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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2020 n GOURMET NEWS N H 7 2 Pocasville's All Natural Vacuum Dried Crunchy Dragon Fruit Chip Looking for a low-fat, low-calorie superfood to add to your diet? Pocasville's 100 percent natural Dried Dragon Fruit Chips may be just the thing! Dragon fruit helps boost the im- mune system, supports digestion and may aid in cancer prevention. Market experts assure that dragon fruit chips will be one of the healthy and trendy products in the market. Likewise, dragon fruit has an excellent reputation among the big chains, as well as from individual cus- tomers. Pocas added some crunch to this popular superfood. Pocasville's premium crunchy dragon fruit chips are 100 percent natural vacuum dried dragon fruit from Phan Thiet, Vietnam, which is considered the land of the dragon fruit. This delicious and nutri- tional snack is all natural, non- GMO verified, gluten free and kosher. There is no cooking oil, no cholesterol, no preser- vatives, no trans fat and no added sugar, but it is still tasty! It is available with white and red flesh. Pocas International Corp is passionate about delivering premium healthy beverages and specialty foods to its customers with only top-quality products. The mission of Pocas is to study global market trends of healthy foods and beverages on behalf of its customers and supply the best healthy products to its valued customers with the lowest price possi- ble. For more information, go to www.pocas.com or call 201.941.7900. Follow the company on Instagram and Facebook. Market of Choice Places Community at the Core By Greg Gonzales Market of Choice lives up to its name with the range of products on its shelves, and shoppers coming into any of the 10 stores scattered around Oregon from Portland in the northwest to Bend in the southeast feel as if they've been transported somewhere that connects them to the food, their lifestyle and their community, says Beth McDonald, Vice President of Per- ishable Product and Merchandise. "And that's intentional on our part," she adds. Choice isn't just part of the name, it's the ethic of the stores, down to how they organ- ize products. "You don't have to go to a specific section of the store to find your natural or organic products," said Amy Delaney, Manager of Customer Experience. "It's all there on the shelves, right next to the conventional prod- ucts, which gives the customer the choice to choose what they like. Whether they want or- ganic pasta or Kraft mac and cheese, both are right there next to each other, for them to have the choice." Among the offerings are from-scratch bak- eries in each of the 10 stores. "We are one of the few places that does custom cakes from scratch, whether that's a first birthday or a wedding or any kind of special event," Mc- Donald said. "Our customers know they have that choice to come to our store and have that service in our perishables department." Custom, personalized service is crucial to the store experience, said Marcus Purkapile, Kitchen Manager at the flagship Eugene store. He said the quality and local products the stores provide require a high level of salesmanship and ample time to help cus- tomers find exactly what they want. That, he said, builds a loyal customer base. "A lot of people, we know by name. They come in every day," Purkapile said, adding that some of their customers grew up shop- ping there as kids. "We get a lot of regular customers. A lot of the time, when people are walking up – especially in the mornings – we're already starting to put their order to- gether. We know exactly what they want." The bakeries are completely open, so shoppers coming into the store can see the bakers at work, according to Vicky Ander- son, Bakery Manager at the flagship location in Eugene, Oregon. "When they come in, they see 15 busy bees back there working, everybody doing their jobs. It brings that fresh in-house reality to them, and they really get a kick out of that." Constant communication with the cus- tomer base helps set the store apart, Ander- son said. "Market of Choice allows each store to adjust to their communities," she said. "It's not as if every store has to be ex- actly alike; we have the freedom to come up with new ideas.... When people want special, they come to Market of Choice. When they want to create that wow factor, they come to Market of Choice. If it's an occasion that re- ally matters, and they want the best, they come to us." DORVAL Introduces GNAW CHOCOLATE GNAW CHOCOLATE LTD. is the newest line to join the DORVAL portfolio. The GNAW CHOCOLATE bars are handcrafted in England in small batches and feature quirky, eye catching packaging, high quality ingredients sourced locally and from around the world and contain no artificial colors