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GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 9 BY LORRIE BAUMANN The Better Chip is bringing new energy to the deli department with a gluten-free snack chip that comes in flavors that com- plement the premium cheeses, cured meats and the dips already in the deli cases. The product fits in well with the transforming role of the grocery's perime- ter, which has become a destination within the store for grab and go meal and snack shoppers who want quick suste- nance but who don't intend to sacrifice their nutritional goals by resorting to fast food as well as those who regard the deli department as their resource for food to serve when they entertain. Now The Better Chip has extended its line of five flavors of better-for-you veg- etable chips: Sweet Corn and Sea Salt, Jalapenos and Sea Salt, Spinach & Kale and Sea Salt, Beets and Sea Salt and Chipo- tles and Sea Salt with a smaller package size, a 1.5-ounce bag that's easy to drop into a lunch kit or a sandwich clamshell for an offering that enhances the value of the grab and go offering. "Everyone wants to offer something a little different. We feel like that's something different they can offer that you don't get at sandwich places," says Andrea Brule, Vice Presi- dent/General Manager of The Better Chip. "We found that accounts were interested in a smaller bag they could use in their lunchtime program. Because our chips are doing so well in their big bags, they thought that, in a smaller bag, they might be able to use it in their lunch program." Of the five flavors, which continue to be offered in 6-ounce family-size bags, the Spinach & Kale is far and away the com- pany's best seller, Brule said. The Jalapenos and Beets Chips are tied for sec- ond place. The Better Chip will announce two new flavors this year. The chips appeal to consumers who are looking for a better-for-you snack that's a gluten-free alternative to the crackers and bagel chips that are often chosen in the deli to accompany dips and hummus. In addition to being gluten-free, The Better Chip snacks are non-GMO, vegan, whole grain and made with fresh vegetables. They appeal to deli manager because they're an innovation that can add new en- ergy to the category. "They get the ring on the sandwich, but when they [shoppers] come back to buy more, they get that ring in the deli. That's as opposed to, with other chips, that ring goes to grocery." Brule said. The 1.5-ounce bags retail as a separate a la carte offering for $.99 to $1.19. GN Deli Department Innovation with The Better Chip Millennials are excited for a chipotle-in- spired sauce dubbed "Magic in a Bottle," and large retailers like Whole Foods and Kroger's are taking notice. Hot Squeeze is offering its chipotle-charged line of sauces, rubs and spice blends to con- sumers, providing a series of products that taste great on everything from meat- balls and steaks to cream cheese and chicken. The rubs and sauces in this ver- satile line are low-sodium, all natural and fat-free with flavor options ranging from bold chipotle to zingy orange ginger. Sue Sullivan, Founder and Owner of Hot Squeeze, says that her line of sauces and rubs has already made a league of loyal customers. Says Sullivan, "I've been able to get this to all the Millennials – that's who everybody's trying to reach." Sullivan started Hot Squeeze to pivot away from the catering business she ran as a stay-at-home mom. She made her first chipotle sauce in her kitchen – which would later be known as Sweet Heat Chipotle Sauce – to bring as a spe- cialized condiment for jobs. The sauce became so popular that her clients knew her as the "caterer with the special sauce." She says, "I carried it in one of those squeeze bottles and after talking with friends – and a few cocktails – we thought [Hot Squeeze] was perfect." She added, "When I started Hot Squeeze, I stopped catering. People kept pestering me to make my sauce and so... I dove right in." The Decatur-based company was founded in 2007 and within the first three months of its initial bottling run, Sullivan was contacted by Whole Foods. That call changed everything for the company, and in three years, Hot Squeeze's line of products could be found on more than 2,500 grocery shelves. "I have a lock-down on the whole East Coast," Sullivan said. The company's flagship product, Sweet Heat Chipotle Sauce, has a sweet and smoky mix that rolls through the mouth with just the right amount of heat to keep customers coming back for more. Lov- ingly referred to "Magic in a Bottle," this sauce is low in calories, sodium and fat free and can be used as a marinade, cook- ing sauce or even a dip. Perfect for all types of proteins, the sauce brings a gour- met zing to chicken, steak and meatballs. Sullivan says, "I put it over cream cheese." The Orange Ginger Zing Sauce, Hot Squeeze Sweet Heat Mustard and The Ul- timate Vinaigrette round out the remain- ing sauces offered by the company – each with a distinct intent. The Orange Ginger Zing sauce is a zippy ginger- and citrus- infused sauce that is best used as a stir fry, a poultry marinade and pairs with all types of sea foods. "One of our top selling products is our Sweet Heat Mustard," says Sullivan. "It's made for mustard fiends." The Ultimate Vinaigrette is a light salad dressing that makes for an ex- cellent starter for coleslaw, pasta, potato and tuna salads. The dry rubs offered by the company mimic the flavor profiles of their liquid counterparts – Sweet Heat, Hotter Sweet Heat and Orange Ginger Zing Rub – and are meant to be applied to ribs or brisket but can also be mixed with sour cream to make a Tex-Mex styled dip. Sullivan says, "I tell people to sprinkle it over roasted sweet potato." GN Some Like it Hot Just one year after Newman's Own CEO Mike McGrath told LiDestri Foods CEO Giovanni LiDestri about an idea for a new line of organic pasta sauces, pallets of finished jars began arriving at Kroger stores nationwide, under the name Com- mon Good. The product line's speed to market be- comes even more impressive upon learn- ing that LiDestri, the Rochester, New York-based co-packer, commissioned a California farmer to grow a specific tomato varietal the two executives se- lected in an early taste test. Working at the LiDestri Innovation Center, they agreed the varietal beat out Italy's famed San Marzanos. The 1.5-million-pound special order began ripening in the fields in August 2015, and by November, they had been transformed into five flavors of Common Good pasta sauce: marinara, roasted garlic, vodka, tomato basil and arrabiata, packed on pallets and shipped to retail. "That's like the dream," McGrath says of the one-year conception-to-delivery execution, which also required teams of truck drivers to travel 24 hours a day be- tween the tomato fields and the cooking vats to hit the target delivery date. "I have been in the consumer packaged goods business a long time, and there's no question about LiDestri's ability to get product to market in fast order," Mc- Grath said. Speeding new products to market has never been more important to grabbing and holding market share, given the technology-fueled compression of today's business cycle. Lower barriers to entry have intensified competition and made the timely delivery of well-exe- cuted innovative products nearly non- negotiable for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. While some contract packagers do lit- tle more than receive formulas and turn raw materials into product, many, in- cluding LiDestri, are taking on an in- creasingly collaborative role in the CPG innovation process. In 2013, to foster collaboration with CPG and retail brand customers, LiDestri opened its Innova- tion Center, which includes not only modern test kitchens but also a pilot room, providing a valuable middle step in calibrating formulas between stovetop Newman's Own Rolls Out Organic Pasta Sauce Line "When I started Hot Squeeze, I stopped cater- ing. People kept pestering me to make my sauce and so... I dove right in." -Sue Sullivan, Founder and full-scale runs. For Common Good, McGrath and LiDestri worked side by side in the Innovation Center kitchens to develop the recipes, cooking their way through a mountain of spices and gallons of extra virgin olive oil. "In terms of innovation, they are all over it," McGrath said of LiDestri Foods, whose relationship with Newman's Own stretches back more than 30 years and in- cludes a close relationship between its founder, Paul Newman, and Giovanni LiDestri. Like the full line of Newman's Own products, all of Common Good's profits go to charity. "He's trying to help me build my brand," McGrath said. "To me, that's the most important thing that a co-packer can do—and, by the way, most don't do it." GN

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