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Kitchenware News & Housewares Review Show Daily 6 7 Saturday, March 14, 2020 Sugar-Free Offerings, Flavor Innovation Drive Sales for Voortman Bakery Cookies By Lorrie Baumann Voortman Bakery specializes in specialty cookies, and has made a particular spe- cialty to its sugar-free options, according to Ken Cross, the company's Chief Marketing Officer. "We're the market- leading sugar-free brand in North America," he said. "It's a product you can enjoy if you're diabetic or pre-diabet- ic." The company was recently sold to Hostess Brands for approximately $320 million in cash in a transaction expected to close this month. The transaction has already been approved by Hostess' board of directors. Under the terms of the trans- action agreement, Voortman will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hostess. Voortman Bakery was founded in the early 1950s as a conventional bakery by Bill and Harry Voortman, who'd come from a Dutch family of bakers. When they started their own bakery in Hamilton, Ontario, it was just the two of them, and they made cakes and cookies – whatever customers wanted to buy from their ovens. Over time, they fine-tuned their product range and became cookie specialists, with chocolate chip, oatmeal drop cookies and other traditional favorites as well as wafer cookies. "We took these traditional cookie formats and brought them to market in natural recipes," Cross said. "A strawberry wafer, for instance, has no artificial fla- vors or colors or corn syrups. The straw- berry flavor comes from strawberries. That's the same all the way across the product line." Eventually, the company's cus- tomers began asking for products to help those who were managing their sugar consumption, and Voortman began its experiments with non-nutritive sweeten- ers that would still comply with the com- pany's standards for all-natural ingredients. Today, Voortman Bakery is North America's top producer of sugar-free wafers and cookies, and it's exporting its products around the world. "We're about provid- ing real, all-natural products and sugar- free products in a market that's dominat- ed by mass marketers," Cross said. "Our products are as close to home-made as possible – a good solution for moms and their households." Voortman's biggest sellers are its Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate Wafers and its Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookies. The Coconut Cookies are the company's number-one seller – they're similar to a macaroon. "We've done very well with the Coconut Cookie," Cross said. "It's been a great cookie for us, and part of that is built on the popularity of coconut products [in general]." The company is driving growth in markets around the world with flavor innovation, particularly in its wafer cate- gories, introducing flavors that innovate the wafer category, such as Key Lime and the Gingerbread, Chocolate Hazelnut and Chocolate Mint flavors that the company will be offering during the winter season. "We bring out a range of products for each season," Cross said. "Wafers deliver a flavor profile that's both unique and true to the flavor, and consumers get excited about that." Consumer excitement about the Voortman's Bakery products is also driven by its accessible pricing, partic- ularly as compared to other products in the natural space. A 300 gram package (7.6 ounces) of Voortman Bakery wafer cookies retails in the $2.99 to $3.29 range. "What we've chosen to do is stay at an acceptable price point," Cross said. "We're priced comparably to conventional products, but con- sumers get the all-natural products for that." For more information, visit www .voortman.com. Franklin Baker: 'A Cut Above the Rest' Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor in the Philippines and premier supplier of coconut ingredients to the global food and beverage market. It has been in business for over 125 years and takes pride in long standing customer relationships, many of which exceed 60 years. Products are produced in the Philippines from the freshest nuts avail- able, at one of its three manufacturing facilities, where proprietary processing is utilized to ensure freshness and long shelf stability. Franklin Baker controls the process from tree through shipment, allowing customers to have the highest level of safety and confidence in the product supply chain. Franklin Baker sets itself apart with the following: wet steam pasteurization of all the coconut – no other competitor pasteurizes their product; BAX testing for salmonella, which is 10,000 times more sensitive than the competition's BAM method; reliable and proven service levels for all products including specialty items; R&D and technical support direct from the Philippines; Franklin Baker guaran- tee of satisfaction; and three U.S. ware- house locations. Franklin Baker offers an extensive portfolio of conventional and organic coconut product: desiccated coconut including sweetened