Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MAY 2015 www.gourmetnews.com FROM THE PUBLISHER 1 0 Greetings! As we go to press with this month's issues of Gourmet News and Kitchenware News, the Specialty Food Associa- tion has reported that the specialty food market in the United States has just topped $100 billion in an- nual sales for the first time, with retail sales of specialty foods growing 19 per- cent in the three-year period from 2012 through 2014, compared to just 2 per- cent sales growth for all food. As Ron Tanner, the Specialty Food As- sociation's Vice President for Philan- thropy, Government and Industry Relations, noted, consumers are looking for foods with fewer and cleaner ingredi- ents and that seem healthier, and they care about the social values demon- strated by the makers of those products. They want local products that are pro- duced sustainably and humanely, and non-GMO is an important label for them. Manufacturers of specialty foods products reported that natural supermar- kets represent their fastest-growing channel, and 83 percent of specialty foods retailers say that they carry natural products and those account for a quarter of their sales. Americans are still spending almost half of their food-buying dollars in food- service establishments, but only about 22 percent of the total specialty food market goes to foodservice, according to consumer research firm Mintel Interna- tional, which partnered with the Spe- cialty Food Association to produce the association's annual State of the Specialty Food Industry report. David Browne, Market Research and Retail Analyst for Mintel, noted that the organization ex- pects to see growth in the specialty food industry's share of the foodservice mar- ket over the next several years as food- service establishments continue to look for more premium items to add to their menus. All of this continues to suggest that Americans care deeply about the food that they're putting on the table for their families, and both the food and house- wares industries are offering products that respond directly to those concerns. That's good news for all of us. In other good news, some of you will notice with this issue that we've made some staff changes at both Kitchenware News and Gourmet News. At Kitchenware News, former Associate Editor Amber Gallegos has moved up to the Editor's chair, where she will no doubt continue to contribute entertaining articles with a focus on solutions for kitchenware retail- ers who are evolving fast to serve a new generation of home cooks. At Gourmet News, former Editor Lucas Witman has moved on to pursue other endeavors, and we wish him well. Joining our Gour- met News staff are Associate Editor Richard Thomas and Assistant Editor Micah Cheek. While Editorial Director Lorrie Baumann will continue to write and to supervise the editorial direction of both magazines, you'll see her stories more frequently in Gourmet News over the next several months while our new editors learn their way around food re- tailing. We hope that you'll enjoy their work and that you will continue to read both Gourmet News and Kitchenware News with as much enthusiasm as our editors feel about taking on their new re- sponsibilities. GN — Lee M. Oser Publisher WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Lee M. Oser ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Kim Forrester Jules Denton jules_d@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Richard Thompson ASSISTANT EDITOR Micah Cheek CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Amber Gallegos GRAPHIC DESIGNER Yasmine Brown ACCOUNT MANAGER Lynn Hilton CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Caitlyn Roach caitlyn_r@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Product Wrap-up & Classified Sales Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300 G OURMET N EWS ® OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of pro- prietary classified information. ©2015 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without writ- ten permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and dis- tribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annu- ally to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. FROM THE PUBLISHER

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