Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2016 www.gourmetnews.com FROM THE PUBLISHER 4 Greetings! As we go to press with our April issues of Kitchenware News and Gourmet News, we're just back from attending both the International Home + Housewares Show and Natural Prod- ucts Expo West, where even the most cursory look around both exhibit halls was a strong re- minder that our country's eating patterns have changed. North Ameri- can snack food retail sales have been estimated at about $124 billion annually, with the global market estimated at about three times that. According to the Food Market- ing Institute, the average number of in-between- meal snacks grew from 1.9 per person per day in 2010 to 2.8 in 2014. More than half of American adults are now eating three or more snacks per day, and about one in five says that they're eating on the run and grabbing food when they can. Companies in both the food and housewares in- dustries are capitalizing on this trend with a wealth of new snack food items – the current trend seems to be in protein- based snacks with savory flavors – and with a plethora of snack-savvy food stor- age containers for consumers who prefer to pack snacks at home for themselves or their youngsters rather than picking up a single-serve package at the grocery store. Increasingly, snack foods don't necessar- ily equate to junk food. Food manufactur- ers are taking hard looks at their ingredient labels, and many are cutting back on sugar and artificial ingredients in favor of clean label ingredients that offer nutrition density, especially with respect to protein. Meat snacks, in particular, have been reformulated and reformatted to ap- peal to women, with ingredients such as blueberries and spices added to boost fla- vor. All of this points to a delicious year of guilt-free snacking, and it's a great re- minder that although we take food ex- tremely seriously here at our publishing company, it's also a lot of fun. GN — Lee M. Oser WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Lee M. Oser ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Kim Forrester Jules Denton jules_d@oser.com Delaney Oser delaney_o@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Micah Cheek micah_c@oser.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Greg Gonzales greg_g@oser.com ART DIRECTOR André Gressieux GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Yasmine Brown Krystal Robles CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGERS Sarah Glenn sarah_g@oser.com Caitlyn McGrath caitlyn_m@oser.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Carlos Velasquez carlos_v@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300 G OURMET N EWS ® OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of pro- prietary classified information. ©2016 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without writ- ten permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and dis- tribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annu- ally to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. FROM THE PUBLISHER

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