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News & Notes GOURMET NEWS AUGUST 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 6 Whole Foods Market, Inc. has selected Nielsen as its primary U.S. analytics provider for point-of-sale data, consumer insights and industry metrics. Nielsen is working with the company to collabora- tively create a customized natural and or- ganic product hierarchy that will provide a comprehensive view of Whole Foods Mar- ket's product categories, including ingredi- ent level attributes. In addition to allowing the company and its supplier partners to make faster and more informed data-decisions to drive growth, the comprehensive and fully inte- grated hierarchical data will yield a deeper understanding of customer preferences. The data will be used in new product de- velopment and to help Whole Foods stay on top of consumer trends. Fueled by a global view of retail per- formance measurement and a growing ability to measure the total consumer, Nielsen was chosen for its comprehen- sive understanding of Whole Foods Mar- ket's retail universe and inerrable coverage across categories, channels and marketing media. In addition to develop- ing the customized hierarchy, Nielsen will provide measurement and marketing analytics for all U.S. Whole Foods Mar- ket stores. "Whole Foods Market has long been a great retail artist," said Don Clark, Whole Foods Market's Global Vice President of Procurement, Non-perishables. "This part- nership allows us to better blend the art and science of food retail, helping us com- pete more effectively in a very dynamic en- vironment." "We are thrilled to be working with Whole Foods Market to bring the most comprehensive product hierarchy in the health and wellness space to the industry," said Rob Hill, Executive Vice President of Retail Services at Nielsen. "This hierarchy, that will be opened up to the supplier com- munity for the first time, is a foundation for an expanded analytics and consumer-cen- tric engagement that we are proud to be working with Whole Foods Market and the industry on." GN Whole Foods Market Selects Nielsen as U.S. Analytics Provider BRIEFS Watchdog Group Criticizes Proposed Animal Welfare Rule Organic industry watchdog The Cornucopia Institute is criticizing proposed USDA rules for animal welfare on organic farms because the organization says that the options presented in the USDA's draft rule would confine birds to as little as one square foot indoors and only require farms to provide two square feet of "pasture" outdoors, half of which could be covered with concrete. The group is urging consumers to fight back by seeking out truly organic eggs, produced humanely. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards Agriculture Project AgBiome, LLC, which develops microbial solutions for agriculture, has been awarded a multi-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to discover biological insect control for deployment to smallholder farmers in African nations. The project, entitled "RSM Systems Biology for Sweetpotato: Engineering the African Root/Soil/Microbiome for Enhanced Crop Productivity," aims to discover beneficial microbes with the ability to control sweet potato weevils. Study Finds Organic Farming Methods Produce Better Incomes for Farmers A long-term study by the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Kenya has shown that organic agriculture not only generates comparable yields, but produces more income for farmers than conventional methods. The 10-year study in Thika and Chuka was conducted with local partners since 2007. With input costs lower for organic agriculture and higher prices on the markets, incomes for organic farmers start to be higher after five years and reach a 63 percent higher benefit in the sixth year. Growth in Edible Insects Market Global Edible Insects Market size is poised to exceed $ 522 million (USD) by 2023, as per the latest research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Increasingly positive outlook on insect or bug consumption, as a healthy, alternative and sustainable protein source will drive demand. Beetles dominated demand and were valued at $9.7 million in 2015. Key human consumption patterns involve the use of insects as a whole or in powder form for flour, protein bars and other snacks. Home Delivery Service Focuses on Baby Food Founded by moms for moms, Dallas-based organic produce delivery company Lilly & Bella just launched and is now taking orders in north Texas. The weekly subscription-based service offers fresh, organic produce delivered to customers' doorsteps, accompanied by handcrafted easy-to-follow recipes, empowering families to make their own baby food from scratch. The Confrérie du Gruyère, or Brotherhood of Gruyère, inducted 43 U.S.-based part- ners into the brother- hood on June 24 in New York City. The event, held at the New York Hilton Midtown, marked the first time in its history that the brotherhood visited the U.S. More than 150 members traveled from Switzer- land for the event, in- cluding the brotherhood's official choir, which per- formed local songs of the Gruyères region. The Confrérie was formed in 1981 to protect and promote authentic Gruyère AOP Switzerland. Its main role now is to honor the people who care for and promote this ancient cheese. The New York ceremony marked the be- ginning of a USA chapter of the brother- hood and required inductees to swear their attachment to the cheese and con- fess their true belief in Gruyère AOP, a Protected Designa- tion of Origin cheese produced in 170 dairies located in five regions around the town of Gruyères in western Switzerland. The production and aging for the prod- uct is defined by Swiss law, and all Gruyère AOP pro- ducers must follow these rules, which have not changed in more than 900 years of production. Gruyère AOP is 100 percent natural, free of additives and naturally gluten and lac- tose free. GN Gruyère Brotherhood Inducts American Members Becky Renfro Borbolla, of Renfro Foods, Inc., will be the Specialty Food Associa- tion's Chairperson for the board of directors for the 2016-2018 term. She is one of four new board officers, while Shawn McBride of Foah International LLC will continue to serve, as Past Chairperson. Rounding out the new officers are Vice Chairperson Matt Nielsen, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas; Board Financial Officer William Booker III, Smithfield Specialty Foods Group and Secretary Trish Pohonka, Euro- pean Imports Ltd. Also elected to new two-year terms on the Specialty Food Association's board of directors are Charlie Apt, Sarabeth's Kitchen; Dan W. Dowe, Artisanal Cheese, LLC; Susan Eriksen, Char Crust, Inc.; David Gremmels, Rogue Creamery; Kirsten Hogan, UNFI; Lori King, Stonewall Kitchen; Tom Knibbs, Urban Accents; Emilio Mignucci, Di Bruno Bros.; Greg O'Neill, Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine; Todd Rubin, The Republic of Tea and Lee Zalben, Peanut Butter & Company. Those serving on the board are all mem- bers of the Association, a not-for-profit trade association that represents all seg- ments of the $120.5 billion U.S. specialty food industry and member companies abroad. The board term is two years. Directors concluding their service are Jack Acree, Saffron Road Foods; Cara Fig- gins, Partners, a tasteful choice company; Case Fischer, Fischer & Weiser Specialty Foods; Arnim von Friedeburg, CMA Global Partners – German Foods and Patricia Lobel, Avenue Gourmet. GN New Directors Take Their Seats at Specialty Food Association

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