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Restaurant Daily News Marketplace Sunday, May 22, 2016 H 2016 SPECIALTY FOOD INTRODUCTIONS By Lorrie Baumann Robert Rothschild Farm took January's Winter Fancy Food Show as its opportu- nity to unveil a new direction that hear- kens back to the company's heritage as a raspberry farm. Over the years, of course, Robert Rothschild Farm has evolved into a specialty foods company that's famous for its dips and entertaining products, but the company went back to its beginnings for the inspiration for its new Heritage Collection, a line of products that includes Raspberry Amaretto Jam and Raspberry Pineapple Grilling Glaze, which debuted alongside a new Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. The products made their bow in new jars of Egyptian glass with copper-color lids that will fit well into contemporary kitchen designs. The label features a hand-drawn illustration and embossed Robert Rothschild brand and shows more of the product than its predecessor. "It really screams 'premium,'" said Marketing Director Ryan Husted. "We're over-investing in the label, investing in the glass." The labels were designed with help from consumers who expressed that they identified the Robert Rothschild brand with the house design that's now includ- ed as the hand-drawn illustration on the label and the hexagonal shape of the Robert Rothschild Farm jars. They also wanted a label that communicated, not just quality, but transparency about the ingredients inside the jar. "They all really wanted a very clean label," Husted said. "We are all clean label." The new line is part of a dramatic change in the company's product devel- opment strategy: instead of introducing a multitude of new products each year and letting the marketplace decide which of those will succeed, the company plans to launch just two or three products per year. By the time it's offered to retailers, each new product will have been thor- oughly consumer-tested to be sure that consumers like the tastes and the prod- ucts will stand up well against competi- tors. "Retailers will have a product we know is going to sell," Husted said. The new approach is calculated to result in less product changeover, so retailers will be able to count on being able to continue to get a Robert Rothschild Farm product that their cus- tomers have come to enjoy, according to Husted. One thing that isn't changing: Robert Rothschild Farm plans to contin- ue making its recipes small-batch-from- scratch with the highest quality ingredi- ents, Husted said. Around Robert Rothschild Farm, the Winter Fancy Food Show's sold-out exhibit halls hosted 1,500 exhibitors from across the U.S. and 28 countries. The show drew close to 20,000 attendees, a 16 percent increase above 2015 num- bers. Buyers represented top names in retailing, restaurants and foodservice including Whole Foods, Kroger, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, Williams- Sonoma, Alaska Airlines, and hundreds of local specialty and natural food mar- kets, according to the Specialty Food Association, the show's owner and pro- ducer. Sutter Buttes displayed several new gifts sets, including a gift set of infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars that includes 2 ounces of each of four oils and four vinegars packed in a tin with a clear plastic window on top to show the prod- uct. The gift set will retail for $39 to $43. An Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar gift set includes a 250 ml bottle of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and a 125 ml bottle of Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil, an Italian-style extra virgin olive oil grown and bottled in California, together with 4 ounces of spices and a ceramic tray to make a presentation-qual- ity gift that would make a beautiful host- ess gift for a holiday party. The set will retail for $40. In addition to the gift sets, Sutter Buttes is offering a line of tapenades in grab and go packaging with gourmet crackers. The line includes Sun-dried Tomato and Olive, Green Olive and Black Olive varieties for specialty retail- ers to include in their cheese cases. "We wanted to be able to offer something very healthy so they can do that," said Sales Manager Sharon Fullerton. The tape- nades will retail for $7 to $8. Also for the cheese case, Sutter Buttes is offering a Cheese Condiment Trio that includes Wild Flower Natural Honey, Meyer Lemon Ginger Jam and Caramelized Onion Balsamic Jam in three 4-ounce jars. The Meyer Lemon Ginger has become one of the company's biggest sellers, and the products are all gluten-free, hand-made in small batches, and all natural, with ingredients locally sourced within 40 miles of Sutter Buttes' kitchen. "It's important to know what you're getting," Fullerton said. "When you buy locally, you know it's made of good-quality products that support local farms. And you know that it hasn't been sitting on a shelf for two years." Stonewall Kitchen is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016. "It's fairly remarkable to find a specialty food com- pany that's lasted 25 years," said Stonewall Kitchen President John Stiker. "It's a testament to what Jon [Stonewall Kitchen Co-founder Jonathan King] and Jim [Co-founder Jim Stott] created and to the quality and the innovation principles that the company has adhered to." For its celebratory year, Stonewall Kitchen's product line includes 25 of the compa- ny's classics along with its new products, including four organic products – two fruity and two savory jams – launched at the show. "We're now organic-certified through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association," Stiker said. The four new organic jams are Maine Blueberry Cherry Jam, Strawberry Vanilla