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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier Business SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 5 BRIEFS Snyder's-Lance Completes Divestiture of Private Brands Snyder's-Lance Inc. recently announced the completion of the sale of its Private Brands business, along with two manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada, to Shearer's Foods LLC, a leading provider of private-label snacks headquartered in Massillon, Ohio. The deal was first announced on May 7, 2014. The selling price for Private Brands was $430 million, with after-tax proceeds of approximately $300 million. "This is an important step forward for Snyder's-Lance as we dedicate our attention to our branded portfolio," said Carl E. Lee, Jr., the company's President and Chief Executive Officer. "I want to thank all of our associates who have worked to make our Private Brands successful for many years and wish everyone the greatest of success in the future." Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Snyder's-Lance manufactures and markets snack foods throughout the United States and internationally. Robert Rothschild Farm Achieves Organic Certification Robert Rothschild Farm has recently achieved organic certification of their Urbana, Ohio manufacturing facility. The company produces sauces, dips, preserves, mustards, spreads and other gourmet products that are all-natural, gluten-free and kosher. "We are conscientious of current healthy lifestyles and want to provide the consumer what they desire," said Jim Gordon, President and CEO of Robert Rothschild Farm. "We felt compelled to provide organic products that tasted great. Taste should not be compromised when seeking organic products [made] using non-GMO ingredients." Robert Rothschild Farm recently introduced its new line of organic products at the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show. This new line of organic products launches the beginning of the company's movement to convert the majority of its current product offerings to be organic certified. Allens Changes Name to Sager Creek Vegetable Company Allens, an iconic name in Arkansas business history, is changing its moniker effective immediately to Sager Creek Vegetable Company. The name change is part of new ownership and management shifts. Sager Creek Acquisitions Corp. acquired the 87-year-old Allens Inc. in February of this year. Chris Kiser was named CEO in March. It was the first time in 88 years that the Allen family is not running the company, as CEO Josh Allen stepped away from the family business as a result of the company's bankruptcy sale. "Sager Creek is a beautiful resource that runs through our hometown of Siloam Springs, Arkansas," said Kiser. "Our company was founded in this region in 1926, and this place has nurtured and helped sustain our business. Our new name reflects our history and better positions us to strengthen our brands in the marketplace." BY DAVE BERNARD If you are one of the 20 million tourists that visit the Caribbean each year, you might have had the chance, after dinner and a stroll along the beachfront in Nassau or Montego Bay, to taste a delightful dessert that does big business in the islands not to mention the United States, but that does it with a homemade just-out-of-the-oven flair: Tortuga Rum Cakes. Some 30 years after founder Capt. Robert Hamaty took a secret family recipe and set out to share it with the world, the Tortuga Rum Cake Company ships seven varieties of rum cakes in brightly colored hexagonal boxes to 70 countries and generates high- volume sales through the travel retail chan- nel. The cakes are sold in the United States seasonally in large grocery and specialty food retailers. "There's a romanticism associated with Tortuga Rum Cake. It's something that cus- tomers find to be rare and unique," said Monique Hamaty-Simmonds, Tortuga's Chief Marketing Officer and daughter of the company's founder While Tortuga receives virtual sackfuls of customer emails from U.S. tourists to the Caribbean, they often do not hear from these visi- tors until they arrive back home. Hamaty-Sim- monds quotes some typi- cal customer responses: "Wow, I can't believe my eyes, I had that while in Jamaica!" and "It's the best cake I have ever had." Tortuga's cakes come in sizes ranging from 4 to 33 ounces and in seven dif- ferent flavors: golden original, chocolate rum, coconut rum, Blue Mountain coffee rum, banana rum, key lime rum and pineapple rum. The 4-ounce cakes are also available in six- packs, and the 16-ounce size is also available in cases of nine cakes. Tortuga also offers attrac- tive shipper display cases to re- tailers as well. The company boasts a variety of offerings beyond its namesake cakes, offering gourmet coffees, rum balls, candies and fudge, as well as pepper jelly and a line of seven cooking sauces. Based in the Cayman Islands, Tortuga em- ploys 100 workers across all units and has a staff of 12 in the United States, with of- fices in Miami. The company estimates it will grow 10 percent over the next two years. In surveying the U.S. gourmet food in- dustry, Hamaty-Simmonds sees a lot of the family business in the U.S. market. "There are so many entrepreneurs in the industry, people with the next big gour- met product, someone looking to share their secret family recipe just like our company has done," she said. "I see con- tinued industry growth, and that will mean more shelf space for specialty and gourmet foods in the larger grocery chains across the U.S." For more information on Tortuga Rum Cake Company, contact the company's media representative, Carrie Layne by phone at 781.728.9913 or by email at pr@bestbuzz.bz. Also visit the company online at www.tortugarumcakes.com. GN Tortuga Rum Cake Company Brings Caribbean Flair to U.S. Gourmet Market Shelves Mead, the alcoholic beverage made from honey, may be the world's oldest fermented drink. The potable is now creating a buzz throughout the world. And, according to the World Association of Wine Writers and Journalists, the United States' Moonstruck Meadery produces the best mead in the world. The organization recently named the company's Capsumel pepper mead as number one among the 100 best meads in the world. Every year, the WAWWJ classifies wines and wineries that participate in different wine contests held around the world. Their products are evaluated anonymously by the best specialists. Moonstruck Meadery came in first among meads for its unique pepper mead, Capsumel. Capsumel has traveled the world from the United States to com- petitions in Argentina, Israel and Ukraine. Each competition brought the unique bev- erage double gold and gold awards. Capsumel has a unique taste and the nose of a fresh pepper garden with a har- monious blend of serrano, jalapeño and Anaheim peppers. The company is very grateful to be recog- nized as the world's first place mead from professional judges around the world. "We have a passion about mead, and Cap- sumel is a direct re- sult of that," said Brian Schlueter, owner of Moonstruck Meadery. "Mead is ex- ploding in popularity. It's truly the new de- licious flavor people are looking for. One taste is all it takes." According to Schlueter, mead production has an all-around positive impact on the economy and the environment. "It directly helps the bees, the farmers, the foods we eat," he said. "We are very grateful to pro- duce mead and [are] look- ing forward to expanding our distribution so that others may enjoy this unique beverage from long ago." Chris Webber, President of the American Mead Makers Association, is ex- cited for the growth he sees in terms of the overall popularity of mead among U.S. consumers. "The American mead industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and we can't wait to see what the future holds," he said. For more information on Nebraska- based Moonstruck Meadery, visit www.moonstruckmead.com. GN Moonstruck Meadery Produces Best Mead in the World According to Media Organization

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