Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/159177
28 NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com NAKED INFUSIONS: HEALTHY SALSA MADE WITH PASSION By Selene Kepila of Naked Infusions My recipe for the perfect salsa: one part obsession with healthful living, one part passion for authenticity. Life itself is always our best teacher. Growing up in a tight-knit farming community in Kansas, I learned firsthand about the inherent beauty of food that comes from nature. It was there that I also discovered a salsa made by migrant farmers that was so fresh, so natural, so alive with flavor and goodness, that it inspired a lifelong devotion to better living through better food. For the past two decades, I've traveled the world in pursuit of healthful living and wellness. It's not just a way of life, but also my life's work. Along the way, I've visited culinary capitals on four continents, studying how different cultures express their love for food through traditionally unique flavor combinations. And while I've savored many wonderful meals along the way, equaling the memory of the salsa that originally inspired my journey has always eluded me. Until now. With Naked Infusions, I've finally recreated the salsa of my youth. And while it's taken two years in my kitchen to rebuild these recipes, I certainly don't do any of this alone. In fact, my most important ingredient comes in the form of care and attention from WOODSTOCK FARMS FUELS PRIVATE LABEL BOOM The time is ripe for private label and Woodstock Farms Manufacturing is ready to harvest. Last year, industry-wide annual revenue for private label products reached a record high of $108 billion. Since 2009, private label brands have seen a significant growth rate over national brands. 2012 saw another year of record growth for store brands, reaching more than 2.9 percent. PLMA reports the trend "is driven by store brand quality continuing to improve across most of the categories covered in our research and store brands are likely to continue to gain share in many product categories." Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, a division of UNFI, allows stores to build a brand under their own name, one that takes advantage of the quality of natural and organic ingredients. Woodstock Farms offers a broad range of healthy snack alternatives, from traditional nuts, dried fruits, and trail mixes, to exotic wasabi green peas, crunchy green beans, or yogurt-covered pretzels. Customers have begun to recognize store brands and private labels as viable alternatives to the quality traditionally associated with national brands. Woodstock Farms delivers unparalleled quality through responsible sourcing and a rigorous quality assurance program. Customers who may turn to store brands for economic reasons often like what they find and become repeat customers, building brand and store loyalty. Such robust growth in private label sales, coupled with the exploding popularity of SARATOGA CHIPS: THE REBIRTH OF AMERICA'S FIRST POTATO CHIP Saratoga Chips are being reintroduced to America based on two principles: the tradition as America's first potato chip, created in Saratoga Springs, New York more than 160 years ago, plus the insights learned from consumers on what they expect with snack foods for their families today. America's love for potato chips started in 1853 at Moon's Lake Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York by a chef named George Crum. A restaurant patron had ordered fried potatoes and was unhappy that the potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back. Chef Crum, having an ornery disposition, was angry and decided to slice the potatoes paper thin, fry them in scalding oil, and salt them. The patron loved the new potatoes and started sharing his story around the area. Within a few years, Saratoga Chips were known across WHITE COFFEE GOES NATURAL AND ORGANIC WITH NEW COFFEE LINES White Coffee Corporation, the venerable Long Island, N.Y. importer and roaster, hits the national market with a line of truly innovative coffee products: Natural and Organic. These coffee varieties will be available in 12-ounce packages, and, for the first time, in a "single cup brew" packaged in a recyclable container compatible with the Keurig® system and similar coffee makers. The distinctive single cup brew announces itself as soon as the box is opened. The new single serve cups are designed in a new style utilizing recyclable filters. The coffee is dispensed through the sides, not just through a punch hole in the bottom of the plastic cup. The consumer experiences the sight and smell of fresh ground coffee as they prepare the brew. And what a brew White Coffee delivers! The specialized package honors White Coffee's introduction of its "Natural and Organic" lines. Eight single cup brews will be offered in a recyclable cardboard box. n SEPTEMBER 2013 n GOURMET NEWS local farmers. Their efforts provide the rich, smooth, clean, authentic flavors that are the hallmark of Naked Infusions, anchored by our Signature Ripe Tomato blend, the original recipe from which all of our other flavors are infused. Our Rustic Blue Cheese, Fire Roasted Garlic and California Burnt Sage follow traditional savory flavor designs, while the dark sweetness of our Black Silk Espresso and Oaxaca White