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Re s ta u ra n t D a i l y N e ws Tu e s d a y, M a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 4 6 WIXON GLUTEN-FREE MIXES AND SEASONINGS Wixon, a manufacturer of seasonings, flavors and technologies for the food and beverage industry, offers a number of products specifically designed for the gluten-free consumer. Wixon offers a variety of packaged gluten-free soup mixes, including Classic Chicken Noodle Soup, a familiar taste featuring sweet corn, onion, carrot, peas, celery, turmeric, and chicken, Creamy Potato Soup, a rich blend of carrot, onion, roasted garlic, potato, sour cream, cheddar cheese, buttermilk, and chicken, Hearty Minestrone, featuring red and black beans, carrot, tomato, red bell pep- per, celery, onion, spinach, paprika and a hint of garlic, and Supreme Chili, with pinto, black, and red beans, onion, celery, garlic, bell peppers and spices. Wixon's gluten-free seasonings packets include a variety of zesty flavors for meatloaf, including Classic Homestyle, Italian Lovers and Mediterranean. Gluten-free bakery items from Wixon include Chocolate Decadence Brownie Mix, with cocoa, cinnamon, and a touch of coffee, Honey Butter Corn Bread Mix, a sweet blend of corn meal with indulgent honey and butter, and Zesty Herb Pizza Crust/Flatbread Mix, including garlic, onion, and spices for a flavorful pizza crust or appetizing flat- bread. More information on Wixon or any of its products may be obtained at www.wixon.com. COLORADO PROUD GUIDES COOPERATIVE EFFORT TO PROMOTE COLORADO FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS Colorado Proud, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's consumer promotional program, is working with byCOLORADO, the new state marketing program, to promote Colorado business- es in and outside of the state. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this summer, Colorado Proud has helped elevate the state's agricultural industry, which con- tributes more than $40 billion and 171,000 jobs annually to the Colorado economy. The Colorado Proud program will continue to promote food and agri- cultural products that are grown, raised or processed in the state, while its new sister program, byCOLORADO, will focus its efforts on helping local produc- ers share their stories with consumers outside of Colorado along with promot- ing non-agricultural industries. "Colorado Proud has been very suc- cessful and done great things for Colorado's food and agricultural indus- try," said Commissioner of Agriculture John Salazar. "The program will continue to promote local products to consumers within the state and brandCOLORADO's efforts will support what Colorado Proud is already doing." Colorado Proud was developed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture in 1999 to promote food and agricultural products. Over the past 15 years the program has grown to more than 2,000 members, including farmers, ranchers, food manufacturers, restaurants and retailers. The program will celebrate its anniversary this sum- mer with the "Choose Colorado Tour," a statewide campaign promoting local products to consumers. The byCOLORADO effort was launched in December of 2013 to help stimulate economic growth and make it easier to "buy local" by promoting non- agriculture companies such as technolo- gy, apparel, manufacturing, energy, serv- ice businesses and more. Both programs will continue their efforts in promoting local products and will work together to meet common goals. "Colorado Proud and byCOLORADO share a common goal and have been collaborating from the inception of this new program," said Aaron Kennedy, the State's Chief Marketing Officer. "We are excited to help build upon the success of the Colorado Proud program to offer compa- nies of all industries the opportunity to be identified with Colorado." For more information about Colorado Proud, visit www.coloradoproud.org, and for more information about byCOLORADO, visit www.brandcolorado.com. CHOCOLATE WORKS OPENS NEW LONG ISLAND LOCATION IN BELLMORE/MERRICK The second Long Island location of Chocolate Works, the burgeoning fran- chise concept that transforms the corner candy shop into an interactive chocolate factory experience, is now open in Bellmore/Merrick, located at 2350 Merrick Road in Bellmore N.Y. The Chocolate Works franchise con- cept is the brainchild of second-genera- tion chocolatier and company owner, Joe Whaley, a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran. Whaley's family has been crafting and selling high quality gourmet chocolates for over 40 years. What sets Chocolate Works apart from other candy stores is its unique three-tier model for satisfying the public's sweet