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GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier Business SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 1 BRIEFS Albertsons Companies Sets Goal for Cage-Free Eggs by 2025 Albertsons Companies will be working with its suppliers toward a goal of sourcing only cage- free eggs for its store operations by 2025, based on available supply. The company, among the first and largest in the conventional retail grocery sector to make such a commitment, is making the move not only as part of its ongoing commitment to animal welfare but also in response to customer buying habits. "We take our commitment to providing responsibly sourced products seriously, and that responsibility extends naturally into ensuring our suppliers uphold humane animal welfare practices," said Shane Sampson, Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer. "The transition to cage-free eggs will help us continue to provide a great, humane product to our customers while ensuring that our suppliers have ample time to prepare their operations to meet increased demand from retailers." Albertsons Companies sources product for more than 2,200 stores from reputable vendors who have a track record for treating animals in the food production system humanely. The Greek Gods Brand Introduces Nonfat Greek Yogurt with Chia Seeds The Greek Gods ® brand has unveiled a high protein nonfat Greek yogurt with the inclusion of chia seeds. The new yogurts are available in a 5.3-ounce single serve cup with chia seeds and vanilla or fruit on the bottom. Conveniently and creatively packaged, this delicious snack contains 12 grams of protein per serving. Available in four delectable flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Peach and Blackberry, each with 140 calories or less. Pederson's Natural Farms Donates Organic Sausage to Food Bank In an effort to help the fight against hunger, Pederson's Natural Farms recently donated 1082 pounds of organic smoked sausage to North Texas hunger-relief organization, Community Food Bank. Pederson's Natural Farms' donation will provide approximately 4,328 servings of superior quality, hormone and antibiotic free protein source to individuals and families in need. According to both state and national research, protein is one of the most frequently requested items at food pantries, yet the hardest to come by. "At Pederson's Natural Farms, we believe everyone deserves access to fresh, wholesome protein – customer or not," said Cody Lane, President of Pederson's Natural Farms. "There's no better feeling than knowing our donation will place organic sausage on the plates of those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. We're proud to work with Community Food Bank." try a beer, then try a cider, and say our product tastes flat," he says. "If we go any higher(in carbonation), it's the champagne tax, which makes this prohibitive." As the cider industry grew, producers were finding that they couldn't afford to make the kinds of ciders that customers were becoming interested in. They organ- ized and found that they were dealing with an industry-wide issue. "There wasn't one single event – it was more of a critical mass," says Nat West of Reverend Nat's Hard Cider. "Someone raises their hand and says 'I know the senator in my state, let me call them up and ask them what to do.' There was enough critical mass that we looked around and realized we could make it happen." "Once we had a bill in Congress, then it was that grass roots… (Producers) calling their representatives," says West. "As a re- sult, the bill was very highly sponsored. There were dozens of senators and reps for the bills; it was very bipartisan." Support for the bill was enhanced by the cider pro- ducers' contention that the change isn't going to cost the government anything, ac- cording to Rowell. "Congress was asking, 'How much is this going to cost us?'" he says. "One of the keys is, it's revenue-neu- tral or -enhancing." With the passing of the act, cider and perry producers are looking forward to new opportunities. "We'll have more leeway with our products," says Micheal Beck, President of the United States Association of Cider Makers and Co-owner of Uncle John's Cider Mill. "You definitely have more room to work with. You're definitely at less risk of being taxed at a much higher rate." Beck notes that this leeway is impor- tant to a quickly growing industry. "We hope to sustain this growth. We still haven't achieved 100 percent market penetration. Some retail places have yet to try cider." Greater flexibility also means a greater ability to innovate. "I don't think you'll see established companies increasing the alco- hol level that much. What you will see, though, is medium-sized craft producers having the option to make ciders we wanted to make, but couldn't afford to make because of taxes," adds West. "Retail- ers are going to see a greater variety…. When a consumer goes and sees a cider on a shelf, they'll say, 'cider shmider.' But when they see 20 on the shelf, they'll say, 'Hey, I want to try that.'" GN CIDER Act Brings Refreshing Changes BY MICAH CHEEK Cider producers have scored a victory for their craft with the passage of the Cider In- dustry Deserves Equal Representation Act, or CIDER Act. Passage of the act means that cider and perry producers can make beverages with higher alcohol and carbon- ation contents without being pushed into a much more expensive tax category. Consumers wanted ciders with qualities that required coming up against these highly taxed levels, cider makers said. "Cider in the tax code is defined very nar- rowly," says Dan Rowell, CEO of Vermont Hard Cider. Prior to the passage, ciders would be taxed as wine if they exceeded a seven percent alcohol content, and taxed as champagne if they exceeded 3.92 grams of carbon dioxide per liter. While producers normally paid 17 cents per gallon in taxes, going over the required carbon dioxide content limit bounced their taxes to $3.30 per gallon. "A lot of smaller guys have been living under that risk and hoping they don't get caught," adds Rowell. "Smaller players were either paying that tax or running the risk." Customer comments drove the move- ment, according to Rowell. "People would BY LORRIE BAUMANN It's a biscotti. But it's round. Like a cookie. Maybe it's a bookie? No, wait. That's a whole other thing. "I emphasize the fact that it's round, more like a cookie. That the big differen- tiating factor between our biscotti and others," says Dina Upton, Founder and Baker of The Bites Company. After many years of baking and serving biscotti to her friends, she started noticing that the women would often break them in half and then eat only half, leaving the rest on the plate. "I realized that they were not wanting to eat something so large," she says. "People have gotten a lot more health-conscious. It was wasteful." So, first she started making them smaller, and then she started making them round. The round biscotti still have the texture and flavor that we expect from a biscotti, but you don't have to bite them on the side of your mouth to break off a bite-size piece, and, while they'll hold up to dunking, they don't have to be dunked to soften them first, Upton says. "When I made them round like a cookie, they were still crunchy, but they didn't have that density. They're a little lighter.... The flavor comes through a lot more." The round biscotti also appeals more to children than the traditional shape, Upton has noticed. "When we changed the shape, the kids were more apt to try them," she says. "You can just grab it. It's much easier. They don't have to think about, what's that?" Biscotti from The Bites Company are made in three flavors: almond, lemon and chocolate. This year, Upton will start of- fering an organic version. "I think that's going to be a game-changer," she says. "The ingredients are already very clean, but I feel like people are looking for more organic options in the processed food cat- egory." The organic ingredients – organic cage- free eggs, organic flour and organic sugar – for the line have already been sourced, new package designs are on the way, and Upton expects the new versions of the products to launch onto the market in June. "These ingredients are more expensive, but I'm working very hard on keeping the same price point," Upton says. "I don't want people to feel that because it's organic, they have to pay so much more." This year, Upton will also launch the lemon and chocolate flavors in single-serving packages. The almond flavor launched earlier this year and has received great response, she says. A single serving, one ounce, is 10 cookies. The Bites Com- pany biscotti are also low in sodium. "These are so flavorful and so satisfying – you only need to eat two or three, and you do feel that you've gotten some sweet- ness," she says. "You've gotten a treat, and you don't have to indulge in a giant piece of cake." GN Biscotti You Can Roll With from The Bites Company

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