or flavors. "We were approached by GNAW, who were looking for U.S. distribution of their unique handcrafted chocolate bars. From the moment we saw and tasted their line, and learned about their passion for creating fun, playful chocolates, we felt that their pre- mium bars belonged on the shelves. We've seen demand continue to grow for artisanal chocolate with socially responsible, sustain- able sourcing," says Roberta Cappel, Dor- val's President. GNAW prides itself on being an ethical company, sourcing cocoa only from farms in Brazil and West Africa and its factory is powered by 100 percent renewable energy. GNAW is an inno- vative premium chocolate brand with exciting and imagina- tive flavors such as Bananas Foster, Rocky Road, Peanut Butter, Snowberry Crunch, Mint Choc Chip and Crystallized Ginger. They are also GMO-free. All bars are 3.5 ounces and are packed in 10-count or 12- count shelf ready displays depending on the flavor. Each carton is packed 6x12ct. The new GNAW line is available now. About Dorval Trading Co., Ltd. Dorval Trading Co., Ltd., is an importer of an extensive range of high-quality confectionery prod- ucts from major manufacturers around the world. Dorval has grown into a significant presence in the confectionery and specialty distribu- tion arena. Dorval celebrated its 50th an- niversary in business in 2016. For more information, call 800.367.8252, email info@dorvaltrading.com or go to www.dorvaltrading.com. A New Recipe for Champignon Bavaria is well known for its beer and wurst, but many may be surprised to know that cheese is also one of its culinary delights. Bavaria, a southern state of Germany, has a long history and tradition of cheesemaking and is home to Käserei Champignon. This family-owned cheese producer was founded over 100 years ago and is named after the flavor profile of the first cheese it ever pro- duced – a Camembert that had a distinct mushroom aroma and earthy flavor, beget- ting the name Champignon. The company is still located in the Allgäu, a region of green pastures lined by the Alps, and continues to source its milk only from regional farms. Over the years, Käserei Champignon has expanded its cheese production beyond Camembert, creating a variety of unique spe- cialty cheeses while still retaining the same quality in milk and craftsmanship. "Many of our cheesemakers have been trained in tradi- tional methods handed down for generations but also in innovative technologies," says Flynne Wiley, Chief Executive Officer of Champignon North America, the exclusive importer of Käserei Champignon products in the U.S. "We think of our cheesemakers of having one foot in tradition and one in inno- vation. We look back for the expertise of the past but also look forward and make sure we always innovate." The company's most recent develop- ment is a creamier recipe for its name- sake cheese Champignon Mush- room. This triple cream soft-ripened cheese has a bloomy rind and wonderfully creamy texture with buttery notes and an earthy aroma from the champignon mushrooms. These mushrooms are similar to button mushrooms in the U.S. and have a mild flavor profile. "Our Champignon Mushroom cheese is distinct from other soft ripened cheeses in that it has an exquisite mouthfeel and a mild flavor that is very ap- proachable," Wiley notes. "It is not overpowering in the notes of mushroom as some other mushroom or truffle cheeses can be – it is wonderfully balanced in flavor and texture." The cheese is made with milk sourced only from Bavar- ian farms – a hallmark of Champignon cheeses – and is gluten-free and lactose-free due to the cheese's natural ripening process. Champignon Mushroom is available at re- tailers nationwide. For more information, go to www.champignon-usa.com. White Coffee Introduces NIWRI White Coffee Corporation, a Long Island City coffee importer and roaster, is proud to introduce the latest addition to its cof- fee portfolio: NIWRI Cold Brew Cascara. NIWRI is a unique beverage cold brewed from green tea and coffee cherries, also known as cascara. Cascara, which means "husk" or "skin" in Spanish, is the dried skins of the coffee cherries. These pulped skins are collected after the seeds (i.e. cof- fee beans) have been removed from the cherries. While it can't be defined as strictly coffee or tea but rather something in the middle, NIWRI does derive from the coffee plant. Specifically, cascara is a product of the fruit of the coffee tree. Since NIWRI is a cascara-based drink, you can expect a sweet, fruity taste with notes of rose hip and hibiscus. The essence is like a superb blend of fruits in- cluding raspberry, currant, cranberry and cherry. For more information, call 718.204.7900 or 800.221.0140, go to www.whitecoffee.com or email info@whitecoffee.com.

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