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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 6 Goya Foods Celebrates Puerto Rican Culture with Boston Food Donation Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, donated 2,500 pounds of food to Catholic Charities of Boston in celebration of this year's Puerto Rican Festival of Massachu- setts. "For Goya, we al- ways strive to do our part to support our communities and en- courage others to do the same. We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this year's festival, who work hard to bring the rich culture of Puerto Rico to Massachusetts, than by providing healthy food to people who need it the most," said Rafael Toro, Director of Public Relations of Goya Foods. Catholic Charities distributes more than 2.5 million pounds of food each year through their network of food pantries. The donation will go directly to Catholic Charities' food pantries in the South End of Boston, Somerville and Dorchester, and serve close to 4,200 people each week. "We are deeply grateful for our ongo- ing partnership with Goya and couldn't meet the needs of those we serve without committed partners like Goya," said Deborah K. Rambo, President of Catholic Charities. "In a region where the gap continues to grow between the living wage and the wages many residents ac- tually earn, hunger remains a persistent threat to the wellbeing of many Bostoni- ans." The donation is part of Goya Gives, a global initiative committed to supporting local communities through social and en- vironmental causes. Goya has donated mil- lions of pounds of food to organizations worldwide and continues to support over 300 organizations, events and cultural in- stitutions. "It is an honor to kick off our Puerto Rican Festival weekend by partnering up with Goya and their Goya Gives initiative in the continuous effort of giving back to our communities," said Edwin Alicea, Pres- ident of the Puerto Rican Festival of Mas- sachusetts. GN Big Meat Muscles Continued from PAGE 1 Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Before the Butcher. "The protein that's provided with plant-based foods, and what we've been able to do to mimic meat the way we do, people find it not only an acceptable alternative to meat but a pre- ferred alternative in many different ways. Investors see this option to continue to grow their companies." With the acquisition, Beyond the Butcher now has access to Jensen's packing, a $25 million credit line and 20,000 square feet to expand production. "It's a win-win on both sides," said O'Malley. "On our side, because we're able to grow very quickly, as we hope and need to to keep up with our competitors, but on their end they get to expand and grow their portfolio. It's a real positive thing. We're sharing a lot of syner- gies." According to Dayton Miller, Managing Partner at Boulder Food Group, the new driving force is flavor that's good enough to appeal to a wider audience, not just con- sumers with specific diets. "Taste has come a really long way," he said. "It might not be perfect yet, but it's finally at the point where people don't feel like they're making a huge sacrifice in order to eat what they think is better for them. That makes the difference. Taste rules at the end of the day." "The innovation that has taken place in the last three years alone has been tremen- dous," said O'Malley. "Beyond Meat and Impossible were the innovators. They broke the glass ceiling when it came to products perceived as either vegan or veg- etarian, and now they're viewed as great products for anybody — not just vegans and vegetarians but for meat-eaters as well. These products continue to get better and better, where the line that's perceived be- tween animal-based meat and plant-based meat has been blurred already." "They're really good. This is comfort food," he added. "It doesn't matter if it's plant-based or animal-based, it's really good food, and that's the key." Caulipower, a brand in Boulder Food Group's portfolio, makes a chicken tender from cauliflower with an almost identical taste and texture to the real thing. A brand called Ocean Hugger Foods has an ahi tuna alternative made from shaved tomato that, wrapped in seaweed paper and rice, is said to taste just like a fresh piece of sushi. Through its $150 million Tyson Ventures Fund, Tyson has investments in a variety of alternative protein ventures, including mushroom-based technology and cell-cul- tured meat. O'Malley says that's going to change gro- cery stores for good. His own brand is among the first plant-based meat alterna- tives to be featured in the deli department, out of the package. "Our products are des- ignated and geared to be in the protein de- partment, which most would call the meat department today, but we like to call it the protein department," O'Malley said. "In a few years, that's what it will be — retailers are opening up space for plant-based