Chocolate are inspired by the global flavor combinations discovered during my many travels. All Naked Infusions flavors come in both all-natural and certified organic recipes. What started as my own personal quest has grown into something much bigger. We're a hit at local farmer's markets where loyal followers and new friends alike seek us out, commenting on how we're the freshest salsa they've ever tasted. We've attracted the attention of local foragers from Whole Foods and will start appearing on their shelves in Southern California during the third quarter of this year. We have national distribution with the TJX Companies through Homegoods, TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores. From our Fullerton, Calif., co-packing facility, we're poised to expand with a scalability model that will continue to support local farmers, spreading the fruits of their labor into new markets, literally and figuratively. Maybe most importantly, Naked Infusions does more than taste better than any salsa – it also inspires you to live better, and to do better. Which is why we donate a portion of every Naked Infusions sale to OrphanedArtists.org, helping artists in need to make our world more beautiful. I hope you enjoy Naked Infusions as much as we enjoy bringing them to you. natural and organic foods, makes it one of the best times ever for stores to establish their own brands, or build on those they have. Organic food sales are expected to grow 50 percent in the next five years. Private label packaging is ideal for retailers. Each package Woodstock Farms produces acts as a unique, cost-free advertisement for the store brand. By putting a company's logo and design in a customer's pantry, it helps keep the store in at the forefront of the customer's mind, while the quality product it contains fosters store loyalty. The association of quality to the brand can help build confidence in the store as a whole. Woodstock Farms makes creating the ideal customized packaging easy. A variety of packaging styles and sizes, including pil- low bags, gusset bags, and square and round tubs, from bulk to single serving, allows stores the flexibility to find the packaging solution that works best. Stores can also take advantage of Woodstock Farms' in-house graphic design team to help create a unique, eye-catching label. Additionally, without promotional and advertising costs, which are built into the price of national brans, a private label allows retailers to both increase profit margins and share savings with the consumer, further incentivizing repeat purchases. Private label organic and natural snack food from Woodstock Farms is an essential way to elevate a store brand and grow sales. the East Coast and they were the standard for potato chips until the 1920s when Herman Lay automated the peeling and cooking process renaming the products as potato chips. The team at Saratoga Chips feels that it's time to welcome America's first potato chip back to the market. It has also been found that in evaluating consumers' needs with snacks today, they wanted to please their families with great tasting snacks however still have concerns about the overall nutrition issues surrounding potato chips. With these insights, Saratoga Chips have developed the new Saratoga Chips that are all-natural, preserWhite Coffee Corporation is based in Long Island City, N.Y. and is a third-generation, family-owned coffee importing and roasting business in operation since 1939. As a core part of its coffee offerings, White Coffee is proud to feature the finest licensed brands like these new lines. Four naturally flavored coffees comprise the Natural offerings in 12-ounce bags: Naturally Flavored Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Sea Salt Caramel and Chocolate Morsel. Organic by White Coffee consists of six varieties, each completely allergen-free, gluten-free, and non-genetically modified (Non-GMO). French Roast, Full City Roast, Rainforest Blend, Breakfast Blend, Mexican High Grown and Peruvian options, available For more information head to booth #8520. For more information visit booth 1227, or find more information, including a complete product listing, at woodstockfarmsmfg.com. vative-free, allergen-free, non-GMO, gluten-free and kosher approved with 0 trans fats or cholesterol. Today, Saratoga Chips feature a "clean" ingredient label with just potatoes, sunflower oil and sea salt. Not only do we deliver for the consumer, we are bringing new consumer support to the brand to build new volume for our trade partners and have created an attractive new range of merchandising materials to help build instore volumes. For more information head online to www.originalsaratogachips.com in 12-ounce bags and single cup brews, demonstrate the breadth of White Coffee buying and roasting expertise. The 12-ounce packaging features the White Coffee roaster logo on a clean, green and white bag with a suggested retail price of $7.99-$9.99, and will be available in retail outlets nationwide. These lines will complement the already existing specialty coffees, organic, Fair Trade and teas that White Coffee offers in a variety of sizes and packaging. These items are available in retail outlets throughout the United States, online at www.whitecoffee.com or call 800-221-0140 for more information.