on the market didn't work very well for us. The prod- ucts were strong smelling, greasy and the spray would dribble down the side of the bottles and be difficult to apply. The effect was that they just didn't keep the bugs away very well. Nantucket Spider was born as a solu- tion to these problems. Nantucket Spider repellents are light and fresh smelling and non-greasy. Our patented method of using a fine mist trigger spray top and a water- based formula means that our repellents can be applied where you most need them: on hair, clothing, gear and skin without damage or staining. We use beautiful blends of natural essential oils – all of our sprays are now made with organic essen- tial oils and our products are non-GMO. We are the only natural repellent company that protects our repellents with liq- uid nitrogen during bottling so that our essential oils don't oxidize and deterio- rate before they are opened – our cus- tomers can trust that our repellents will not be stale before they get to use them. Most importantly, our repellents really work. Independent lab tests have shown that our original and camp sprays repel 98-100 percent of mosquitos (indis- tinguishable from 20 percent DEET). Our tick repellent was found to repel 92 percent of deer ticks. Our products also work extremely well on biting flies, including blackflies, horseflies, greenheads and deerflies. In addition to our wonderful repellents, Nantucket Spider has cre- ated beautiful and effective bracelets, pins, oil blends and outdoor garden sticks: fair trade, essential oil, extra-large incense sticks that have become a popular choice for keeping the bugs away at outdoor events. For more information, go to www .nantucketspider.com or email orders @nantucketspider.com. Simple Mills Introduces 6-Count Almond Flour Cracker Snack Pack Good-for-you cracker snacking is in the bag with Simple Mills' new Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Flour Cracker Snack Pack, containing six single-serve pack- ages of the top-selling SKU in the com- pany's popular almond flour cracker line. The vegan, paleo-friendly crackers con- tain just eight clean ingredients – includ- ing a proprietary base-flour blend of almonds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds plus tapioca starch, cassava flour, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, organic onion, organic garlic and rosemary extract – with no gluten, grain, soy, corn, dairy, GMOs, gums, emulsifiers or other artifi- cial flavors or fillers. It's the latest addition to a Simple Mills portfolio that also includes eight baking mixes, six almond flour cracker flavors, four sprouted seed cracker vari- eties, four crunchy cookies, four soft baked cookies and two frostings – all cre- ated with the same clean-food principles. Distributed in 12,000-plus grocery stores from Whole Foods to Kroger and Target, the brand has also earned broad recogni- tion ranging from a Chicago Innovation Award and a "Fab Five" rating on Instacart as one of the top trending food products in 2017, to product awards from Good Housekeeping, Prevention, Self, Clean Eating, Delicious Living, Paleo Magazine, Yoga Journal and more. In addition, company Founder and Chief Executive Officer Katlin Smith has been recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30, Inc. 30 Under 30, and Progressive Grocer Top Woman in Grocery competi- tions. The company's goal: to provide sim- ple, wholesome, con- venient foods that taste great; eliminate processed, artificial, GMO, high-carbohy- drate, nutrition-empty ingredients; and both support and encourage healthy eating habits. It's that Simple. For more information, go to www .simplemills.com. Gedney Launching Line of Flavored Pickles Founded in 1881, Gedney Foods Company, located in Chaska, Minnesota is an iconic Minnesota manufacturing company. Gedney is an SQF-3/GFSI, AIB, Union Orthodox Kosher and MOSA organic-certified factory that pro- duces a full line of organic and clean- label pickles, including a new line of fla- vored pickles. The company's technical expertise in product and process develop- ment takes new products from inception to market in less time than the industry average. The company is especially pas- sionate about making the best tasting and crunchiest pickles in the industry. Gedney uses a proprietary produc- tion process which allows its products to retain an incredible snap of crispiness and preserves the delicate flavors. This process is not found in other shelf stable brands that use a less sophisticated pro- duction process. The shelf life of the product is two to four years. Trever Knoflick, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, says the company has come to the show to con- nect with similarly minded retailers who are looking for a trusted company to pro- vide organic and clean-label pickled products. He adds that they are proud to have created enduring relationships with retail partners while supplying consistent quality at reasonable prices. The company is launching three innova- tive lines of pickled prod- ucts: Gedney Farm Fresh Organics, Gedney Black Label and Del Monte Black Label. Farm Fresh is a full line of organic pickles and relish with a beautifully designed clear label showcasing the product. Gedney and Del Monte Black Label are snack lines of flavored pickles and relish. The Jalapeno Lime pickles are kosher, garlic dill pickles with a bite of jalapeno and a hint of lime. The Ghost Pepper pickles are made with real ghost peppers with the catch- phrase, "try it if you dare!" Gedney works with traditional, natural food and specialty stores that are looking for clean label products that taste amaz- ing and will not break their customers' budgets. By offering mainstream pricing for upscale spe- cialty products, Gedney products offer unique and bold flavors for today's foodie craze. They add the "zing" to meals and snacks. For more information, go to www.gedney foods.com or call 925.288.2929.