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GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2018 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier News SUPPLIER NEWS 1 1 BRIEFS Loacker Announces New USA President The Board of Directors for the global premium wafer and confection brand has elected Terrence Joseph Rooney to serve as new President of Loacker USA. Rooney formerly served as president, North America confections for Mondelēz International. Prior to that position, he held various roles within the company for over a decade, including vice president, national channels and vice president, general manager global Walmart team. Rooney began his new role as Loacker USA President effective October 1, 2018. Organic Valley to Become 100 percent Renewably Powered in 2019 Organic Valley has announced details of the first- of-its-kind community solar partnership launched last year. The project enables Organic Valley to share the benefits of solar energy with its rural neighbors and become the largest food company in the world to be 100 percent renewably powered. In the spirit of cooperation, 13 communities across the Midwest will also benefit from this partnership, including six in Organic Valley's project portfolio. Beyond Organic Valley's 12.3 megawatt (MWdc) project portfolio, an additional 19 MWdc will be constructed, resulting in over 31 MWdc of new solar in the region, including a 33 percent increase in the state of Wisconsin. Partners for the remaining renewable energy credits will be announced later this year. When the projects begin generating power next year, the Arcadia array, sized at 6.78 MW, will be the largest solar array in the state of Wisconsin. Mondelēz International Expands Women's Empowerment Plans in Cocoa Communities Mondelēz International is launching new action plans to accelerate women's empowerment across four cocoa origin countries as part of Cocoa Life, the company's cocoa sustainability program. The company launched specific women's empowerment action plans in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in 2014 and is now expanding to include two additional origin countries, Indonesia and Dominican Republic. These new action plans will empower more than 100,000 women in over 1,000 communities in these four countries. The plans focus on promoting women's empowerment across five focus areas: farming, community, youth, livelihoods and environment. Women's empowerment plans are tailored according to local needs and supported by a change methodology that links resources, activities, outcomes and ultimate impact. The existing Cocoa Life action plans have already sparked measurable impact. By expanding access to Village Savings and Loans Associations to women in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, Cocoa Life action plans have already greatly contributed to women's empowerment, helping women gain greater access to and control over both household and productive resources. The Cocoa Life program provides 50,000 women annually with access to finance to fund education and encourage entrepreneurship, in order to give them a voice and unlock their potential. Olive Roots: A Bridge from Greece to the U.S. BY LORRIE BAUMANN Katerina Barka wants Americans to know that there's more to the Mediterranean diet, and to Greek food in particular, than olives and olive oil. To really appreciate that fact, though, they'll need access to products that are authentically Greek rather than "Greek- style," and that means that somebody's got to go to Greece and fetch them back to the United States. She says she's that person, and her company, Olive Roots, is the vehi- cle she launched at this year's Summer Fancy Food Show to do that. Barka herself is as much of a Greek im- port as the products she's bringing to the States. She grew up in Greece, went to col- lege there, and came to the U.S. only after she'd graduated from college and needed to figure out what to do next with her life. While searching online for options for further education, she came across a Harvard Univer- sity postgraduate course in international business, enrolled in the program, and came to Boston. There, she later com- pleted her degree in fi- nance at Boston College and then went to work at as a wealth manager for an American firm. Six years later, it was an encounter with one of her wealthy clients that changed the direction of her life. She pre- sented him with a bottle of her family's olive oil. His reaction to the gift, and to the oil itself, sparked a chain reaction that led to her decision to abandon an interesting and successful career in finance for the risky proposition of starting her own busi- ness in the food industry. "At that mo- ment, I realized that you can do any job you want, but when you do great, it's when you're doing what you love," she said. She and her husband, another Greek na- tive that she'd met in Boston, picked up their lives and moved them back to Cyprus, where her husband has family, and then to mainland Greece, which is closer to the farmers who grow her ingre- dients. She found farmers and artisanal food producers who were making amazing products but who didn't have the expertise to navigate the bureaucratic requirements of exporting them to the United States. Back in the United States, she found buyers who were willing to sell Greek products to the American mar- ket but who had grown frustrated with the difficul- ties of working with small pro- ducers inexperi- enced in managing an inter- national supply chain. What they both needed, she discovered, was a bridge between the two groups, and that's the role that she sees for herself and Olive Roots. Her initial product line, which she's just started to sell in the U.S., consists of au- thentic Greek products sourced from small pro- ducers who make the foods that comprise the Greek version of the Mediterranean diet, which, compared to the usual American diet, contains more olive oil to salads and other dishes, more fish and less meat. "The Greek diet is full of vegetarian and vegan food options," Barka said. "More than half the days of t h e week, we eat vegetarian meals – we just don't notice, because they are Mama's recipes." The company's first products to market include marinated sardines packed in olive oil. "They are a tasty way to eat fish," Barka said, in addi- tion to containing about 10 meals' worth of Omega 3 fatty acids per serv- ing. The company also offers a line of dried mushrooms – both cultivated and wild varieties, in- cluding a powdered mushroom line that's used in cooking to add flavor and umami to dishes – and an Organic Grape Syrup that was named a best food at the Summer Fancy Food Show by the editors of Culture magazine. "It's a great replacement for honey on pancakes or waffles," Barka said. Among other products, Olive Roots also offers EON Pine Honey with Mastic, the MELIMA line of handmade Greek pasta and LACONIAN LEGACY monova- rietal extra virgin olive oil from Sparta. The newest release, one that Barka is very excited about, is a dip called Greek Salad in a Jar. All of the products are cre- ated from simple, everyday au- thentic ingredients. Barka said, "There's nothing weird in any of our jars or packages." Most of the farmers who grow the ingredients for the products and the producers who package them for the market are Greek women, Barka said. "It just hap- pened," she added. "With this team of women, we can only suc- ceed." Find our more about Olive Roots by visiting www.myolive- roots.com or email Barka at katerina@myoliveroots.com. GN

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