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GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2019 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 2 RW Garcia Launches Organic Corn Chip Line RW Garcia, a family-owned and -operated, better-for-you snack brand, has answered the call of snackers everywhere with the national launch of its new line of Organic Corn Chips. While corn chips have long been a guilty pleasure, snackers now have a U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic and non-GMO alternative that is jam-packed with flavor and crunch. The new line is packaged in 8.25-ounce bags that retail for $4.49. There are four flavors: Organic Yellow, Organic Blue, Organic Bar-B-Q and Organic Chili Cheese. In addition to organic and non-GMO cer- tifications, all four flavors are also gluten- free, kosher and contain no preservatives. "Innovation is in our DNA, from when we launched our first organic tortilla chips in 1982 before better-for-you snacking was really a thing, to when we became the first snack company to receive Non-GMO Proj- ect verification," said RW Garcia Vice Pres- ident of Marketing Genelle Chetcuti, daughter of co-Founders Bob and Margaret Garcia. "We are avid snackers ourselves, and we worked hard to create a corn chip that captures the taste, size, shape and tex- ture that we all loved as kids, but that is still organic, non-GMO and preservative- free for how people want to eat today." The national launch of Organic Corn Chips follows last year's successful intro- duction of RW Garcia's Organic Lentil with Turmeric and Organic Chickpea 3 Seed Ar- tisan Crackers. GN Divine Chocolate Introduces New Organic Line This year, Divine Chocolate expands its lineup with an innovative organic line. The new collection contains four 2.8 ounce bars, each made with fair trade cocoa sourced from São Tomé. The four variants include Lemon, Turmeric & Gin- ger, Cocoa Nibs, and Blueberry & Popped Quinoa. The introduction of these products re- flects consumer demand for healthful, tasty treats. Divine also capitalizes on an under- developed market for flavored high-per- centage cocoa bars. For consumers seeking chocolate that is low in sugar and high in quality, this line meets their needs. The bars are certified by the Non-GMO Project Verified and the Vegan Society, certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and certified fair trade. For Divine Chocolate, this is its first or- ganic chocolate line, and it's the company's first time partnering with a new cocoa co- operative: CECAQ-11. CECAQ-11 is a fair trade and organic cocoa farmer co-opera- tive in São Tomé. São Tomé is a beautiful, forest-covered volcanic island off the west coast of Africa. When paired with sister is- land Príncipe, the two were once the biggest producers of cocoa in the world. In fact, this earned them the collective title of "Chocolate Island." Over the last half-cen- tury, however, cocoa farming there col- lapsed. Today, the CECAQ-11 co-operative works to rejuvenate the country's reputa- tion for high-quality cocoa. It's the mem- bers' aim to promote the re-discovered secret of spicy and woodsy São Toméan cocoa beans. Divine Chocolate is the only fair trade chocolate company co-owned by farm- ers. A co-op in Ghana called Kuapa Kokoo, made up of over 85,000 farmers, owns 44 percent of Divine and shares in its profits. With the introduction of the new organic line, cocoa farmers in São Tomé enjoy the benefits of fair trade prices and premiums, and Divine Chocolate continues to deliver income to farmers in Ghana through its business model. GN Daesang America to Launch Korean Kimchi at Summer Fancy Food Show Leading Korean foods manufacturer Dae- sang America announces the arrival of its new, specialized products from Jongga, Daesang Group's brand of Kimchi in Korea, and O'Food, the brands' new U.S. market collection, available to ship now. Founded in 1956 and headquartered in South Korea, Daesang Group has grown to be one of the world's largest producers of fermented food prod- ucts for everyday consumers. Daesang's American branch now includes three lead- ing brands of specialized products: O'Food, Jongga and Chung Jung One, now available on shelves nationally. "Over the years, Daesang Group has be- come one of the world's largest producers of fermented food products and we're thrilled to debut our latest O'Food and Jongga collections to the U.S. market at this season's Fancy Food Show," says Brian Tompkins, Vice