Oser Communications Group

NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2020 n GOURMET NEWS N H 1 0 2 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." Barry Callebaut Launches Cacaofruit Experience Barry Callebaut AG, the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, is rolling out a new range of products called Cacaofruit Experience. Ac- cording to the company, Cacaofruit Experi- ence celebrates the fresh, fruity taste and natural richness of the cacaofruit and marks the creation of a next-generation food and drink category. Whereas normally 70 percent of the cacao fruit is discarded as waste, Cacaofruit Expe- rience products make use of the entire fruit: its beans, its nutrient-dense peel and its fresh and fruity pulp and juice. This results in a range of high-quality ingredients that can be used in applications such as juices, smooth- ies, frozen desserts, bakery and pastry prod- ucts, as well as snacks all the way to chocolate. Callebaut believes that these products will appeal to consumers who earnestly want to live a happy, healthy life, in symbiosis with the world around them. Cacaofruit Experi- ence responds to their need for food and bev- erages that are tasty and nutritious for them and also good for the planet and its people, according to the company. These products have the fresh and fruity taste of the cacao fruit along with fiber, protein and magne- sium. At the same time, they are good for the planet and its people because the entire ca- caofruit is utilized. "Innovation is one of the pillars of our growth strategy. Our unparalleled knowl- edge has enabled us to break new ground, unleashing the full power of the cacao fruit, which the Mayans cherished as 'food of the gods,'" said Antoine de Saint-Af- frique, Barry Callebaut's Chief Executive Officer. "We are looking forward to start- ing a new journey with our customers and discovering the completely new range of applications that Cacaofruit Experience and whole-fruit chocolate will make pos- sible." SnackFutures, the innovation and venture hub of Mondelēz International, the world's largest snacking company, is the first com- pany to introduce Cacaofruit Experience in a consumer product under its new CaPao brand. CaPao is piloting two cacaofruit snack products – Smoothie Ball and cacao fruit Jerky Strips – with select retailers in Los Angeles, California. This Saves Lives: Snacks That Give Back This Saves Lives is a snack bar company on a mission to end child malnutrition world- wide. Co-Founders Kristen Bell, Ryan De- vlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel believe all children, no matter what their circumstances, deserve the opportunity to thrive. Ryan and Todd first encountered malnutri- tion in 2007 while visiting a refugee camp in Liberia. It was heartbreaking. When Ryan and Todd came back to their beautiful homes, clean water and abundant food sup- ply, they couldn't shake what they experi- enced, and really, they didn't want to. They wanted to remember the children they met and they wanted to do something about hunger. When hanging with Kristen one night, Ryan shared this crazy idea: What if they could create a social impact business model to help end malnutrition? Considering mal- nutrition is the No. 1 cause of death in chil- dren under five, they knew something had to be done and it had to work – after all, real lives are depending on it. Kristen believed in a future for every child. She was in. But they needed someone who was business savvy to make this work, and that's when they called Ravi. He was determined to build the brand to make a real and sustain- able impact on malnutrition. The four actors started making bars in their kitchens until they developed the delicious and nutritious bars we know today. That's how This Saves Lives was born in 2013. First in their hearts, then in their kitchens, as they worked on making an in- credible product that would fuel millions of people to do something radical to help end hunger. Through this unique social impact model, This Saves Lives became a social plat- form that makes delicious snack food while empower- ing people like you to make a positive change on malnutrition. This Saves Lives means it when it says, "We eat together." For more information, go to www.this saveslives.com. The Asaro Family from Sicily: 104 Years of Olive Oil Excellence Since 1916, the Asaro family has harvested and crushed the best olives the Belice Val- ley has to offer. Located in Partanna, Sicily in the province of Trapani, the olives ben- efit from the environment around them. The Mediterranean Sea, the Sicilian soil and the salinity from the air transform the olives and olive oil into balanced, unique products. Today, the fourth generation of the Asaro family is continuing its commitment to bringing its customers the highest quality natural and organic Sicilian olive oil, olives and other specialty foods. Thanks to the company's deep knowledge in specialty foods production, The Asaro family seeks to satisfy the needs of both its customers and farmers. United Olive Oil Import Corp. is born as an exclusive importer and distributor for the Asaro Family brands. The strong passion for the Mediterranean diet with an increasing market demand for natural and organic foods have brought the company to expand its line of imported products, becoming the perfect partner for small and medium Italian spe- cialty food producers. Tommaso Asaro, United Olive Oil Import Corp Founder and President, is continuing the commitment to bring customers the highest-quality Sicilian foods. Brands include NYIOOC award win- ners Partanna, Paesanol, Green Gold, Frankies and many more. The latest line, the ASARO ORGANIC FARM brand, brings the most delicious Si- cilian gourmet specialties. The line includes ancient grain busiate pasta, artichoke cream, roasted artichoke hearts, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, marinated olives, Castelvetrano olives spread and olives salad, raw honey from orange blossom and natural Sicilian sodas. United Olive Oil Imports Corp. brings the best, healthiest, natural products Sicily has to offer to the USA – from the Asaro Farms to your table. Mamie's Pies Offers Homemade Taste Mamie's Pies are the frozen little pies with the big homemade taste. Shaped like apples, blue- berries and pumpkins, these pocket pies are the perfect size to enjoy any time of the year. With their unique shapes and absolutely deli- cious homemade taste, it didn't take long for Mamie's pocket pies to be chosen as Oprah's Favorite and now regularly sell out on QVC. Using simple, all-natural ingredients and no preservatives, Mamie's pocket pies are frozen, unbaked and go freezer to oven, air fry or deep fry. Mamie's flavors include the sweet and tart McIntosh apple, Wild Maine blueberry, tart Michigan cherry, sweet straw- berry, perfect peach and New England pumpkin with molasses and brown sugar whipped to perfection. Each pocket pie is surrounded by Mamie's signature flaky crust and chock full of fruit forward fillings. With only four ingredients in the crust and four in the filling, the com- pany prides itself on sim- plicity, letting the delicious fruit speak for itself. It knows that pie doesn't have to be complicated, so Mamie's Pies brings it back to the basics, just like your grandmother used to make. It's as easy as pie! With her grandmother's recipes, company Founder Kara learned how to make pies in the kitchen with her mom Mamie. She took that life-long passion of pie making and raised money for her daughter's high school dance. Now over one million pocket pies have been sold nation- wide, through e-commerce, retail and foodservice. The company's mission is to spread happiness one pocket pie at a time. Mamie's Pies launched into 1,000 retail doors na- tionwide in the fourth quarter of 2019, with over 4,000 more lined up this year. Mamie's pocket pies are filling a white space in the frozen dessert category and are introducing a way to enjoy single-serving pie year-round.

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