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GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2020 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 1 Crunchy Granola Goodness in a Portable Snack BY LORRIE BAUMANN Crazy Monkey Baking's Granola Cookie Crunch comes from a mom who had a de- gree in dietetics and an urgent desire to give her own kids a snack that she could feel conscientious about giving them and that they'd enjoy too. She started with an oatmeal cookie that her kids enjoyed and went to work on the recipe to come up with a product that was a bit more oat and a little less cookie but still delicious. Her kids loved it. Their friends loved it. "My kids really liked it, and that's the beauty of children – that they'll be honest," said Teresa Humrichouser, that Ashland, Ohio, mom. "We are a chocolate family, so I knew that if I put chocolate in it, there was a pretty good chance they would eat it." It was a bonus that she could take it along in her mom-van, and the kids could nibble on it during their rides without leav- ing behind a mess of crumbs in the car. "Our lives are so busy, so, as a mom, I can have this in my minivan as I pick the kids up from practice," she said. Humrichouser's friends encouraged her to take her Granola Cookie Crunch to the local farmers market, where, every week- end for two years straight, she sold out. Local grocery retailers saw what was hap- pening, and a few of them approached her and asked her if they could carry her prod- uct in their stores after the farmers market season had ended. Humrichouser started looking for a commercial kitchen. She found a 350 square-foot facility that had been vacated by a pizza kitchen. "It was a few minutes from our house, and it was a small kitchen that we could move into and get it licensed because it had been used for food service in the past," she said. Three years later, she moved out of the former pizza shop and into a 1,000 square- foot facility. Then in January, 2017, she moved into a 7,500 square-foot bakery, where eight employees make small batch after small batch of her Granola Cookie Crunch in four year-round flavors as well as occasional seasonal flavors. "With this move, it has allowed us to be in a location that suited us for bringing on larger cus- tomers," she said. The move has also facil- itated supplier audits and food safety planning and documentation to qualify for national distri- bution to gro- cers who sell the products in either the gra- nola, healthy snack or cookie sections of their shelves. Crazy Monkey Baking is also certified as a woman-owned business, and Humric- houser offers contract manufacturing serv- ices to other companies that have a granola formula but not a facility. "Even after all this time, baking is still my greatest pas- sion," she said. "I don't get to do it that often any more, that that's what I love working with most in the business." Crazy Monkey Baking is now offered in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Dark Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Almond flavors in 1.25-ounce bags that are smart-snack approved for schools. They retail for 99 cents to $1.49. Those four flavors plus White Chocolate Cranberry are also offered in 7.5-ounce bags along with a rotation of seasonal fla- vors that includes Cinnamon Pecan in the winter, Lemon Coconut in summer and Pumpkin Seed & Spice in the fall. Addi- tional special-edition flavors also appear occasionally. "We have a variety of flavors, so there's some variety to appeal to the kids and adults alike," Humrichouser said. All of the products are wheat free and made with 100 percent whole grains. Oats are naturally gluten free, and the products are sweetened with honey, molasses and evaporated cane sugar. A serving of the Dark Chocolate Chip flavor Granola Cookie Crunch contains 8 grams of added sugars and 6 grams of fat along with 3 grams of protein and 150 calories. "There is fat in oats and in whole grain cornmeal and in flax seeds, but it's all healthy fat," Humrichouser said. "When you have the real ingredients without the fats stripped from them, you're going to get those good, healthy calories in the fat." For more information, visit www.crazy monkeybaking.com. GN Greg Norman Australian Prime Wagyu Beef Now Available as Wagyu Beef Jerky Caribe Producers LLC introduced Greg Nor- man's Signature Wagyu Beef Jerky at the Winter Fancy Food Show. Since 2006, Greg Norman Australian Prime has been a fa- vorite wagyu beef of professional chefs, restaurateurs