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GOURMET NEWS JULY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier Business SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 0 BRIEFS Fruit-First Sweetness from Blackberry Patch BY LORRIE BAUMANN Harry T. Jones' team calls him the Mortar of Blackberry Patch. His business partner, Randy Harvey is the Brick. They're bringing a new line of ice cream toppings to this year's Summer Fancy Food Show as well as the company's new three-ingredient Pre- mium Strawberry Syrup and Premium Peach Syrup and Strawberry Fig, Raspberry Pepper and Peach Pepper Cheese Pairings. "They're new this year. They're doing well," Jones says. Jones and Harvey actually introduced the ice cream toppings at January's Winter Fancy Food Show as yogurt toppings, but retailers told them that their customers weren't particularly looking for fruit top- pings for their yogurt, but they'd buy the products if they were positioned as an op- tion for those families in which the boys like one flavor of ice cream and the girls like another and Jamie over there doesn't care what kind of ice cream his parents buy as long as there are no nuts and nobody's looking at him while he stirs his ice cream into soup. Now mom and dad can solve that problem by offering Blackberry Patch's Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry or Rasp- berry Ice Cream Toppings. "We found that people were using fruit syrups as ice cream toppings. We decided to bring it out. There was a void in the market for premium fruit ice cream toppings. There was not one out there," Jones said. "We couldn't decide which three flavors to bring out as ice cream toppings, so we decided to go with all four. We made one with strawberry and decided it was so good that we had to do all four." Like all of Blackberry Patch's products, the new line of ice cream toppings is hand- made in small batches. "We use premium quality ingredients that are recognizable, that you might have in your own kitchen. Never any artificial color, flavor, or preservatives. It's really the craft approach – our grandmother would have made it, but it's available from a GFSI, SQF- Level 3 facility. Level 2 covers food safety; level 3 covers food safety and quality. It's a rigorous program to be involved with," Jones said. Jones and Harvey were two farmers who bought the Blackberry Patch business in 1999 as a way into the specialty food business. "It was our ticket to the dance to get into the specialty food industry," Jones said. They were attracted to Blackberry Patch after looking at dozens of other businesses because it was right down the road from their own farms, which they still own today, and it had an existing business with a premium quality product line. The two streamlined the product range from about 400 products to around 40. "We quickly re- alized that what the company did better than anything else in the world was fruit toppings," Jones said. "Around 2008, we decided that the company needed a higher end product and started making three-in- gredient fruit syrup. It has started booming in the last four years." "What we learned is that the folks that we bought the business from were growing a variety of items, some of which you've heard of and some of which you haven't. They didn't have a relationship with what the buyers wanted," Jones said. "Our busi- ness is now focused on making great fruit syrups and not being in the retail business and not distracted by growing all or most of our ingredients. We have farmers we work with.... We do search the world for the finest fruits, but a number of our prod- ucts are made with items from our area." In addition to making their fruit syrups and toppings, Jones and Harvey have made their business into a contributor to various charities. "We recognize that this business is a blessing, and as a consequence, we share profits with causes that we feel are worthwhile," Harvey said. Currently, a por- tion of the profits from Blackberry Patch is donated to support Marion Medical Mis- sions, providing clean water in developing nations; and The Gideons, bringing the Word of God to millions each year. "Our commitment to stewardship is at the core of our business, and we're very proud to be able to give something back to the global community," added Jones. GN Holsteiner Lager Takes Bronze Medal Argus Brewery's Holsteiner Lager received a bronze medal in the American-Style Amber Lager category at the Brewers Association 2016 World Beer Cup that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 6, 2016 following the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America ® . One of the largest commercial beer competitions to date, the 2016 World Beer Cup saw 6,596 beers from 1,907 breweries in 55 countries. Entries were judged by an elite international panel of 253 judges, with the chance for one gold, one silver and one bronze award in each of 96 beer style categories. In the American- Style Amber Lager category, Argus' Holsteiner Lager was one of 59 entries. New York State Chocolate Company Rebrands Bars Earlier this year, Barkeater Chocolates debuted new packaging for six gourmet chocolate bars. The bar packaging was redesigned and upgraded from plastic sleeves to paperboard boxes to modernize the look and make the prominent ingredients stand out easily to the consumer. The bars offered from Barkeater Chocolates in the new packaging are Downhill Darksider with Sea Salt, Beantown Bold with finely ground espresso, Citrus Surprise with orange, Black Bear with black raspberry and black pepper and Cherry Chic. Cherry Chic is one of several chocolate confections that source mainly domestic ingredients. Pete and Gerry's Organics Selects 360 Public Relations Pete and Gerry's Organics, LLC, producer of certified humane, free range eggs, has named 360 Public Relations to handle a multi-faceted communications program for its Pete and Gerry's Organic and Nellie's Free Range brands. The agency is helping to roll out a campaign to educate consumers and drive purchase of the brands, raising awareness of Pete and Gerry's longstanding mission to change the way America eats with its commitment to sourcing eggs from only humanely treated, free range hens raised on a network of more than 120 independent, small family farms. Mouthwatering New Line from Emmi Roth BY LORRIE BAUMANN Just the names of the new Kindred Creamery line of cheeses sound so deli- cious that you're going to want to start the pasta water boiling now, just so you can find out as soon as possible if they're even half as much fun to play with in the kitchen as the flavor names suggest. Even better, these are cheeses you'll be able to enjoy without even a niggling lit- tle bit of guilt because they're made by a creamery that's espousing a new Cows First™ animal welfare program. Just imagine: Forage Mushroom & Spring Onion Jack Round, Spicy Sriracha Jack Round, Ghost Pepper Colby Jack, Wild Ginseng & Garlic Jack Round, Sweet Fire Mango Jack Round. Mmm, fondue anyone? Those are in addition to the classics that Americans already love: the cheddars in mild, medium and sharp, Pepper Jack and Monterey Jack, a Hick- ory Smoked Cheddar Chunk and a Nat- ural Smoked Gouda Round. These cheeses are being sold under the Kindred Creamery brand from Emmi Roth USA, which is paying the 210 or so family dairy farmers that produce the milk for these cheeses a premium price in return for their participation in the Cows First program, which requires them to provide free access to pasture and fresh water, enough space in their barn so the cows can all lie down at once and a diet that doesn't include ani- mal by-products. The cows aren't dosed with growth hormones or sub- therapeutic antibiotics, and their tails aren't docked. Participating dairy farmers are regularly audited to ensure that they're complying with the agreement they sign when they join the pro- gram. "When cows are treated fairly, their milk is of the highest standard. High quality milk allows us to produce high quality cheese in a sustain- able manner," the company says in its explanation of the Cows First program. The Kindred cheeses are debuting this summer at the Fancy Food Show and at Dairy-Deli-Bake. Taste them in the Emmi Roth booths. GN Cypress Grove Wins 13 Prizes at California State Fair Cypress Grove won 13 prizes at the 2016 California State Fair Commercial Cheese Competition. Cypress Grove's Truffle Tremor and Fromage Blanc were each awarded a prestigious Best of California prize, in addition to eight gold medals and three silver medals for several other cheeses. Not ones to be left out of the fun, the other winners include: soft-ripened Humboldt Fog Grande and Mini, Truffle Tremor Mini, and Bermuda Triangle; and fresh cheeses Purple Haze, Sgt. Pepper, Ms. Natural, PsycheDillic, and Herbs de Humboldt.

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