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GENERAL NEWS 6 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n NOVEMBER 2015 n www.kitchenwarenews.com Dallas Market Center has announced the HTI Buying Group vendor showcase during the Total Home & Gift Market in January 2016. The vendor showcase is a chance for HTI members to have a sneak preview of new merchandise and exclusive show specials. "We are embarking on the next phase of our business with a vendor showcase in Dallas," said KC Lapiana, President of HTI Buying Group. "Dallas Market Center provides a central location, a steady base of loyal buyers and the opportunity to grow our membership." After a successful showcase last January, HTI chose Dallas Market Center as the location for its January 2016 vendor showcase. With a strong focus on delivering additional value to its members and the industry, HTI gives buyers access to more than 20,000 gift and home décor lines at the Total Home & Gift Market. "As more consumer purchasing dollars move towards high-end housewares and gift, businesses partnering with HTI have the ability to increase their profits and extend their consumer base," said Cindy Morris, President and CEO of Dallas Market Center. "Dallas Market Center is a paramount buyer market capable of meeting HTI and their members' unique needs." HTI Buying Group offers independent kitchen and tabletop specialty retailers the opportunity to buy products and programs f rom member vendors on a corporate discount. They provide training, information and the resources necessary to improve sales while allowing members to maintain autonomy and independence. For a complete list of events, visit the Dallas Market Center website. KN HTI Buying Group Announces Vendor Showcase at Dallas Market Center VIETRI Inc. co-founders Susan and Frances Gravely, and their mother, Lee S. Gravely, will be inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame on November 19, 2015. VIETRI is the largest U.S. importer of fine Italian handcrafted dinnerware, flatware, glassware, linens, garden, and decorative accessories. A connoisseur of Italian culture and tabletop style, Susan Gravely, with her sister Frances and mother Lee, founded VIETRI in 1983 after a family trip to Italy where they fell in love with the colorful handpainted dinnerware of the Amalfi Coast. VIETRI has grown from a small company representing one Italian factory to the largest importing company of handcrafted Italian products in the American tabletop industry. VIETRI now serves a customer base of over 2,000 top specialty stores in all 50 states, plus Canada, England, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. VIETRI represents approximately 40 manufacturers throughout Italy involved in earthenware and stoneware ceramics, glass, and stainless steel. Renowned for its classic Italian designs, as well as innovative trend-setting collections inspired by Italian haute couture colors and patterns, VIETRI introduces new products twice a year at major gift and tabletop shows across the U.S. The event presented by Twin County Community Pride honors distinguished citizens of Nash and Edgecombe counties in North Carolina. The Twin County Hall of Fame strives to celebrate the history, culture, people, and accomplishments specific to these counties. Rocky Mount Councilman Chris Miller, founder and past president of Twin County Community Pride, stated, "We hope to encourage and motivate our young people by highlighting those who have risen from our communities to make significant accomplishments locally, in our state, and beyond." The Twin County Community Pride will induct the Twin County Hall of Fame Class of 2015 at 6 pm on November 19. To learn more about VIETRI, visit www.vietri.com. KN Twin County Hall of Fame Names VIETRI Founders as Inductees Specialty food is drawing a new crowd this year. Men are stepping up purchases, less affluent shoppers are buying a wide variety of products like artisanal cheese and single- origin chocolate, and Millennials are showing their age at the store. These are some of the findings of new consumer research from the Specialty Food Association in conjunction with Mintel International. Specialty food consumers report spending one in three food dollars on specialty food, up f rom one in four in 2014. This comes as specialty food sales topped $100 billion for the first time in 2014 and continues to grow, according to the research. While food shopping used to be seen as woman's work, for the first time since this research began in 2005, men have surpassed women slightly as most likely to purchase specialty food. The prized Millennial consumer is starting to get older, and those pushing 40 are spending more on meal ingredients than the snacks and treats favored by the younger set. Millennials favor convenience: they shop in the broadest range of retail outlets and spend the most on takeout and ready-to- eat meals. More than half of specialty food consumers said they purchase specialty food online, and nearly a third said that they 're looking for an online deliver y service. Consumers with annual incomes of $75,000 are twice as likely as those earning less than $50,000 to be specialty food buyers, yet the less affluent are buying the same wide range of specialty foods. The core specialty food consumer is now between the ages of 25 and 44 with a household income greater than $75,000 and a home on the East or West Coast. Specialty food consumers spend $113 per week on food they prepare at home, up f rom $92 per week in 2014. Treats are trending. Consumers rank perennial specialty food favorites cheese and chocolate among their top five picks, plus ice cream and f rozen desserts; coffee, and cookies, brownies, cakes and pies. Foods seen as healthy, such as tea, yogurt and kefir, and nuts, seeds, and dried f ruit and vegetables, are rising in popularity. About one in three specialty food dollars are spent on products with an all-natural or organic claim. Forty three percent of those surveyed said they try specialty foods to eat foods that avoid artificial ingredients and preservatives. These findings are based on an online survey conducted in July 2015 of 1,683 adults aged 18+. The results are published in the fall issue of Specialty Food Magazine. KN Consumers Spending More on Specialty Food Small Plates (cont. from Page 1) toppings and garnishes. Toothpicks and skewers are par for the course for small portions, and can be used to assemble stacked bites of cheeses and pickles. "If you're doing small plates style, I would do three rounds; then if people are still hungry you can ser ve one larger course. That usually fills people up pretty well," Rosenberg adds. W hen it 's time to eat, an informal serving style can encourage sharing and conversation. Rosenberg suggests that a host can do away with the dining room table entirely. "I like doing this in a kitchen where everyone can stand up. It's okay to crowd it up when you've got something like this; it 's a ver y communal way to ser ve," says Rosenberg, adding that a kitchen with an island is the perfect place for a more casual meal. KN PLMA's annual private label trade show is the place where retailers and suppliers meet to build their private label business. Among visitors who attend are buyers and executives f rom virtually every major U.S. supermarket, drug chain, mass merchandiser, club, convenience chain, and specialty retailers. PLMA's 2015 Private Label Trade Show will be presenting more than 2,700 exhibit booths from leading manufacturers of store brands in gourmet and specialty prepared foods, ref rigerated, f rozen and ingredient categories. Exhibitors f rom more than 35 countries can be found throughout the show floor with national pavilions representing China, Spain, South Af rica, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, France, Canada, Mexico and others. KN Private Label Industry Meets at PLMA show

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