tooth. The combination of chocolate and candy retail, on-site parties and workshops and custom corporate products offers multi- ple opportunities to generate revenue and community relationships. For more information on Chocolate Works and a complete list of locations, visit www.chocolateworks.com. JUST-DRINKS RESEARCH: FLAVORED VODKA SALES STALLING A new report from online beverage resource just-drinks has suggested that the dynamism and growth of the fla- vored vodka category, long one of the key engines behind the vodka sector, is in decline. According to "just-drinks On-Trend: Vodka Flavors Review," while the fla- vored vodka sector has spurred growth in the larger vodka category in recent years, the growth in the flavored market has been slowing down. In 2012, the flavored vodka market increased by 5.6 percent to 23.3m cases. However, this represented a slowdown from the 7.8 percent growth achieved in 2011 and the 9 percent growth registered in 2010. While the growth in flavored vodka is declining, the number of new flavored product launches per year has continued to rise. Still, the pace of new product development is slowing. Some 21 new flavored products hit the market in 2011, with more than double the following year (44). While 2013 saw 50 new flavored vodka launches, the just-drinks report points out that this represents only a 14 percent increase from 2012, versus the 110 percent change seen between 2011 and 2012. "This suggests that brand owners are reacting but are behind the con- sumption trend curve," warned the just- drinks report. Established in 1999, just-drinks is a leading online resource for the global bev- erage industry, publishing around 20 news articles, analysis, features and insights every working day. Under the direction of Managing Editor Olly Wehring, its experi- enced team of journalists, consultants and analysts provide a unique and comprehen- sive blend of reports and interpretation of the beverage industry, including key events, trends, interviews and research that are delivered to over 92,000 business executives per month. For more information, visit www .just-drinks.com. FARM BUREAU REPORT REVEALS LIMITED IMMIGRATION REFORM WOULD INCREASE FOOD PRICE North Carolina Farm Bureau released an Immigration Reform report showing impacts on farmers, consumers and our economy based on various reform alter- natives. The report, "Gauging the Farm Sector's Sensitivity to Immigration Reform via Changes in Labor Costs and Availability," was commissioned by Farm Bureau and performed by World Agricultural Economic and Environmental Services (WAEES). "Last year, our Agriculture Workforce Report proved that we need a stable and reliable workforce in order to keep up with demand and to keep farms from closing. That's why we all wanted to find out the impacts that immigration reform can have on consumers, farmers and the economy. The findings were stag- gering. We found that an "enforcement only" approach would result in food prices increasing by five to six percent. Additionally, the report shows that if agri- culture loses access to all undocumented workers, then the national output would drop by $30 to $60 billion. A drop in out- put of this magnitude would severely impact North Carolina agriculture while the five to six percent increase in food prices would hit every wallet and pocket- book in the state," said Larry Wooten, President of North Carolina Farm Bureau. The report describes the extent of the farm sector's dependence on undocu- mented workers and the political, eco- nomic and social forces that shaped this growing dependence since the last major reform effort in late 1980s as well as the possible consequences of reform during the 2013-14 Congressional legislative cycle. The report draws on the current debate to identify three generic reform alternatives emphasizing: 1). enforce- ment only; 2). enforcement plus a path- way to legalization; and 3). enforcement plus a pathway to legalization and a guest worker program for sectors with special labor needs such as agriculture. The extensive survey information available on the sector's hired farm work force and use of undocumented workers were then used to develop commodity-specific esti- mates of hired labor costs for each of the reform alternatives. Wooten added, "The bottom line is that we need immigration reform that not only works for farmers, but for con- sumers as well. We need to get it right for everyone." Agriculture and agribusiness is the largest industry in North Carolina, accounting for $78 billion of the state's economy and nearly one out of every five jobs. The North Carolina Farm Bureau is the largest agriculture organization in the state, with more than 500,000 members.