Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/261676
F o o d M a g i c D a i l y 2 9 M o n d a y, J u l y 1 5 , 2 0 1 3 world. And it's doing it with actions, not just words. In October 2011, Graceland com- pleted a major turnaround effort follow- ing some challenging years. Perhaps the best evidence of Graceland's remark- able comeback is its selection as Michigan Agricultural Exporter of the Year for 2011 by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). The acclaim brings a level of satisfaction to Graceland Fruit President and CEO Alan DeVore. A key member of the con- sulting team that helped spearhead the turnaround effort, DeVore was subse- quently hired to lead the company. While acknowledging Graceland's recent success, DeVore continually emphasizes that the company is not sit- ting on its laurels. "Graceland Fruit has worked hard to grow exports since 1995, and the Ag Exporter award represents a tremendous achievement by our entire team," said DeVore. "But, we see it as just the start of greater things to come." With a positive outlook for Graceland's future, the com- pany looks to sell more dried fruit in 2013 than ever before. Founded in 1973, Graceland Fruit now exports products to over 40 coun- tries, and its customer base includes some of the largest and most prestigious baking and food companies in the world. Graceland experienced a remarkable comeback year for FY11, and despite the 2012 cherry crop loss, thanks to its diverse product line Graceland posted strong sales growth for FY12. DeVore Graceland Fruit (Cont'd. from p. 1) credits the dedicated team at Graceland for the strong performance, a recurring theme. "Our people are what separate us from the rest of the pack," said DeVore. "This is our 40th anniversary year, and we certainly wouldn't be here, much less seeing this kind of success, without the talent and effort put forth by every person at every level." Looking ahead, Graceland's focus is on increasing brand awareness as a key part of its growth strategy. The effort kicked off last year with the rollout of a new website (tagline Super Fruit. Super Good!™) and a company mascot known as "Super Cherry." According to Brent Bradley, VP of Sales and Marketing, the new marketing tools are a big boost to efforts aimed at repositioning the Graceland Fruit brand by expanding beyond traditional markets. "As con- sumers focus more on nutrition and healthy foods, we're well positioned to bring more niche products to the market- place to occupy that space." Bradley added that the brand reposi- tioning strategy includes creating a stronger presence in non-traditional ver- tical markets, while applying Graceland's inherent high quality standards across all customer touch points. "One of the keys to our growth is integrating quality into all aspects of the customer experience," Bradley said. "So whether it's the product, customer serv- ice or logistics, Graceland is focused on delivering the best quality, period." For more information, visit www.grace- landfruit.com or call (231) 352-7181, and visit Graceland Fruit at the IFT Show in booth 2219. RG: QUALISOY is a collaborative effort of the entire soybean value chain, intended to help bring enhanced soybean traits to the marketplace. QUALISOY is designed to be an independent, third- party resource for information on trait- enhanced soybeans and products. A key objective of QUALISOY is to facilitate industry-wide cooperation and encourage a spirit of collaboration. The diversity of the group ensures the entire soybean industry is involved in the development of trait-enhanced U.S. soybeans as a solution for soybean product end users. The role of the QUALISOY board is to set research priorities; evaluate existing and emerging technologies; and deter- mine which traits, products and process- es are the most beneficial for the soybean industry and for end users. The current focus is on high oleic soy. QUALISOY is the one source for information on all the latest soybean oil traits, keeping the farmers who grow it and the chefs who cook with it informed. FMD: What products will you be show- casing at IFT? RG: High oleic soybean oil. It has one of the most favorable ratios of highly-stable oleic fatty acid to less-stable polyunsatu- Qualisoy (Cont'd. from p. 1) rated fatty acids, accompanied by lower saturated fat. High oleic soy oils promise to be an excellent alternative for food companies and the food service industry that need a highly stable liquid oil. QUALISOY booth 568 will be sampling foods prepared in high oleic soybean oil. FMD: What is the outlook for this new technology? RG: Among oilseeds suitable for cultiva- tion in North America, soybeans thrive over a more diverse geography and on more than three times the available acreage available for row crops in North America. This means high oleic soybean oil provides food companies and the food service industry with a domestic high- stability oil with a shorter supply chain, more economical freight from farm to table, more supply certainty regardless of the crop growing season, oils that contain no trans-fat, and oils that are totally denominated in U.S. Dollars. In short, high oleic soybean oil provides our prod- uct's end users with an economical solu- tion to their high stability liquid oil needs with