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General News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 4 PMA Fresh Summit Comes to Anaheim October 17-19 The Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit, to be held October 17-19 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, will bring together leaders from throughout the produce industry for a unique opportunity to network, exchange ideas and keep up to date on the latest produce trends. At least 20,000 attendees are expected at this year's PMA Fresh Summit, as well as 900 exhibitors from 60 countries. In addition to the opportunity to network with one's peers in the produce industry, this year's PMA Fresh Summit will include an extensive slate of educational programs, shedding light on a diverse array of issues and topics, including global trade, digital marketing, product transparency, digital distribution, science and technology, produce safety, talent management and floral industry trends. For more information on PMA Fresh Summit or to register to attend, visit www.pma.com. National Bulk Foods Week 2014: October 12-18 The Bulk is Green Council is recruiting retailers for its fourth annual National Bulk Foods Week, scheduled this year to occur October 12-18 at grocery stores and co-ops across the nation. BIG, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to increasing consumer and retailer awareness of the many environmental and economic benefits of buying bulk foods. Last year more than 1,200 retailers took part in National Bulk Foods Week. For National Bulk Foods Week, the members of BIG offer special discounts on foods from bulk bins to entice new shoppers into the bulk foods aisle. BIG also provides participating retailers with POS signage to post in bulk sections, along with other fun promotional materials to promote bulk foods to shoppers during the commemorative week. For more information on BIG and how to participate in National Bulk Foods Week, visit www.bulkisgreen.org. SupplySide West Brings 1,700 Industry Insiders to Las Vegas SupplySide West is the biggest annual event in the world bringing together food ingredient and finished product manufacturers. This year's summit is set to bring 1,700 of the world's leading ingredient suppliers and equipment companies to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 8-9. The show floor at SupplySide West is the event's main attraction. This year, 1,700 exhibitors will be in attendance, displaying over 10,000 ingredients and services. Products on display fall into the food, beverage, dietary supplement, animal nutrition, cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceutical and sports nutrition categories. Attendees at SupplySide West will also have access to a variety of educational sessions, including two all-day professional tracks geared toward food and beverage industry insiders. For more information on SupplySide West or to register to attend, visit www.west.supplysideshow.com. Members of Organic Community Begin Registering Websites Under ".organic" Domain Global registry services provider Afilias re- cently announced the launch of its newest top-level domain ".organic." As of Septem- ber 15, members of the organic community have been able to register website names under the ".organic" domain through Afilias. Interest in organic products is growing rapidly worldwide. However, terms like "natural" and "healthy" are often used in- terchangeably with "organic" on the Inter- net and elsewhere, causing consumer confusion. The ".organic" domain strives to reduce consumer confusion by provisioning a dedicated, protected place on the Internet for providers of bona fide organic products and services. Unlike open domains like ".com" and ".net", the ".organic" domain limits eligibility to domain owners who have verified their organic credentials. This means consumers can have confidence in sites that have a ".organic" address. "Given the demand for authentic organic products and services, the arrival of the '.or- ganic' domain will be welcomed by both con- sumers and providers of organic goods and services," said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President and CMO for Afilias. "For the first time, consumers can now find organic sites on the Internet that are verified and reliable." The ".organic" addresses are only avail- able to verifiably organic farmers, produc- ers, manufacturers, co-packers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and official organic certifiers. Eligibility also extends to other organic-oriented entities such as restaurants and trade organizations that may not be cer- tified but can meet special criteria tailored to their role in the community. For more information about how you can register your company or organization for a ".organic" web address, visit www.get.organic. GN Vanda Asapahu of Ayara Thai Sauces Named Winner of Specialty Food Ad Contest Vanda Asapahu, founder of Ayara Thai Sauces, is the winner of the Specialty Food Association's second annual advertising con- test, through which specialty food profes- sionals are rewarded for telling a compelling story about their passion for gourmet food. Asapahu's story was selected from 142 inspiring entries about family businesses, culinary breakthroughs, childhood memo- ries, career changes and more. The prize is a professional ad that will be part of the As- sociation's national advertising and market- ing campaign. The ad will be featured in leading specialty food trade magazines, on- line and at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. The show takes place Janu- ary 11-13, 2015. More than 12,000 votes were cast in the not-for-profit trade association's second an- nual "My Story, My Ad" contest. The 10 en- tries with the most votes went on to a final round of judging by a panel of advertising and specialty food professionals. The con- test was open to all members of the Spe- cialty Food Association. Ayara Thai Sauces was born out of re- quests from loyal fans of Asapahu's family- owned restaurant, Ayara Thai Cuisine in Los Angeles, for takeout containers of its distinctive sauces. The company's Ayara Thai Peanut Sauce was a finalist in the Spe- cialty Food Association's 2014 sofi Awards in the Outstanding Cooking Sauce or Fla- vor Enhancer category. "As our restaurant grew, visitors came to love not only the food we prepared, but also the sauces served with them," says As- apahu. She adds that customers would re- turn with "amazing stories of how they creatively used our sauces to impress their friends and share in the joy of cooking." The Specialty Food Association advertis- ing contest also included a People's Choice winner, based on a popular vote. The trio of women behind Simply Panache, maker of Mango Mango preserves, emerged as win- ners of the People's Choice prize. The trio includes Tanecia Willis, Lakesha Brown- Renfro and Nzinga Teule-Hekima. The com- pany is based in Hampton, Virginia. The Specialty Food Association advertis- ing contest spotlights the Association's brand: "Specialty Food. Craft. Care. Joy." It is designed to highlight the people behind the small businesses that fuel the $88.3 bil- lion specialty food industry and the inno- vative foods and beverages they create and bring to market. "This year's entries showed how much passion and care our members bring to their work," said Association President Ann Daw. The panel of judges included Katherine Alford, Senior Vice President of Culinary Productions for Food Network; Tom Cook, Executive Creative Director for York & Chapel; Tracy Nieporent, Partner and Di- rector of Marketing for Myriad Restaurant Group; Beth Snyder Bulik, a freelance writer for Advertising Age; and Denise Pur- cell, Editor of Specialty Food Media. GN

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