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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2014 n GOURMET NEWS N H 3 8 Living Intentions Celebrates 10 Years of Sprouted Goodness at Natural Products Expo West Living Intentions, one of the pioneers in the raw food movement, was founded with the intention of sharing the most healthy and vi- brant foods without sacrificing the flavors we all love. Over the past 10 years, Living Intentions' Owner Joshua McHugh has for- mulated multiple lines of products, from gourmet sprouted nut and seed blends to Su- perfood Cereals, Sprouted Smoothie Blends, sprouted superfood seasonings, Sprouted Trail Mix and more, yielding over 45 differ- ent sprouted items. "I really wanted to create the healthiest products possible, that the average consumer could eat and feel comfortable with," said Owner Joshua McHugh, "One of our com- pany's core goals is to bridge the gap be- tween processed packaged products and fresh raw food products. Living Intentions really creates that transition between these two worlds." A decade has brought this company quite a long way. In the early days, you could have found McHugh in his home kitchen, sprout- ing in five gallon buckets with scattered de- hydrators stacked up throughout the house, drying day and night. "At that time, I was formulating and dehydrating with everything I could get my hands on," said McHugh, "I am pretty sure my friends and family thought I was out of my mind!" Living Intentions now operates in Point Richmond, Calif., in its newly built, state-of-the-art processing fa- cility, designed specifically for sprout pro- cessing and optimal food production. Join Living Intentions at Natural Products Expo West as it celebrates by sharing lots of fun surprises with expo attendees. As you enter into the event plaza, be sure to stop by the Living Intentions food truck! Slip off your shoes and feel the "live" grass beneath your feet as you sample its outra- geously delicious, raw and sprouted Gone Nuts! brand. Its knowledgeable event staff will be there to educate you about the amazing health benefits of raw and sprouted foods. Living Intentions' new booth location is now upstairs, in Hall B. Look up and find its dragonfly logo, which you can easily view from a distance on its new hanging sign. Come check out its extensive offerings of both bulk and branded, raw and sprouted products. You won't want to miss out on its 10-year anniversary celebration festivities! It will be having product raffles, intention boards, t-shirt give-a-ways and will be pro- viding daily sprouted education sessions. You will also be able to check out fun videos, giving you a larger glimpse into the world of Living Intentions. For more information, visit www.living intentions.com, call 415-824-5483, email info@livingintentions.com or stop by Hall B booth #1384 at Natural Products Expo West. The Gluten Intolerance Group of America Ensures Safe Products for Consumers An interview with Cynthia Kupper, Executive Director, Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. NH: Tell our readers about your company. What's your main line of business? CK: The Gluten Intolerance Group of Amer- ica is a 40-year old non-profit organization providing education and support to persons living a gluten-free lifestyle. We offer sup- port through social programs and industry services. NH: What would you say makes your com- pany unique? CK: Our organization is in a unique position of intimately understanding the gluten-free consumer. Knowledge that is beneficial when advancing industry services such as the Gluten Free Certification Organization [GFCO] and the Gluten Free Food Service program [GFFS]. These services help com- panies to develop strict standards, manufac- turing processes and procedures for both the food manufacturing and restaurant/foodser- vice industries. We also work in conjunction with retailers to provide strong training and education services for placing gluten-free products within their stores to improve the gluten-free consumer's shopping experience. NH: Where is your current product empha- sis? CK: Our current emphasis is split into direct consumer support and education and indirect services product certification and safe food service practices that support consumer needs. The Gluten Intolerance Group in- cludes 97 local support across the nation, hosts educational programs and a number of free education materials, puts on gluten- free/allergy-free kids camps, prints a quar- terly publication and works with medical professionals to facilitate up-to-date gluten- free education. The Gluten Free Food Serv- ice program works with hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias, catering companies, schools and campuses in order to offer safe gluten-free options. The Gluten Free Certifi- cation Organization works with all entities involved in manufacturing of certified gluten-free products to monitor the supply chain and control critical as- pects