President of Sales and Market- ing at Daesang America. "As the demand for Ko- rean-inspired fla- vors continues to grow in the U.S., chefs and home cooks alike are adding Korean ingredients to a variety of not only Korean, but also American dishes. We are introducing these versatile products to make it even easier to incorporate these flavors into culinary creations, whether they're prepared at home or in a profes- sional kitchen." Jongga is the number-one brand of kim- chi in Korea and beyond, as recognized by Korean Brand Power Magazine and backed by Neilsen data. Known for its crunchy texture, deep flavor, and precise fermentation process, Jongga is now avail- able in Spicy Red Kimchi and Mild Sea- weed Kimchi Pouches. Spicy Red Kimchi, the most common form, balances spice and umami tang, while Mild Seaweed Kimchi delivers a deep, savory tang and a mild sweet taste, without the spice of chili. Both rendi- tions feature clean ingredients (no MSG or seafood) and are packaged in convenient grab- and-go pouches, al- lowing for a hassle-free experience for all culinary skill levels. Jongga will also debut a unique Kimchi Ramen Bowl that features a pouch of real Jongga Kimchi. Alongside Jongga's kimchi offerings, Daesang America introduces the O'Food collection, which features a lineup of new Korean-inspired salsas, each with its own distinct flavor, amplified by easeful use and versatility designed for the modern Ameri- can lifestyle. Produced in California, using fresh Jongga Kimchi and authentic Sun- chang Gochujang sourced from Korea, the collection includes three varieties to spice up dips, chilis and more: Gochujang Salsa, Kimchi Salsa- Green Pepper & Onion and Kimchi Salsa- Tomato & Garlic. A Kimchi Purée, which adds a smooth texture and tangy flavor to sauces and other dishes, is also available for man- ufacturers. GN Online Platform Continued from PAGE 1 own platform, first for his dad, and then for other independent grocers. The Mercato platform allows individual grocery stores to offer everything that's in their store to on- line shoppers and to offer delivery services to any customer within 16 miles of their brick-and-mortar store. Working solely with independent, family-owned grocers, Mercato is already operating nationwide, with its strongest markets including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and more than 10,000 delivery couri- ers already organized in all 50 states around the country to pick up customer orders from the neighborhood grocers as they come in through the stores' online portals and deliver them directly to shoppers' homes. That makes it possible for you as a neighborhood grocer who gets a weekly order from Mrs. Goldfarb, who's been shop- ping with your store for decades and who's extremely picky about her corned beef and the freshness of her chickens to get the same service she'd get from your meat de- partment when she shows up in person, ac- cording to Brannigan. "When they deliver, everything comes from your store," he said. "Your meat guy is packing the order." "We have an extraordinary group of per- sonal chefs who order hard-to-find ingre- dients on our platform," he added. "High- quality fresh products and hard-to-find ingredients are a sweet spot for us." When a grocer joins Mercato, the com- pany builds a web page for the store on the Mercato platform. That's integrated with the grocer's existing point of sale equip- ment. The platform organizes the data for the SKUs that are already on the grocer's shelves from a database that already in- cludes more than 600,000 possible prod- ucts. If a grocer carries a product like that special salad that Mrs. Goldfarb always likes that isn't already in the system, that's added into the database. "Creating a new product is as easy as posting on Instagram," Brannigan said. Within a couple of days, the grocer is ready to start selling to the online cus- tomers who find the store's new website through marketing that happens both in- store where Mrs. Goldfarb can see it and in cyberspace, where Mrs. Goldfarb's daughter can see it when she needs to order her mom's groceries for her. Mercato charges a set-up fee of a few thousand dol- lars and a POS integration fee of a few hundred dollars, and after that, Mercato collects a commission on sales, but there are no ongoing software fees. "We can handle pretty much any POS integration," Brannigan said. "We only make money if they make money." GN

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