and toasted, coconut water – single strength and concentrate, coconut milk and cream, coconut con- centrate, creamed coconut, virgin coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut sugar and other coconut products. Franklin Baker is proud of its extensive third- party certifications and accreditations, including: USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Fair Trade USA, BRC, Control Union, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 22000:2005, HACCP, FDA Philippines, GMA-SAFE, AB PAO Accredited Testing Laboratory, SEDEX, Kosher, Halal certified and Award of Excellence, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 American Master of Taste & Gold Medal Endorsement for Superior Taste and 2018 & 2019 Beverage Champion by Chefs In America. Franklin Baker is a Platinum Sponsor of the Coconut Coalition of the Americas and proudly serves on its Board of Directors. F r a n k l i n Baker's levels of product certification are unrivaled and provide customers with the confidence in the quality, safety and sources of what they are buying. Franklin Baker holds itself to the highest product standards, which makes Franklin Baker "A Cut Above the Rest." Franklin Baker offers bulk, foodser- vice and retail packaging options to meet your business needs to forge a trusted coconut supply chain partnership. For more information, email info-us@ franklinbaker.com. Protein Crisps from Shrewd Food Shrewd Food has launched the perfect snack to satisfy the traditional cheeseball lover, with a modern twist boasting out- rageous flavors and amazing nutritionals. Based in Long Island, New York, Shrewd Food has developed its new line of Protein Crisps with the health-conscious snacker in mind. The Shrewd Food line of Protein Crisps caters to those who are critically thinking about their food choices, whether they are keto, celiac or just want to stay on track with their daily macros, by driving the consumer to expect more from a snack. Shrewd Food hits the bet- ter-for-you snacking initiatives by offer- ing a powerful punch of crunch that has 65 percent protein, which is nearly two times the percent of regular protein bars but with the added benefits of being low carb, low calorie, low sugar and gluten free. The savory Protein Crisps are puffed using the highest percentage of protein isolate and then coated in real cheese and spices. The end result is a snack that resembles the old-time cheeseball snacks, but with 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of sugar. This, along with its intention to create flavors that are top notch quality, are what's making this company stand out in the world of snacks. There are three savory and two sweet flavors of Shrewd Food Protein Crisps that have taken the healthy snack- ing world by storm: Baked Cheddar, Brickoven Pizza, Sriracha Cheddar, Strawberries & Cream and Cookies & Cream. In addition, the line's newest phe- nomenon, Parmesan Herb Protein Croutons, is changing up salads like never before with 10 grams of protein per serving. Each of the savory flavors ring in at 14 grams of protein per serving while the sweet flavors tout 12 grams and 13 grams of protein per serving, respectively. The family of Protein Crisps is growing to include two new savory flavors: Sour Cream & Onion and Nacho. These are available May 2019. When you try them, you'll realize how "snacking just got a whole lot healthier." For more information, go to www.shrewdfood.com. Egg Breaking Machine from ADSI, Inc. Mike E. Maynard, Owner and Founder of ADSI, Inc. in Durant, Oklahoma, has been providing the world with the Centri- Matic III 286P-UL Egg Breaking Machine since 1981. This machine will crack, extract and blend 30 dozen USDA graded eggs every 60 seconds with 100 percent liquid extraction, resulting in an average of 10-15 percent more yield over hand cracking eggs, solving the problem for both the foodservice operator and the baker/cook. This revolutionary machine is designed to be easy to use, easy to clean and to dramatically cut labor costs and improve the overall quality of the end product by using fresh eggs over liq- uid eggs. ADSI, Inc. strives to provide a high-quality product with little mainte- nance and one of the best war- ranties in the equipment industry, while saving hundreds of dollars by controlling the food and labor costs by consistently maintaining top quality, thus generating greater profits. "We are proud of our cus- tomer loyalty and will go above and beyond for each and every company we work with," explained Maynard. With well over 35,000 machines in use, the Centri-Matic III 286P-UL can be found all over the food industry from small eateries, hotels, resorts and cruise ships, to chain restau- rants, dining halls and more. ADSI, Inc. headquarters in Durant, Oklahoma will always be there to answer any and all ques- tions about the egg breaking machine, the company and the people you are dealing with. The Centri-Matic III 286P-UL is just a phone call away at 580.924.4461.