Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2018 www.gourmetnews.com YEAR IN REVIEW 2 1 BY LORRIE BAUMANN It's not often that a story about a food product for the American market begins with an ancient Greek philosopher, but this one does. That's because a Greek philosopher, Theophrastus, who lived be- tween 371 and 287 B.C. wrote a book in which he told us how the Greeks propa- gated olives. Which means that the Greeks have been taking olives seriously as a food crop for at least that long. That's important today because a new entrant into the olive category, Alive & Well Olives, have introduced olives into the American market using the same tradi- tional methods that might have been ob- served by Theophrastus. Unlike other olives on supermarket shelves or in olive bars today, Alive & Well Olives are natu- rally-cured by lacto-fermentation, the same process that turns cabbage into sauerkraut and milk into cheese. As a re- sult, Alive & Well Olives contain natural probiotic lactobacillus cultures that re- main active in the olive flesh and in the brine. "There is something new under the sun, even if it's something that existed a thousand years ago," says Greg Leonard, a Founding Partner of Alive & Well Olives who's intent on livening up a cate- gory that even he is used to thinking of as totally mature. Ancient, even. Leonard and four other partners started the company with the idea that they wanted to bring a product to market that would fit with the values they'd espoused through their careers in the natural prod- ucts industry. Leonard himself spent over 40 years as a senior executive for Tree of Life, a natural and specialty foods distrib- utor that's now part of KeHE. "I certainly understand the challenges of going to market and enjoy navigating that path thoughtfully and in a collaborative way with retailers to get to the consumer," he says. "If you had asked me three years ago when this notion of developing a branded product line came up in conversation, olives probably wouldn't have made the list.... What we quickly came to realize was how little we – or most people who enjoy Mediterranean food – really under- stood about how virtually all olives today are grown and processed. Our 'aha mo- ment' was the realization that ... in the 50s and 60s, the traditional growing and processing techniques were replaced by chemical-based processes designed to speed time-to-shelf and extend shelf life." Most commercially produced olives found on grocery shelves or in olive bars are pasteurized and often lye-cured to accel- erate the fermentation process, according to Leonard. Black olives are either dyed using ferrous gluconate or subjected to rapid cures that are accelerated through artificial means. "Speeding up the process reduces the cost and the curing time to weeks instead of the months required by natural fermentation," Leonard says. Alive & Well Olives are grown in Greece on small family farms and village farming cooperatives. The olives stay under the care of the same group of grow- ers throughout the curing process until they're packed. In contrast to commer- cially produced olives, Alive & Well Olives are organically and sustainably grown, non-GMO verified, harvested by hand, naturally fermented and probiotic, and authentic and traceable back to the groves in which each olive variety is grown. Alive & Well Olives are packaged in the original mother brine in which they were cured. "The mother brine itself is loaded with probiotics and can be used in salad dressings, or in pasta dishes. It adds a nice, round olive flavor to the dish, and you're getting those additional health benefits that come with the probiotics in the mother brine," Leonard says. "To a large degree, it was the fact that these olives had such a robust story and long list of on-trend benefits that caused our team, Legacy III Partners, to go into this particular product category." In contrast with most of those other olives, Alive & Well Olives still have the pits in them, which improves their flavor and prevents the tissue damage to the olives that occurs when the pits are re- moved. Alive & Well Olives, packaged in glass jars, are sold in the fermented foods section of the refrigerator case. They're of- fered in six varieties: Kalamata, which of- fers pungent earthy aromas and the supple nutty accents of the classic Kala- mata flavor; Chalkidiki, a firm green olive with crispy, savory and peppery notes that pairs well with sweet accompaniments; Atalanti, which has a complex balance of sweet and savory flavors; Green Rovies, with a rich and buttery flavor with a long finish and a bitter aftertaste; Black Rovies, which offer subtle flavors of peach and pear and end with acidic and balsamic notes that balance out the richness; and Green Mix, which includes a blend of Kalamata, Atalanti, Chalkidiki and Green Rovies. The company guarantees a mini- mum of six months of shelf life from de- livery to retail. GN Something New Under the Greek Sun BY GREG GONZALES Tea markets are growing, and growth won't be slowing down any time soon, thanks to a multi-generational boost. At the begin- ning of this year, the U.S. tea market had grown more than 15 times its size since 2009. Loose-leaf tea in particular had gained popularity as a specialty product, hydration alternative and health product, while ready-to-drink tea was seeing similar success on supermarket shelves. Tea con- tinues to be the second-most consumed beverage in the world, after water. "Several aspects of the market are driving Millennial interest in tea," said Peter Goggi, President of the Tea Association of the U.S.A. "The access to tea has been easier and much more common for them; they've grown up drinking tea, as preteens, and they also