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Supplier News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2020 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 0 Marich Confectionery Names Jessie Guardado Senior Vice President Jessie Guardado was recently named a Senior Vice President at Marich Confectionery, promoted from his positiion as vice president of finance and operations. With more than 10 years of experience leading teams in the food and produce industries, in his five years with Marich Guardado has continued to advance and expand his influence as an effective, strategic leader. He's considered a market- driven leader focused on the development and execution of operational strategies. New Happy-Lab Gourmet Tea and Infusions Formed in 2017 and based outside of Barcelona in Castellbisbal, Spain, Happy-Lab Tea and Infusions offers traditional and rooibos teas and blends, and also produces creative infusions. Tea bags are pyramid-shaped and biodegradable and contain larger pieces of the ingredients used. Happy-Lab products are packed in clear plastic jars of either 10 (organic) or 14 pyramids, or in a brown bag ecopack with a transparent panel that contains 25 pyramids. Pamela's Brand Acquired by Quinoa Corporation Quinoa Corporation, the parent company of leading plant-based foods brand Ancient Harvest, is acquiring the Pamela's brand in a transaction that joins two heritage gluten-free pioneers. The acquisition more than doubles the business under Quinoa Corporation's management, strengthens its ability to expand its retail footprint, and combines the gluten-free formulation expertise and supplier networks of both brands to facilitate new product development. GloryBee Honey is True Source Certified The True Source Certified Honey program was developed to distinguish honey that is pure and can be traced from hive to table. An internationally recognized third party firm conducts audits to certify the source of the honey all the way up the supply chain. The program also confirms that packers and exporters test and analyze honey purity, which GloryBee has been doing for years. Currently, only 30 percent of honey sold in North America is True Source certified. Daring Foods Launches Nationwide with Rastelli Foods Group Daring Foods, the first plant-based chicken made from only five non-GMO ingredients, has arrived in the US through a strategic partnership with family-run butcher and industry leading food service supplier, Rastelli Foods Group. Through the multi-million USD deal partnership, Rastelli Foods Group will be the exclusive national distributor of Daring Foods; bringing its plant-based chicken to restaurants and retailers throughout the country. In addition, Rastelli's will support Daring's push into direct- to-consumer product delivery in February 2020. Rose Lemonade Inspired by the Old World BY MARY KUDER D.J. Rassech, President and Founder of Deep Water USA Inc., which makes Deep Rose, a premium rose lemonade, found his inspiration for the beverage while on vacation. "A few years ago, I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, with a friend and, while there, tasted a rose petal-based non-car- bonated beverage – I immediately liked the aroma and flavor of it," he said. "After I returned to the U.S., I wanted to develop a product based on my memory of that beverage; I wanted to introduce a flower/plant-based beverage from the an- cient world to the modern one." With that purpose in mind, Rassech founded Deep Water USA in 2015. "I researched what the Ottoman sultans used to drink, and an idea began to develop," Rassech said. "I wanted to make a high-end, all- natural product, pink in color, with the flavor and aroma of roses. It took me one- and-one-half years of working with a lab to develop the right blend of ingredients. I called it Deep Rose." Deep Rose premium rose lemonade is a 50 calorie, all-natural, non-carbonated bev- erage with rose extract produced from handpicked rose petals sourced mainly from Bulgaria – something Rassech feels sets him apart from his competition. "My product smells like roses – not over- whelmingly, but it does have a pleasant rose aroma – because we use a good amount of real rose extract," he said. "My competi- tors' products do not have that, nor do they have the aroma." Each 10-ounce bot- tle of Deep Rose also contains water, lemon juice from concen- trate and a combina- tion of sweeteners that includes sugar, ste- via and monk fruit. Although called "lemonade," Rassech indicates that Deep Rose does not have an overwhelmingly lemony taste. With a suggested retail price between $3.49 and $3.99, it's meant to appeal to the high-end consumer who is looking for a trendsetting beverage. The first online sales of Deep Rose came in 2018. Today, Deep Rose is available in grocery stores in the American East, South and South- east. Rassech is plan- ning to introduce two new products to the line this year: Deep Mint and Deep Hibiscus. Deep Water USA, Inc. was a first-time exhibitor at the San Francisco Winter Fancy Food Show and will also be an exhibitor at the Sum- mer Fancy Food Show in New York. More information about Deep Water USA Inc. and Deep Rose can be found at www.drinkdeeplove.com or by emailing info@deepwaterusa.com. GN Kosher-Style Pickles from Sonoma Brinery BY MARY KUDER Sonoma Brinery's Kosher-style pickles are fermented without vinegar. They're a tricky pickle to make, according to Sonoma Brinery Founder, Owner and Pickle Master Dave Ehreth, who fell into the pickle barrel after a 30-year career in the electronic telecommunications industry. Sonoma Brinery's first product was a nat- ural, probiotic, raw, crisp, barrel-fermented Manhattan Style Kosher pickle, and cur- rently, Sonoma Brinery produces both fer- mented and vinegar pickles along with sauerkraut; its product line includes six types of pickles and four types of sauer- kraut. "If you look at our sales numbers, our primary income comes from our fer- mented products," Ehreth said. Sonoma Brinery products contain no preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup or dyes, use only fresh produce, and do not use heat process- ing or pasteurization. "In 2005, pickles on the shelf were not free of chemicals. I think that what happened in the pickled world is that we found a way to focus on how food tasted and how good it was for you," Ehreth said. "We began to focus on craft pickles – on pickles as art – and went back to the historical ways of making pickles." Using only salt and water to make pickles results in the development of lactic-acid producing bacteria – a probiotic. "Lactic acid is better than vinegar … lactic acid sits on the tongue very nicely," Ehreth said. "Lactic acid is a great preservative for non- protein-based foods." It also gives these fer- mented foods a milder flavor than those pre- served using vinegar, ac- cording to Ehreth. The sacrifice, however, is shelf-life, and the average shelf life of Sonoma Brinery's fermented, fresh- processed products is about 90 days. The fermented products must also be refriger- ated throughout their shelf-life. Later this year, Sonoma Brinery will have a presence at the The Dairy Deli Bake Show, Next Products Expo West, and the Summer Fancy Food Show. For more information, call 707.473.0116, email info@sonomabrinery.com, or visit www.sonomabrinery.com. GN Zoup! Continued from PAGE 1 graphics and aseptic packaging would not accomplish. Also, we wanted shoppers to see the broth." While Ersher has been operating the com- pany's broth production as an offshoot of Zoup!'s restaurant business, he's now reor- ganizing around a business model that cre- ates a separate enterprise for the manufacture of the company's consumer packaged goods offering. "It used to be an expensive hobby, and now it's turning into a real business," he said. "We've dedicated a lot more resources, brought in more people.... It took us years to get there. It's required a lot of investment to grow it and get it there." He recently added new staff who have ex- perience in consumer packaged goods, prod- uct development and marketing to help him expand the company's product range, and Zoup! is currently getting ready to launch a range of new products for grocers' soup aisles. Ersher won't reveal details other than that the new products are scheduled to launch in March of 2020 at Natural Products Expo West. What he would say is that, "The focus for us is always on flavor. That's what 'Good, Really Good' stands for, for us.... Soup aisles are changing. That, from our perspec- tive, has created a lot of opportunity." GN

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