supply security from crop year to crop year. For more information, visit booth 568, go online to www.qualisoy.comor email info@qualisoy.com. What is your main line of business? SM: Many people know Sun-Maid from the little red boxes of raisins. What they might not know is that Sun-Maid Growers of California was founded over 100 years ago in 1912. This century-long history as the world's largest processor of raisins means that if you laid out end to end all the raisins Sun-Maid has sold dur- ing our 100 years, they would stretch from the Earth to beyond the Sun! I've represented the brand since 1915, when I posed for the brand's trademark wearing a red bonnet and holding a tray of grapes. FMD: What was the most significant event affecting Sun-Maid in the past year? SM: I've been in this business for near- ly 100 years, and the recent publication of the book "Dried Fruits: Phytochemicals and Health Effects" is one of the most exciting developments I've witnessed to date. This textbook is groundbreaking, particularly for raisins, because it brings together the research of leading scientists around the world into one authoritative source. It will serve as a resource for nutritionists, bio- chemists, food industry kitchens and laboratories, among others. The book covers, in depth and with a great num- ber of supporting studies, some of the points about the health and nutrition of dried fruits we have stressed to our cus- tomers over the years. FMD: What information is important to Sunmaid (Cont'd. from p. 1) know about raisins and dried fruits? SM: Dried fruits serve as important healthful snacks worldwide, and are nutritionally equivalent to fresh fruits. I've known this because I've seen our growers harvest grapes and dry them in sun—that's all that goes into our raisins: grapes and sunshine! Because of their nutritional value and enjoyable taste, raisins have been popular as a healthy food for millennia. They are known as nature's candy and counted among the most nutritious dried fruits globally. FMD: What does the future hold for you and Sun-Maid? SM: As the health benefits of our prod- ucts continue to be researched and bet- ter understood, I plan to travel the world and help share this information and work to promote healthier eating habits around the world. Sun-Maid is the world's largest processor of raisins and dried fruits and distributes prod- ucts to more than 50 countries world- wide, which means that I've got a lot of places to visit! Become a fan of the Sun-Maid Girl on Facebook at www.facebook.com /SunMaidGirl to comment on all things Sun-Maid, ask questions, share photos, and stay up-to-date on the latest Sun- Maid events. For more information, visit booth 3951 at IFT, go online to www.sun maid.com, call 559-896-8000 or email info@sunmaid.com. KB: I remember being in a San Francisco delicatessen as a young man, thinking, 'Here I am in this tiny yet abundant emporium of wonderful, beautiful jars of preserved foods and all of it was made by the couple behind the counter.' I sampled the dried tomatoes, my eyes lit up, and I thought, 'This could be fun.' Today, I produce dried tomatoes that light up other people's eyes. FMD: We are curious about Culinary Farms because your product line is really unique. You have dried tomatoes, Mexican chiles, roasted/smoked vegeta- bles, smoked dried cherries and now smoked salts – how do you decide what is next? KB: I like flavors that are interesting and that make a person say "Wow!" After my start in dried tomatoes, the chiles evolved from listening to requests. Our customers knew I was a fan of good, authentic Mexican food and they kept after me to source high- quality Mexican chiles. It took a lot of work but Culinary Farms has them now. The roasted and smoked products are another passion of mine. I absolutely love a delicate and exotic smoke-flavored food. We also smoke cherries. Our process is the real deal too—the cherries, peppers and salts are really smoked over our proprietary blend of woods. Culinary Farms (Cont'd. from p. 1) FMD: What about the Mexican moles? KB: In my travels throughout Mexico I always try to sample the local mole. Moles are fabulous sauces for chicken, beef or shrimp. But in my travels in America the moles I tried were over- whelmingly disappointing. I found out that people try to take shortcuts but moles are really unique and require a lot of preparation. Many moles literal- ly take two days to make. They're complex, often with dozens of individ- ual ingredients that also require some type of prep. So, loving moles, I took the plunge and started working on making them the right way and making them consistent, shelf stable, and cor- rectly packaged. FMD: What food trend is Culinary Farms going after? KB: We are seeing our customers mak- ing items more and more authentic; true artisanal foods that are natural, with no added ingredients that a consumer won't understand or appreciate. I know that isn't really all that new, but the demand has been going up. The diversity of the American, really the global consumer, is driving it. We live in a great time, with access to a broad range of cuisine, and Culinary Farms fits in perfectly. For more information, visit booth 3222, go online to www.culinaryfarms.com, call 916-375-3000 or email kbewley@culinaryfarms.com.