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GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2019 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier News SUPPLIER NEWS 1 0 BRIEFS Toby's Family Foods Releases New Salad Dressing Packaging Oregon-based Toby's Family Foods has re- leased new, bold packaging for its line of sweet and savory handcrafted salad dress- ings and dips. New labels feature bright colors, crisp detail, whimsical illustrations and deliver the brand's distinct vi- sion to new and re- turning consumers alike. All of the roster of Toby's seven dress- ings and dips – Blue Cheese, Ranch, Greek Feta, Honey Mustard, Jalapeño Ranch, and two yo- gurt-based dress- ings, Lite Blue Cheese, and Lite Ranch – receive an artful overhaul. This exciting new look further spotlights Toby's high-quality ingredients including non- GMO oils, raw honey, herbs, aromatic spices, rBST free cultured milk, buttermilk from Lockmead Dairy and sour cream and yogurt from Nancy's Yogurt to name just a few. Toby's Family Foods is the creation of founder Toby Alves. As a working mother in the 1970s, she crafted healthful, deli- cious products for an underserved clien- tele – those looking for nutritional alter- natives without the hassle. What started as a booth at the Eugene Saturday Market has become a four-decades-strong family business. Jonah Alves, current President of Toby's Family Foods, says he is happy to have a new label after over 20 years. Cus- tomers will be happy too, with visuals sure to entice shoppers visiting Toby's ro- bust catalog of natural, conventional, in- dependent and coop grocers as well as restaurants and salad bars across the northern West Coast. Brand new packaging displayed on Toby's signature high-quality glass jars has been hitting shelves around the Oregon, Washington and northern California area since the fall season. New designs come from Matt Ebbing of Ebbing Branding + Design. Ebbing is known for work on designs for Bend, Ore- gon-based Humm Kombucha in addition to other innovative food and drink branding projects. GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN On the eve of 2008's financial meltdown, Mark Sleeper was a mortgage banker in the commercial real estate market. His wife, Christina, was getting gigs as a television actor, mostly for commercials, and the cou- ple was raising a teenage daughter. Then came the financial meltdown that started them looking around for other options. Among their assets were Mark's previous experience as a manager in a four-star hotel and Christina's background in catering and event planning. "We had always been very mindful in health and what we eat," Christina said. The couple also had a recipe for a sea- soning mix that they'd been making and giving away, especially at the holiday sea- son, since 1990. "My husband said, 'What if we tried to sell it?'" Christina said. "We didn't have the cushion of finance, the abil- ity to get a loan. We just decided, let's do it anyway." They packaged up their seasoning mix, labeled it Sleepers Magic Rub, and launched a website. "It sounded like a fun little play. We launched the website in 2009, and we've been growing ever since," Christina said. "I can see now, from 10 years ahead, that the instinct to start the company was a way to signal a whole new evolution in gourmet and ar- tisanal food. When we started in 2008, nobody had websites. The industry was dominated by bigger companies and big- ger players." "All of these things that we're seeing now, with the palates of everyone really ex- panding and flavors coming into the arena that are much more diverse than they were 10 years ago," she continued. "I feel like we kind of caught a little break – it didn't do much for us, but we caught a little break coming into the gourmet food business when we did because we brought an under- standing of diverse palates." Since those early days as Sleepers Magic Rub, the couple's flagship product has be- come The Original, and the company has gone from being known as Sleepers Gour- met to Sleepers. "It's our name – it's not anything associated with sleeping – it's just Sleepers people," Christina said. The product line has also expanded with the addition of more seasoning blends – there are now eight in the line – along with jams, salts and teas. "Our jams have really taken off," Christina said. "There is a really distinct flavor – things just taste so fresh. It really is fresh; it's fresh from the farm." Sleepers' signature jam is Jalapeño Mad- ness, which is made from fresh California jalapeño. "We can't seem to keep it in stock. It is probably our number one-sell- ing jam all year long," Christina said. "This one is pure jalapeño, which appeals to the much more adventurous palates that we're seeing in the younger consumers who have become our customers. They want things to be bold." The Sleepers seasoning mixes are sold in 2.5-ounce glass bottles that retail for $10. "That price point is a nice bottle for most home kitchens," Christina said. "All of the seasonings are also available in bulk." Only one of the seasonings includes any sugar at all, and that's pure cane sugar. Two of them are salt free, and the others have low salt content. "Customers say the flavor comes through like nothing else, and it's because salt is not our number-one ingredient – the peppers are the number-one ingredient," Christina said. "It really enhances the fla- vors of the meats, vegetables and fish with- out overpowering it. We want our customers to have a wonderful home- cooked meal experience without the stress." Sleepers jams, marmalades and butters are sold in jars of roughly 7 ounces that re- tail for $12. Distribution is from Los Ange- les, California, where the company is based, and shipping is available to all 50 states and Canada. For more information, visit www.sleepersgourmet.com. GN Hain Celestial Realigns Executive Leadership Team The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. has named Chris Boever to the role of Chief Customer Officer and Robert Gulliver to Chief Human Resources Officer, both reporting directly to Mark Schiller, President and Chief Executive Officer. In the role of Chief Customer Officer, Boever will be responsible for driving the sales and customer agenda in the United States, as well as helping ensure Hain Celestial transforms its innovation capabilities. As a result, Gary Tickle, Chief Executive Officer Hain Celestial North America, will leave the company after a brief transition. With Tickle's departure, the North American organizational structure will be streamlined, and the CEO of North America role eliminated. Schiller and Boever will assume the majority of Tickle's previous responsibilities. Boever has more than 20 years of consumer packaged foods industry experience, having served in executive roles at Pinnacle Foods, Inc., Conagra Brands, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation. Most recently, he served as Pinnacle Foods' executive vice president and chief customer officer and president of foodservice. Pre Brands Hires Ryan Youngman as Chief Sales Officer Pre ® Brands, a rapidly growing premium consumer brand for beef, has hired Ryan Youngman as Chief Sales Officer. Youngman is a 20+ year veteran of the natural products industry who brings unique experience to Pre, having led multiple emerging consumer brands through their hyper-growth stages (Brad's Raw, Cocoroons and Kohana Cold Brew Coffee), as well as having held leadership roles in retail (Whole Foods) and distribution (United Natural Foods Inc). He will lead Pre's sales strategy, partnerships, organization and execution. Stonewall Kitchen New Product Launch Stonewall Kitchen's January new product launch includes the new Bada Bing Cherry Jam, Sea Salt and Black Pepper Roasted Peanuts, exclusive to retail and direct consumers, along with a variety of other jams, jellies and dressings. The Maine Craft Ale Grille Sauce is made with Maine's Allagash ® Brewing Company's Tripel Ale. The January launch also includes the brand new line of co-branded products with Legal Sea Foods, such as a House Cocktail Sauce, House Tartar Sauce and Lemon Dill Aioli. White Coffee Celebrates 80th Anniversary with Fourscore Blend In recognition of the White family's success and longevity with White Coffee, the company is announcing its anniversary Fourscore Blend. The specialty, medium roast blend will be introduced later this quarter and will be available in retail outlets nationwide. Sleepers Offers a Taste of California

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