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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s M o n d a y, M a y 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 4 2 SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET HIRES DANIEL BRUNI AS CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Sprouts Farmers Market has hired Daniel Bruni as Chief Information Officer. Bruni will be responsible for spearhead- ing all information technology efforts to support company objectives. Bruni brings to Sprouts 25 years of information technology and executive hands-on expertise in the retail, distribu- tion and financial services industries, most recently serving as the Vice President of IT for Dollar General. Previously, Bruni was the Senior Vice President and CIO for Harris Teeter Inc. and the Vice President and CIO for Brother Gourmet Coffees Inc. Bruni holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an MBA in IT Executive Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University. "We're excited to welcome Dan to the Sprouts team and our innovative, entrepreneurial culture," said President and CEO Doug Sanders. "Dan's leader- ship in a variety of information technolo- gy functions from retail systems to tech- nology infrastructure will be extremely valuable as we continue to grow and innovate to better serve our guests." For more information on Sprouts, www.sprouts.com. POCO DOLCE: THE 'NOT TOO SWEET' CONFECTIONER WITH QUITE SWEET RESULTS Kathy Wiley, President of the 11-year-old Poco Dolce Confections, has one piece of advice for finding success as a gourmet food producer: "Get in the kitchen and don't be afraid to burn something." Taking her own advice has led to sales at more than 400 gourmet retailers nationwide. Originally, Wiley switched over from baked goods and Italian specialty items to chocolates for practical reasons. She did not want to have a staff that would have to work on Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning. And with chocolates, you have a longer shelf life. Poco Dolce, however, truly came into its own as the result of a happy acci- dent. Wiley was teaching herself how to temper chocolate when she thought, "What would be a fun ingredient to include in this?" "One of the things I tried was toffee. As it turned out, I just burned the toffee, but as I tasted it, I thought, 'You know what – this is actual- ly not bad,'" she said. That thought was truly an understatement. Today, the com- pany's bittersweet chocolate-covered Burnt Caramel Toffee Squares and grey sea salt-sprinkled Burnt Caramel Bittersweet Tiles are two of Poco Dolce's most popular items among four whole- sale lines and nearly 100 products. Poco Dolce (Italian for "not too sweet") produces a range of bittersweet chocolate bars, tiles and toffee, as well as peanut brittle for wholesale distribution. In addition, the company offers bon bons, caramels and drinking chocolates that it sells online and in its San Francisco shop. The Northern California confectioner has won numerous awards, including the 2014 sofi Award for Outstanding Chocolate with its Popcorn Toffee Squares, the 2014 Scovie Award in the Sweet Heat category for its Smoked Almond and Ghost Chile Tiles, and the 2014 Fiery Foods Challenge Best New Product Award for the chili-inspired Spicy Peanut Brittle. The company's Bittersweet Chocolate Tiles with Sea Salt line, with flavors ranging from almond coconut to Aztec Chile to ginger, was also named a sofi Award finalist for Outstanding Product Line last summer. Like many gourmet food producers, Poco Dolce has capitalized on the trend toward spicy flavors. "I like spice, so you're going to find a spicy item in every one of our product lines," said Wiley. Not only has the company timed the market well with such offerings as its Aztec Chile bittersweet chocolate tiles, Mayan Chile bittersweet bars and Spicy Peanut Brittle, it also displays exquisite timing on the customer's palate. "The particular spice blend of the Aztec Chile tiles – it tingles different parts of your mouth and throat in a layered profile," Wiley said. She crafted the unique confection so that the final chili note hits a couple seconds after the rest of the flavors. When it comes to marketing its products, Poco Dolce prefers working with smaller retailers with expert staff. "If you take our bittersweet tiles, that's a unique branding name," Wiley said. "It's important that the staff be able to talk about this to the customer." Wiley cites the specialty foods section of Whole Foods in which Poco Dolce products are sold as an example of a particular retail space that embodies this philosophy. Wiley describes this environment as "almost a store within a store" with its knowledgeable staff. Poco Dolce has embraced an all-nat- ural, sustainable production model, sourcing local ingredients whenever pos- sible and using a chocolate supplier whose cacao beans are Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade certified. Ninety- five percent of the company's products are non-GMO and gluten-free, and its line of Bittersweet Chocolate Bars is also dairy-free. NATURAL MARKETS FOOD GROUP NAMES PAT BROWN NEW CEO Natural Markets Food Group, provider of natural, organic food and healthy lifestyle products at its retail and foodser- vice outlets, including Mrs. Green's Natural Market, Planet Organic Markets and Richtree Natural Markets Restaurants recently named Pat Brown as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. The company welcomes Brown's leadership, developed over a decade of experience in the natural and organic food sector. Brown has had a long, successful career in the organic food industry, throughout which he has been a tireless advocate of living a healthy, natural life. Brown's first job, working in a grocery store in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, inspired a lifelong love of the food and foodservice industry. Brown official- ly joined NMFG in July 2014, after serv- ing as the Chief Operations Officer of New Seasons Market, a locally-owned chain of natural food stores in Oregon. Brown received his degree in busi- ness from Saint Ambrose University and immediately began gaining valu- able retail experience at food compa- nies across the United States. He devel- oped a passion for healthy living dur- ing the course of his career and has since worked tirelessly to promote nat- ural and organic foods. As a member of the Board of Directors at Zenger Farms in Portland, Oregon, he was instrumen- tal in the development of a farmers' market program that emphasized edu- cating city children on where good food comes from. Pat also played a role in getting the markets sponsored by Zenger Farms to accept payment through SNAP funds.