gravitate toward products that ap- peal to them. Tea fits in because Millennials want to be engaged with the products they buy — where it comes from, how it's made, its naturalness — tea fits into this beauti- fully because it comes from different coun- tries and it's an agricultural product, so Millennials can get involved." He added that Baby Boomers have gotten involved in the conversation, too, and are increasingly joining the public discourse with Millennials. Topics to share include the teas' origins, and how different processing yields differ- ent kinds of tea. Pu-erh tea, for example, is aged and pressed into cakes, making an ex- tremely dark brew that exclusively contains the cholesterol-lowering compound, lovas- tatin. Specialty teas use the best leaves, while low-grade teas consist of fannings, or what amounts to dust left over from pro- cessing high-grade leaves. Farms through- out the world employ their own growing techniques, which also yields a different product. Enthusiasts can learn nearly everything about the origins of a specialty tea, and share their preferences through endless social networks, online and offline. Entrepreneurs and tea chains across the globe are taking notice of this trend. While large tea exporters like Zhejiang Tea Group have expanded more into U.S. markets, small tea businesses in North America are beginning to flourish as they adapt to the growth. "With everyone on social media to dis- tribute content for social reward, tea is the budding connoisseur's dream," said Stuart Lown, National Sales Manager of Takeya USA. "There's so much to learn about tea, fresh fruit and herbs — so much to learn about healthy hydration, to share with friends and family." Takeya specializes in tea infusers and pitchers that simplify home brewing and improve the flavor of the tea. One of their products, the fruit infuser, allows con- sumers to add new flavors outside the tea itself. By providing an easy method for making homemade iced tea, Lown said, Takeya makes quality tea more accessible to the everyday consumer. "We specialize in bringing loose-leaf tea home, allowing consumers to quickly and easily brew premium teas and to chill those quickly, which allows people to get the health benefits from the tea," said Lown. "When you brew the tea with a Takeya sys- tem, which is an airtight chamber, you're getting the best taste and nutrient content." The airtight Takeya system ensures pre- cious nutrients and flavors don't evaporate with some of the water before the tea cools — and those nutrients are key to tea's growth. "Over the last decade, several thousand articles have been written about the healthfulness and important phyto- chemicals and antioxidants that improve human health," Goggi said, adding that the public has grown increasingly aware of these studies. Cleansing, lower cholesterol, heart func- tion and mental acuity are some of the nat- ural benefits of tea drinking. Flavonoids, a compound produced by tea plants, are thought to have antioxidant properties and help neutralize free radicals. Tea also has no sodium, no fat, no carbonation and is sugar-free. It's also calorie-free and provides hydration — and some studies have shown that tea drinking improves cardiovascular health. A Harvard study found that individ- uals drinking one or more cups of black tea per day have a 44 percent reduced risk for heart attack. A U.S. Department of Agricul- ture study showed that a low-fat diet com- bined with five cups of tea per day reduced LDL cholesterol by 11 percent, after three weeks. Also shown in the studies is that drinking black tea reduces blood pressure and helps blood flow after a high-fat meal, and tea also carries with it a reduced risk for rectal cancer, colon cancer and skin cancer. Along with health benefits, tea naturally boosts cognition. While antioxidants in tea protect brain cells from free radicals, an- other compound found in tea, L-theanine, along with caffeine, is known to enhance attention and complex problem solving. Still, not all tea drinkers are seeking a mental boost, and not all of them are inter- ested in learning about tea beyond the ba- sics. "Seventy-eight percent of consumers drink tea for the taste, and 50 percent drink it for the function," said Patrick Tannous, President and Co-Founder of Tiesta Tea. "We take the basic functionality of the tea and educate the consumer. We aim to make tea accessible, understandable and afford- able." Tiesta Tea's approach is to educate the consumer about how to make the best tea, rather than about the tea's journey from the farm to cup. On the company website, the owners drive this point home: "Does it re- ally matter to you which farm in China pro- duces the best green tea in February or how to correctly pronounce rooibos? (it's ROY- bos, if you care.) That's our job to do, not yours. We believe what matters is what your tea tastes like and what's it's going to do for you. We take care of the nitty-gritty details." Ready-to-drink tea also has made tea more available and visible to consumers. Some markets dedicate an entire shelf sec- tion to kombucha alone, increasing tea's visibility, while other varieties of tea can be found all over stores, rather than in one single beverage area. Goggi wrote in his 2014 report that ready-to-drink tea is ex- pected to continue rising in popularity, with annual dollar increases from 12 to 15 percent. "It's something anyone can do, and it's something all people can enjoy," said Lown. "Tea is not exclusive to a certain class; it's something everyone can enjoy, no matter your diet, your religion, your age or your income." GN U.S. Tea Industry Growth Makes Specialty Tea Accessible to Consumers

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