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www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2020 GOURMET NEWS 8 6 Study Predicts Growth for Specialty Grocers Consumers are increasingly turning to non- traditional channels such as club stores, lim- ited assortment stores, online and specialty stores to satisfy their food and beverage needs, according to Pentallect, a leading food industry strategy firm. These nontraditional channels, which are not systematically meas- ured, have emerged and/or solidified their positions, and are poised for accelerated growth at the expense of traditional channels, most notably retail. Pentallect estimates that the nontraditional food channels currently represent $210 bil- lion in consumer expenditures, and projects 7 percent annual growth for the referenced channels over the next five years compared to 3.5 percent for foodservice and 1 percent for traditional retail (which includes super- markets, supercenters, mass/drug, and dollar stores). The referenced channels will account for 30 percent of food industry growth over the next five years. Bob Goldin, a Pentallect Partner and co- author of the study, says, "Nontraditional channels represent a 'sweet spot' in the food and beverage industry. Their growth is based upon strong consumer appeal and generally favorable business models. Without ques- tion, they demand increased attention from suppliers." Pentallect conducted comprehensive re- search and analysis into 10 nontraditional channels, including obtaining insights from over 1,000 consumers and trade sources, and the findings are documented in a comprehen- sive new report: "Nontraditional Food Chan- nels: A Key Industry Growth Driver," an update of a major report conducted on the topic in 2017. The channels studied are: club stores, community-supported agriculture (CSA), ethnic/neighborhood stores (e.g, bodegas), farmers markets, food trucks, limited assort- ment stores, meal kits/home-delivered meals, online, specialty stores (e.g., bakeries, butch- ers, etc.) and Trader Joe's. Pentallect's re- search shows that a sizable number of consumers plan to try or use the channels more often in the future. Many reasons are driving this use, includ- ing convenience, a desire to save money, availability of unique items, support of local businesses and perceptions of better quality (largely in the context of fresher products) than traditional channels. Rob Veidenheimer, Pentallect's President, notes that, "Each of the channels has unique consumer appeal and continues to evolve at a very rapid rate. We have studied these channels closely over the past several years and see them as signif- icant share gainers for the foreseeable fu- ture." Grocery Industry Drivers Combat Human Trafficking By Lorrie Baumann KeHE's professional truck drivers have joined the fight against human trafficking, and the national distributor of natural and organic, specialty and fresh food is hoping that grocers and food manufacturers will join them in sup- port of Truckers Against Trafficking. Truckers Against Trafficking is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate and mo- bilize members of the trucking, busing and energy industries to combat human traffick- ing. KeHE recruited its drivers into the orga- nization's mobile army earlier this year and now has all 632 of its drivers trained to iden- tify possible victims of human trafficking and to know how to help. "The shocking thing to us is how big the problem is and how it's all over the place – it's everywhere," said Randy Shaw, KeHE's Director of KeHE Cares Outreach. "For me, it's the most hor- rific thing I've ever seen. I don't know how anyone who has a daughter or a sister or a mother cannot be affected by these things." Through KeHE Cares, the employee- owned company's philanthropic volunteer program, he got involved with the issue of human trafficking five years ago through the program's support of Restoring Hope Nepal, a rescue organization that provides healing and a new beginning to young women and girls who have been sex trafficked. KeHE Cares sponsors two safe houses in Kath- mandu, Nepal. "We got very involved with them, and we are to this day," Shaw said. "From there, that led to awareness of the growing problem in the U.S." "In Asia, they basically take these girls and they're raped into submission," he con- tinued. "Here, it's more a guy who convinces a girl he loves her, and then he starts selling her. We've been very involved in India and Nepal with trafficking, and from there, we're now involved with four groups that are working against trafficking in the U.S." KeHE's efforts to stop human trafficking in the U.S. started with a collaboration with RESTORATION61, a nonprofit group co- founded by one of KeHE's category man- agers to provide a variety of services to victims of human trafficking. "The group was focusing on local truck stops. We've helped them with a safe house for the girls here in the Chicagoland [Illinois] area," Shaw said. From there, KeHE expanded its efforts through involvement with other Chicago-based programs: Salt & Light Min- istries, which operates a program for trauma- tized girls in downtown Chicago, and Naomi's House, a safe house in the area of Naperville, Illinois, that's operated as a faith- based residential treatment program. Then, earlier this year at Natural Products Expo West, Shaw met Gina D'Orazio Stryker, the founder of Gina Cucina, a KeHE supplier that makes and sells handcrafted organic soups. "Gina is very passionate about their mission to fight against human trafficking, and she brought us together with Truckers Against Trafficking," Shaw said. KeHE's Laura McCord, Executive Direc- tor of Sustainability & Corporate Responsi- bility, took the point on KeHE's new partnership with Truckers Against Traffick- ing, which offers a free training program for drivers and works with truckers' associa- tions, truck stop managers and law enforce- ment to