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GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com News & Notes NEWS & NOTES 5 BRIEFS Smart & Final Stores, Inc. Receives Approval for Acquisition of 32 Haggen Locations in Central and Southern California Smart & Final Stores LLC, has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware as the purchaser of 32 store leases and related assets from affiliates of Haggen Holdings, LLC for a total cash purchase price of approximately $68 million, subject to certain adjustments. The Haggen acquisition will result in Smart & Final assuming the leases and acquiring certain associated assets of 32 closed stores in central and southern California. Smart & Final plans to convert the 32 stores to its Extra! store format, which includes expanded frozen, deli and meat selections; warehouse club sizes as well as smaller, more convenient sizes; specialty products such as oven-roasted chicken and dry bulk goods by the pound; fresh seafood; fresh produce; and an expanded natural and organic product line. Lucky Supermarkets and EVgo Open Nation's Largest Public Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Site The 100th EVgo Freedom Station in California is now open to the public and is the nation's largest publicly-available multi- standard fast charging site able to serve any vehicle on the road. Located in the hottest electric vehicle (EV) adoption area of the country, the Lucky Fremont location at 5000 Mowry Ave. features four 50kW DC Fast Chargers able to charge vehicles at the same time. Not only are all the chargers equipped with CHAdeMO and DC Fast Combo, the station is also pre-wired for as many as four more chargers, which can be added in just days as demand requires. Bay Valley Foods Announces Plans to Close City of Industry, California Facility Bay Valley Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. is closing its City of Industry, California facility. The closure of the facility was determined after carefully reviewing the operation and identifying opportunities to lower production costs. Production is expected to cease in the first quarter of 2016 with full closure of the facility expected in the third quarter of 2016. The City of Industry facility has approximately 62 employees and primarily produces branded liquid non-dairy creamer and refrigerated dressings for the food away from home industry. Production will be moved to other manufacturing facilities within the company's existing network as well as to third-party facilities. The company expects no supply disruptions during the transition. White Coffee's packaging innovation, BioCup ® , was honored as a finalist in the 2015 World Beverage Innovation Awards for the Best Environmental Sustainability Initiative category. BioCup, one of the leading entries, captured the ecological niche for wholly biodegradable pods. The award ceremony was held on Wednesday, November 11 at BrauBeviale, one of the largest trade shows for the global beverage industry, held in Nuremberg,Germany. The awards feature 26 categories in- cluding "Best Juice" to "Best Functional Drink" to "Best New Beverage Concept" plus categories for brands, ingredients, packaging, design, manufacturing and processing, sustainability, and marketing and communications. BioCup was se- lected from 360 entries representing 40 countries. With increased growth in single serve coffee offerings comes increased responsi- bility for waste disposal. The revolution- ary compostable and biodegradable single serve packaging offers 90 percent degra- dation after six months. "We are very proud to be honored by the international beverage community for BioCup," says Jonathan White, Executive Vice President for White Coffee Corporation. "White Coffee is committed to be a leader in the industry in minimizing the effect of its ac- tivities on the environment." White Coffee presented the line of BioCup packaged coffees under the White Coffee brand. White Coffee's Bio-degrad- able and Compostable Organic Single Serve Coffee BioCup is available in 11 fla- vors: Colombian, Breakfast Blend, French Roast, Full City Roast, Mexican High Grown, Peruvian, Rainforest Blend, Hazel- nut, French Vanilla, Sea Salt Caramel and Chocolate Morsel. White Coffee's BioCup is available in re- tail outlets nationwide and offered in 10- count and 80-count boxes. The cups are 2.0 compatible, for use with the Keurig ® system and similar coffeemakers. GN White Coffee's BioCup Honored for Environmental Sustainability Switzerland-based Emmi has acquired Red- wood Hill Farm & Creamery from com- pany Founder Jennifer Bice. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery will become an inde- pendently operated subsidiary of Emmi Holding (USA), Inc. The makers of the na- tion's leading goat milk dairy brand, Red- wood Hill Farm, and the nation's leading organic lactose-free cow dairy brand, Green Valley Organics, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery will continue business as usual at its creamery's location in Sebastopol, Cal- ifornia. Bice has committed to stay on as head of the company, overseeing day-to-day opera- tions for several years until she retires, re- taining ownership of her farm and 300 goats. The company's entire leadership team will remain in place, with all employ- ees retained and all jobs secure for the com- munity in west Sonoma County, California. Emmi and Redwood Hill Farm & Cream- ery have agreed to keep the terms of the ac- quisition confidential. "My succession decision is the result of years of careful planning and research," says Bice. "More than anything," she con- tinues, "I wanted to ensure that, after I re- tire, Redwood Hill will continue to thrive as a Sonoma County business, a commu- nity resource, and that we can continue our efforts to make pure, wholesome and or- ganic food more accessible and affordable throughout the United States." Bice, who starting in 1978 grew her par- ents' goat dairy farm from a 4-H project to a national brand, found the ideal succession partner in Emmi. The 108-year old company is to this day majority owned by a coopera- tive of small-scale dairy farmers in Switzerland who farm between 10 and 50 cows. As one of the most innovative premium dairy makers in Europe, Emmi produces a full line of dairy in the Swiss, Euro- pean and other international mar- kets. "I am entirely confident that Emmi is the right choice for Red- wood Hill's future, as ours is a re- lationship of trust," says Bice, "I feel completely aligned with Emmi's very high standards for quality, their strong empha- sis on employees and their commitment to sustainability. Most importantly, they have encouraged us to maintain the way we do business here at Redwood Hill." "Redwood Hill Farm is a jewel in the U.S. dairy community, built by Jennifer Bice," says Matthias Kunz, Vice President Americas of Emmi, "With dedication to Sonoma County and its people, she pio- neered the U.S. goat movement from the start with compassion for employees and a sustainable environment. We are really humbled to have been chosen as the part- ner for Redwood Hill's future and are very pleased to be able to count on Jennifer and her team for the next years." Mary Keehn, Founder of Cypress Grove Chevre in Humboldt County, California, sold her business to Emmi in 2010. Keehn, a fellow pioneer of goat cheese- making and Jennifer Bice's friend, chose the same succession path. "Creating a company felt much like raising a child," says Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre, "With Emmi's financial and strategic support, we have been able to send that child to Stanford rather than our local community college. We now have a Certified Humane, showcase dairy, a state- of-the art creamery and have been able to increase our workforce by more than a dozen employees, which creates much- needed jobs in our community." Once a small niche product, Redwood Hill Farm put goat milk dairy products on the map, and the company's products are now sold nationwide. Redwood Hill Farm's quart-sized plain goat milk yogurt is the number-one-selling large yogurt in the natural food channel in the United States today, compared to any other goat or cow milk yogurt brand. Tapping into its expertise of making dairy for the digestively diverse, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery launched its lac- tose-free cow dairy brand, Green Valley Organics, in 2010. Above all, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery strives for highest quality in its minimally processed dairy products, while ensuring the quality of life for its people, animals and the planet. GN Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery Acquired by Emmi

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