during production to help pre- vent contamination and ensure a safe product for consumers. This provides stricter compliance than the FDA la- beling regulations. NH: What distinguishes your products from the competition? CK: We have developed a monitoring and review system that holds companies ac- countable to meet our strict standards and de- sign testing requirements specific to each company's manufacturing capabilities. Both GFCO and GFFS use third-party industry qualified inspectors to ensure company com- pliance on an annual basis. NH: How do you handle sales? CK: Our internal accounts management team works with each company individually to tailor a specific contract and inspection process. During the initial sales process, companies have access to the quality control team to ensure safety stands will meet strict GFCO standards at the time of the inspec- tion. We also work with SPINS and other or- ganizations to provide valuable sales projections, referrals and the identification of competition for our organization and clients. NH: Who are your target end-users? CK: We offer support to any con- sumer living a gluten-free lifestyle. NH: To what do you attribute your company's success? CK: We believe that our success can be at- tributed to three discerning factors: The GFCO logo is a clearly recognizable industry symbol internationally, we institute and monitor high standards for quality control and we provide third-party inspections to companies while offering support to encour- age company growth in a manner that satis- fies both consumers and manufacturers. NH: How can our readers find out more about your company? CK: To learn more about our social pro- grams and educational support, visit www.gluten.net. For a list of GFCO products and how to become certified, visit www.gfco.org. To learn more on the Gluten Free Food Service program, visit w w w. g l u t e n . n e t / p r o g r a m s / i n d u s t r y - programs/gluten-free-food-service. For more information, visit www.gluten.net, call 253-833-6655, email admin@gluten.net or stop by booth #5307 at Natural Products Expo West. Woodstock Farms MFG Fuels Private Label Boom The time is ripe for private label, and Wood- stock Farms Manufacturing is ready to har- vest. 2012 saw industry-wide annual revenue for private label products reach a record high of $108 billion, with record growth at +2.9 percent. Since 2009, private label brands have seen a significant growth rate over na- tional brands. The Private Label Manufacturers Associ- ation reports the trend "is driven by store brand quality continuing to improve across most of the categories covered in our re- search and store brands are likely to continue to gain share in many product categories." Woodstock Farms MFG, 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 ingredi- ents. Woodstock Farms MFG offers a broad range of healthy snack alternatives, from tra- ditional 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 alterna- tives to the quality traditionally associated with national brands. Woodstock Farms MFG delivers unparalleled quality through responsible sourcing and a rigorous quality assurance program. This becomes an ad- vantage when customers turn to store brands for economic reasons and often like what they find in a private label, becoming repeat customers while building brand and store loyalty. Such robust growth in private label sales, coupled with the exploding pop- ularity of 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. Additionally, without promotional and ad- vertising costs – which are built into the price of national brands – a private label al- lows retailers to both increase profit margins and share savings with the consumer, further incentivizing repeat purchases. Private label packaging is ideal for retail- ers. Each package Woodstock Farms MFG produces acts as a unique, cost-free adver- tisement for the store brand. Having a com- pany's logo and design in a customer's pantry helps keep the store at the forefront of the customer's mind, while the quality prod- uct it contains fosters store loyalty. The as- sociation of quality to the brand can help build confidence in the store as a whole. Woodstock Farms MFG makes creating the ideal cus- tomized packaging easy. A vari- ety of packaging styles and sizes allows stores the flexibility to find the packaging solution that works best for their business model. Options include pillow bags, gusset bags and square or round tubs, with sizes ranging from single serving to family sizes to bulk. Stores can also take advantage of Woodstock Farms MFG's in-house graphic design team to help create a unique, eye-catching label. Private label organic and natural snack food from Woodstock Farms MFG is an es- sential way to elevate a store brand and grow sales. Stop by booth #2936 at the show, or find more information – including a complete product listing – at woodstockfarmsmfg.com.

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