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Supplier News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2020 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 2 Snack Brand Barnana Brings Industry Veteran on Board as New CEO Barnana ® has brought in the former chief executive officer of instant noodle company, Nissin North America, Al Multari, to lead the team. Multari will focus on amplifying brand awareness, expanding distribution channels and continuing to fuel innovation and expansion of the core product range. Multari has more than 30 years of experience in consumer packaged goods. He was the CEO of Nissin USA, where he became the first local United States CEO for Nissin Holding Co. While at Nissin, he successfully recruited and retained a local management team and developed the overall company strategy, resulting in improved performance in both product and profit. Trinchero Family Estates Partners With Hanson Of Sonoma Organic Grape-Based Vodka Trinchero Family Estates has entered into a partnership with Hanson of Sonoma ® Organic Grape-Based Vodka. Trinchero will be the sales, marketing and distribution partner for the craft organic grape-based vodka with distribution rights for North America. Launched by the Hanson family in 2013, Hanson of Sonoma Pajama Sweets Introduces Snack-Size Tin of Pistachio Brittle Pajama Sweets Pistachio Brittle combines a crisp butter cookie with toffee-brittle, topped with crushed pistachios and presented in lovingly designed keepsake tins. The 2-ounce embossed tin features a horse from a 17th- century painting made in Tabriz. The image represents beauty, elegance, strength, and power. At a price point below $10, this tin of Pajama Sweets Pistachio Brittle appeals to all customers. PS Seasoning Launches New Gourmet Line of Seasoning Shakers PS Seasoning, a leading blender of specialty spices and seasonings, announces a new line of gourmet seasoning shakers. Available in 12 different flavors, the line features small-batch blends inspired by specialty and global ingredients, including Korean gochugaru, black garlic and more. Horizon Organic Introduces New Growing Years Milk Horizon Organic ® , a pioneer in the organic dairy category, has introduced Horizon Organic ® Growing Years™, a new whole milk created specifically for children ages 1 to 5. Developed in partnership with pediatricians, Growing Years is formulated to deliver the key nutrients to children ages 1 to 5. Silver Fern Farms Launches into American Meat Market BY LORRIE BAUMANN Silver Fern Farms is launching into the U.S. market with a range of grass-fed beef, lamb and venison products in exact-weight vac- uum-sealed packaging, that provides the grocer with 20-25 days in the store's meat case. Packages are clearly (and proudly) marked with the meats' New Zealand ori- gin, and early next year they will include a code that allows con- sumers to trace the product back to the farms where the animal was raised. "We have supply chain trace- ability all the way from the farm to the re- tailer customers," said Matt Luxton, Director of Sales, USA for Silver Fern Farms. "There's lots of companies in the U.S. that buy from everyone and put it into a retailer program. We pride ourselves in having that connection all the way through to the retailer." Silver Fern Farms will be supporting the retail roll-out in the first quarter of 2020 with a social media campaign that targets the conscious consumer as well as market- ing collateral to assist the retailer that in- cludes recipe fliers, shelf strips and promotional posters. Promotions and sam- pling programs are also included. "We have to make sure we help the retailer sell the product," Luxton said. "We're telling them [through the so- cial media campaign] the story about water re- duction, plastic use reduction, environ- mental standards, animal welfare standards. We know we're doing a good job there, and we like telling the story." The meat in- side the Silver Fern Farms pack- ages comes from all over New Zealand, which assures that sup- ply will be available year- round. "New Zealand has a very temperate climate, we have got the ability to have a year-round supply, as op- posed to being under three feet of snow," Luxton said. "If there's a drought some- where, 90 percent of the country isn't hav- ing a drought." Animals graze on grass year-round, and their harvest involves minimal stress for them because their pastures are close to the processing facility. "The maximum truck- ing time in New Zealand is about two hours," Luxton said. Pri- mal cuts are shipped from New Zealand to the U.S. with a shipping time that averages about 3.5 weeks. During that time, the meat is stored in optimal condition for aging, according to Luxton. "The eating quality at the end of that process is better than when it comes out of the plant," Luxton said. Once the meat has arrived in North America, it's cut and packaged in one of three processing facilities in which Silver Fern Farms is a partner. "We believe that we're at the top of the game with regards to food safety and product safety. We can get 112 days on our expiry on product coming out of our plant. We're able to ship it to the U.S., process it and still provide 25 days after processing in the U.S.," Luxton said. Silver Fern Farms retail partners are already auditing the plants, and that audit data is also available to future retail part- ners, he said. Silver Fern Farms can also guarantee to retailers that their consumers will be get- ting a consistently great eating experience from the company's meats, although the grading system that the company uses in New Zealand is a little different from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's grading. "In essence, we grade similarly to what the U.S. does. It's a little more mathematical," Luxton said. He promises that the steak that consumers get when they buy a pack- age of Silver Fern Farms meat will be no different from the steak that the retailer sampled when he was making the decision to carry the product in his case. "You lose grass-fed customers when they get a bad experience," he said. "We want to hold onto all of those people who are trying grass-fed meats for the right reasons." Retail packaging for the company's prod- ucts comes sleeved in a colorful design that includes the information that consumers want to know about the meat they're buy- ing. The country of origin is clearly marked on the front, as is the package weight, the cut, the number of pieces included inside and the number of servings it will provide. The back of the package has recipes and di- rections for cooking, and the clear instruc- tions and clarity on cooking times will appeal to the consumer who might be more familiar with meal kit cooking than with planning a meal from scratch. A QR code also provides transparency about the farms where the animal was raised. "It's giving them a clear picture of what we do," Luxton said. For more information, email matt.luxton @silverfernfarms.com or visit www .silverfernfarms.com. GN

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