provide them with the knowledge and tools to intervene in cases of human traf- ficking. The organization also provides the industry with training and awareness mate- rials, including stickers for truck drivers to apply to their cabs to let trafficking victims, who are sold at truck stops and other loca- tions frequented by truck drivers, know they've reached a point of contact through which they can access help. The stickers also prominently display the National Human Trafficking Hotline number and help to keep this effort at the top of mind of drivers. "We work with all kinds of truck drivers: over- the-road, regional – anyone who's in a truck or bus or anyone who works in the energy in- dustry," said Laura Cyrus, Director of Cor- porate Engagement for Truckers Against Trafficking. "We now have a mobile army of transportation professionals that can assist law enforcement in the recognition and re- porting of the crime of human trafficking." Truckers Against Trafficking was founded in 2009 by Lyn Leeburg, who got the idea after she heard a speaker at a human traffick- ing awareness conference talking about the possibility of training gas station attendants to recognize and report human trafficking. "She had a light bulb go off in her head and recognized that truck drivers – through their sheer numbers – could be an asset to law en- forcement," Cyrus said. "She knew that truck drivers are salt-of-the-earth people, knights of the highway, knights of the road." The organization now provides a whole se- ries of training materials free of charge to par- ticipating companies and drivers' associations. "There is no charge for any or- ganization to be involved in this work," Cyrus said. "The video is easily incorporated into new driver training. In 30 minutes or less, the companies can equip their drivers to recog- nize if they see anyone that appears to be a minor engaged in selling sex or anyone they believe is under the control of [a trafficker], regardless of the age or gender of that victim." Drivers who suspect they're seeing human trafficking are urged to call in an anonymous tip to the National Human Trafficking Hot- line. "That number is 1-888-3737-888, and that's the way we say it," Cyrus said. "Thanks to this work, and drivers being will- ing to call in those tips and being aware of what to look for and what to do, truck drivers alone have made over 2,300 calls to the hot- line, which have helped to identify 635 likely cases of human trafficking involving more than 1,100 victims." KeHE has incorporated the program into its training for new drivers, and it has already made a difference to the drivers as well as the victims they now know how to help, Shaw said. "Virtually every one of them has been approached. [Before they took this training], they had no idea they were traf- ficked women. The guys who were aware didn't know what to do about it, so they did nothing," he said. "It's really affecting our drivers. We're thrilled that all of our drivers have gone through it, and it's helping." He's now encouraging grocers operating truck fleets to sign on with Truckers Against Trafficking. "We would like to encourage other companies and groups to be involved. In this case, we think it's good to talk about it," Shaw said. "If you can get your truckers involved, we can be a catalyst for difference." Truckers Against Trafficking will also work with manufacturers that ship product, even if they don't employ drivers directly. "If they're contracting with people moving product for them, those people have a great opportunity to make an introduction." Cyrus said. For more information, visit www.truckers againsttrafficking.org, where you can view the training video or request materials. Or you can email Cyrus at lcyrus@truckers againsttrafficking.org. Acme Smoked Fish Balances Trends With Heritage By Greg Gonzales More than a century ago, Harry Brownstein emigrated from Russia to Brooklyn, where he first began selling smoked fish. That busi- ness grew steadily over the next few decades, and officially became Acme Smoked Fish in 1954. Despite several set- backs, including a 1966 factory fire, Acme has grown into arguably the largest fish smoker in the U.S., a fourth-generation fam- ily business boasting four brands and five production facilities – two on both coasts of the U.S. and one in Chile. "We want to be the leading smokehouse in the category," said Ellen Lee-Allen, Senior Marketing Manager of Acme Smoked Fish. "That's a combination of having the widest array of products available, making our cus- tomers happy and doing what we can to keep up with consumer demand." To meet the differing expectations from a variety of consumers, Acmes four brands each offer something unique. Acme is the flagship brand, concentrated more on the East Coast; Blue Hill Bay is a premium brand with the widest array of products. Ruby Bay is a regional brand for select mar- kets, and Great American Smoked Fish Company serves the Florida-based foodser- vice side of the business. Last year, Acme caught the Hawaiian poke bowl wave by offering its own take: Blue Hill Bay Smoked Salmon Poke Bowls. "We put our twist on the trend – it's usually made with fresh fish and vegetables and season- ings and a starch, but we used our smoked fish," Lee-Allen said. "Not only did it get a smoked fish taste, it also had a longer shelf life, so we were able to introduce it as a packaged product... We're trying to expand the eating occasions of smoked fish." To further achieve that end, the company introduced its version of salmon candy, a brown-sugar cured Atlantic salmon that's double-smoked. It's a sweet and savory snack on its own that also works as a replace- ment for bacon. "Back in the day, there were a good number of Brooklyn smokehouses, and we're one of the last standing," Lee- Allen said. "Customers who have known Acme, they trust our heritage. We've been around a long time, and we're still Brooklyn based. That sets us apart."