and consumers across the country. The Greg Norman Signature 350- day, all grain-fed Wagyu beef is one of the leading imported wagyu brands in the US. "Having developed my own line of premium branded Australian wagyu beef more than a decade ago, I am thrilled to bring a new product offering to the market that is acces- sible to everyone," said Norman. "I truly be- lieve this is the best jerky available – tender, flavorful and straight from Australia." Greg Norman Signature Wagyu Beef Jerky is the first 100 percent Australian wagyu beef jerky in the United States and is available in two flavors: Mesquite and Teriyaki. The Mesquite has a smoky, grilled background with a simple hint of chipotle and garlic, while the Teriyaki is savory and sweetly grilled with a bright finish. Greg Norman Signature Wagyu Beef Jerky is all natural, gluten free, high in protein, has no artificial preservatives and is free of nitrates and nitrites. It is available in a 2-ounce peg hook bag and a 2.5-ounce gusset bag. For more information, visit www.shark.com/company/greg-norman- signature-wagyu-beef-jerky. GN Two sofi Awards for Proper's Pickle Products Proper's Pickle won the silver and bronze awards in the pickle/preserves category as part of the Specialty Food Association's 2019 sofi™ Awards. The Dill Pickle Spears (silver winner) and Pickled Cauliflower (bronze winner) were two of 148 winners selected by a na- tional panel of specialty food experts from nearly 2,000 entries across 39 awards cate- gories. Every eligible entry was carefully as- sessed by passionate and knowledgeable food professionals including chefs, culinary experts, academics, food writers, and cate- gory buyers. Products were judged on taste, including flavor, appearance, texture and aroma, ingredient quality and innovation. All tastings were blind. "We couldn't be more excited and hon- ored that the Specialty Food Association recognized not one but two of our products this year for [the] 2019 sofi Awards" said Pejmon Noori, the company's Owner. "We now have three award-winning products in this category since last year and [are] so ex- cited to see all our hard work paying off." Proper's Pickle was launched in 2014 by brothers Pejmon and Bijan Noori. The small-batch-made line of refrigerated pick- led vegetables are certified vegan and gluten free and contain no preservatives, no artificial flavors, no food coloring and no sugar. The Noori brothers' pickling style is an homage to their Iranian heritage and re- sults in a pickle that delivers a satisfying crunch with each bite. Other jarred pickle varieties from Proper's Pickle in- clude Dill Pickle Spears with Habañero, Dill Pickle Slices with or without habañero, Pickled Carrots, Pickled Cau- liflower, Pickled Green Beans and Pickled Serrano Peppers. Proper's Pickle also recently debuted its new Snack Packs – 3.5-ounce totable pouches that yield single servings of the company's signature pickled goods, includ- ing its Classic Dill Pickles and Pickled Car- rot Sticks. The company has plans to develop additional snack packs featuring other pickled products in the future. For more information, visit www.propers pickle.com or call 562.257.6321. GN Judge Casey's Chunky-Style Ketchup In October of last year, Judge Casey's in- troduced the latest version of its Irish Rel- ish, Judge Casey's Irish Country Ketchup. The all-natural country-style ketchup combines crushed tomatoes, onions, raisins, and a tangy blend of sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar and spices. The result is a chunky gourmet ketchup that is both sweet and savory, making it a tasty pairing for meats, eggs and cheeses and a great marinade for barbecue, kebabs, steak and pork cutlets. Additionally, because it is both chunky and pourable, it can be used as a dipping sauce for fries and other po- tato products. Irish Country Ketchup is vegan, gluten free, GMO free, and contains no artificial colors or preservatives and is high-fructose corn syrup free. It is available in 14.5- ounce glass bottles. Based in the San Francisco, California, area, Judge Casey's was founded in 2013 by college friends and Irishmen Peadar Casey and Stephen Bray; the company is named after Casey's Irish-immigrant great uncle, Judge Jeremiah Casey, who immigrated to the San Francisco Bay area in 1873, and, as family legend has it, later became a famous and respected judge. For more information, visit judgecaseys .com or email info@judgecaseys.com. GN

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