pro- teins, and I know in the next year or two most retailers will have a section in the meat department for plant-based proteins." GN who's been cooking out of their home for five years and selling to their friends and family, and take them to a level where they give up their day job and follow their pas- sion. I'm into the mentoring, the nurturing, the education, the slap on the wrist when they're doing something wrong, maybe say- ing, 'I don't know how you're going to suc- ceed,' because my goal is their success. That's, to me, what an incubator really is. It's that space that is forming a business that will eventually grow and leave the in- cubator. We don't want somebody here for the rest of our lives." With that range of available resources, it's rare that clients hang up the kitchen towel. Some of the businesses limp along, Gregory explained, but the point of the incubator is to get a limping business to lengthen its stride. "We do all sorts of things to get someone to, instead of coming in here once every four months, to come in once a month," said Gregory, adding that some clients start out a little ahead of themselves, wanting to sell 1,000 pieces a week before they're ready. "I'm like, you're not ready for that. I'd like you to sell to a store, to start with four stores at two dozen cookies every week. If you can do that, can you get it to three dozen cookies per week? Then, can we add a couple more stores? Eventually, you know, Stop N Shop wants 1,000 cook- ies a week! At this point, they can handle it. They know what they're doing." One brand sprouting into its own facil- ity from Entrepreneur Space this year is LUV Michael, a granola brand that em- ploys autistic adults. The business started in the kitchen of Demitri Kessaris and Lisa Liberatore, two physicians who wanted to ensure that their autistic son, Michael, could have a fulfilling career. With the help of Entrepreneur Space, the brand grew to employ 10 full-time "granolo- gists," developed a more marketable prod- uct with a grab-and-go bark-style granola and now sells in more than 60 retailers, in- cluding Starbucks, D'Agostino Supermar- kets, and Fresh and Co. "The beauty of Entrepreneur Space to me is the help and mentoring, and the oppor- tunity to have space and infrastructure," said Clare Davis, who handles communica- tions for LUV Michael. "You never know who you're going to meet there." For brands that need a little extra care, Gregory said Entrepreneur Space has added a sort of boot camp, where the team takes on four clients for an intensive three-month mentoring program. They get an even closer look at their website, ex- penses, return on investment for market- ing and more. Clients get homework like adding more images to their websites, writing press releases and making sell sheets. Now that they've completed the pilot program, Gregory said they're plan- ning on an even better one later this year, and to make it happen more than once or twice a year. "We help people live their dream," Gre- gory said. "They've got a dream, they've got a passion. We work with that passion to get them to succeed. They've got to make money in their business ― if they don't make money, it's not a business, and it be- comes a frustration for them. We're looking to take on their dream, help them make money and live it." GN Queens Incubator Continued from PAGE 5 Wildly Delicious Celebrates 15th sofi Award Win goes into the supermarket," said Wildly De- licious co-Founder Austin Muskat. "People are exposed to it, and you get a broader ac- ceptance, to where people start exploring. They're looking for new products, they're looking for new flavors and they're not jaded on constantly trying new things." The idea behind a globally-inspired sauce, he said, is to pay homage to the her- itage of a product, being very cautious about taking a loose interpretation of foods. The team looks back at original recipes and literature to get as close to what the product should be. "We don't do any big corporate stuff, nothing like that. We follow our in- stinct and our hearts," Muskat said. "We're somewhat scientific, though, about how we make new products inside our building. We ask all the staff to taste and give us feedback — we do it anonymously and we do it blindly. But we don't use any consumer in- terest groups or anything like that." Wildly Delicious Korean BBQ Grilling Sauce comes in 11.8-ounce bottles with a suggest retail price of $5.99. For more information, visit www.wildly delicious.com. GN BY GREG GONZALES Celebrating its 25th anniversary and 15th sofi Award win this year, Wildly Delicious' winner for the 2019 sofi Award in the barbecue sauce category was its Korean BBQ Grilling Sauce. The sauce is sweetened with pear for an au- thentic Korean flavor that appeals to adven- turous eaters. "The culture of food gets more sophisticated as a bigger diversity of products

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