Jam, Maple Apple Onion Jam and Sweet Chili Jam. Alongside those, Stonewall Kitchen is adding to its line of breakfast products with Farmhouse Oatmeal. This steel-cut oatmeal cooks in just two to three min- utes in the microwave oven or three to five minutes on the stove top. For folks who want flavoring already added into their oatmeal, Stonewall Kitchen is offer- ing Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, Blueberry Maple Oatmeal and Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal. The oatmeals will retail for $9.95 for an eight-serving can. The Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal includes lots of little bits of real apple, and the Blueberry Maple has a satisfying propor- tion of dried blueberries. "There's a lot of blueberries going on," Stiker said. "At Stonewall Kitchen, we don't skimp on our ingredients." The breakfast line continues with the introduction of Maple Blueberry Syrup. "I like blueberry, but to me, it's always been too blueberry," Stiker commented. "It's a really simple idea – I don't know why we didn't think of it before. It's a perfect combination." Breakfast isn't the only meal of the day, though, even though it's now fash- ionable to eat it at any time during the day, so Stonewall Kitchen has a number of new products designed for lunches, dinner and snacking – any of which go better with bacon. For the bacon-lovers, Stonewall Kitchen is now offering Bacon Ranch Dressing and Horseradish Bacon Mustard Dip. A new gift set intended to retail for $24.95 includes Boozy Bacon Barbecue Sauce, Maple Bacon Aioli and Maple Bacon Onion Jam. "At Stonewall, we say you can never have too much bacon," Stiker said. WISCONSIN MILK MARKETING BOARD PREDICTS 2016 CHEESE TRENDS Convenience, flavor, authenticity and freshness. These key factors will drive consumer cheese purchases in 2016, according to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Americans' passion for cheese con- tinues to be at an all-time high. According to recent reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes 34 pounds of cheese annually, a growth of 43 percent over the past 25 years. Per capita spending on cheese has also increased 37 percent since 2008 as more U.S. consumers are enjoying cheese not only for its flavor, but also for its nutritional benefits. Cheesemakers are meeting these demands with new introductions that go beyond convenience, taking flavor and performance to innovative new heights for both home cooks and on-the-go snackers. The seven things cheese consumers will look for in 2016 are: Authenticity: According to Technomic, 62 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase foods produced locally. They want to know how it was made, by whom, and if sustainable prac- tices were used to do so. The Millennial generation is a driv- ing force behind this trend. Not only have they come to expect transparency in the food they purchase and consume, they are also willing to pay a premium for it. This includes specialty cheeses which, in Wisconsin, have doubled in production over the past decade. Bold Flavor: Bold and uniquely fla- vored cheeses are expected to outperform in both volume and dollar sales as con- sumers look for ways to diversify their palates. Year-to-date 2015 data from IRI finds flavored cheeses up by 4.5 percent in volume sales while unflavored cheeses are up by only half a percent. Cheeses with hints of jalapeño, herbs, garlic and even berry are anticipated to entice con- sumers whether they are browsing menus or deli cases. Snack Sophistication: According to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's custom IRI database, snacks are outper- forming the consumer packaged goods category as a whole in all channels. Americans continue to eat on the go, but they know they don't have to sacrifice taste or nutrition to do so. In fact, more consumers are looking for convenient ways to add high-quality proteins to their diets, with Mintel reporting sales of pro- tein-rich snacks increasing by 89 percent between 2012 and 2014. New items such as snack sticks with notes of parmesan and zesty teriyaki beef, fresh mozzarella ball snack packs and aged cheddar crack- er cuts offer nutritional value and grown- up flavor appeal to the growing snack sector. Info to Go: With a smartphone or tablet in hand, consumers are searching, planning, sharing and purchasing food online, including cheese. In fact, accord- ing to Nielsen data, more than 80 percent of Millennials rely on their mobile devices when shopping. Mobile apps like Wisconsin Cheese Cupid help shoppers pair cheeses with their favorite beer, wine or spirit, while the new Google app now provides in-depth information on hun- dreds of varieties of cheeses. Freshness: Cheese curds continue to excite consumers as they look for ways to enjoy more fresh cheeses. Data from IRI shows sales of curds are up 17.3 percent at retail and seven percent at foodservice. Specifically, menu mentions of Wisconsin Cheese Curds have also increased 13 percent. Tradition: Cheesemakers are per- fecting the aging process and returning to more traditional ways of doing so. Many affineurs are tapping into the historical tradition of underground aging caves with high humidity and moderate temper- ature, moving away from standard walk- in coolers and finding ways to create their own caves on site. Performance: Shredded cheese is going beyond basic convenience with new blends for specific applications such as homemade flatbreads and macaroni and cheese. With blends created for opti- mal flavor and meltability, consumers can easily and cost-effectively achieve restaurant-quality results at home. Other new shred products include flavorful additions such as rosemary and roasted garlic to easily build flavor into home- made meals.