Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier News SUPPLIER NEWS 1 4 BRIEFS BY LORRIE BAUMANN La Panzanella ® , a brand long familiar to the Pacific Northwest for crackers intended as accompaniments for a good cheese or a high-quality spread, is entering the snack foods market with its Croccantini ® Bites, low-fat, cholesterol-free, bite-size Italian- style crackers intended to be eaten and en- joyed on their own. "The flavors are bolder," said President and Owner Paul Pigott. "They're not hot, but definitely bolder.... Bites are a product that has seasoning on the outside of the crackers for a more powerful flavor that propels it into the snack category, where it might be eaten on its own." The La Panzanella Croccantini Bites are rolling out this year through the brand's ex- isting distribution channels, which include specialty stores and natural foods markets. They're available in 4.75-ounce resealable pouch bags in three flavors – Italian Herb, Spicy Olive and Sundried Tomato Basil – with a sug- gested re- tail price of $3.99. " W e ' v e stayed true to certain principles, which is that every- thing is all n a t u r a l , n o n - GMO," Pig- ott added. "We're using the same baking techniques that we've always used – it's just that we've added the seasonings and cut the crackers smaller, so they're a one-bite, pop- in-your-mouth size." La Panzanella started off as a Seattle bak- ery selling fresh bread to restau- rants. Then Giaconda, the mother of Founder Ciro Pas- ciutto, suggested in 1997 that the company add crackers to its product line. She developed a recipe based on her Italian her- itage. "That really set things in motion, so that in a very short period of time, the crackers were the primary product for the business," Pigott said. Pigott joined the company in 2003, and the company has been focusing on its crackers ever since. It's now the number one-selling specialty cracker company in the U.S., according to Pigott. With the Croccantini Bites, the company is reaching out to Millennials with a package that includes nutrition claims as well as the Non-GMO Project Verified certification on the front of the package. "People are be- coming much more interested in under- standing what they're eating and whether it's healthful for them. Millennials are the sweet spot for this product. Something like half of them consider themselves foodies, and they are very inter- ested in reading the label and making sure this is something that fits their criteria for what they're eating," Pigott said. "Many of them don't sit down for meals – they eat snacks five times a day. They are eating on the go and are wanting the quick and easy ready- to-go meals. While there's something to be said for eating as families, many of them do not have families yet. They also have an ad- venturous palate and are interested in try- ing new things, and our new bolder flavors are intended to appeal to that." While the products are currently avail- able only in the 4.75-ounce package, Pig- ott is planning to bring out a smaller package in the next year or so – some- thing closer to 2 ounces – and the flavor varieties will stay the same over the next year or so. "We want to have a good un- derstanding of what's working for us here before we do that [add any potential new flavors]. We need to get that market feed- back before we key in on certain things," Pigott said. "We're probably not going to do any outlandish flavors because that doesn't suit our persona or our core cus- tomers. We're sticking with the flavors that La Panzanella customers will be fa- miliar with." GN La Panzanella Delivers On-Trend Snack Cracker Fortune Fish & Gourmet Completes Purchase of Coastal Seafoods Fortune Fish & Gourmet, purveyor of quality seafood, meats, and gourmet products; has bought Coastal Seafoods, a Minnesota-based seafood purveyor and retailer. Already one of the nation's largest seafood and specialty food distributors, the acquisition will expand Fortune's service footprint to Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and areas of northern Iowa and northern Wisconsin. Fortune will continue to operate the business out of the Coastal Seafoods Minneapolis facility. The current facility will be transitioned to Fortune Fish's state-of-the-art bar-coding inventory system in the next two to three months for uniformity and efficiency. Dannon Brings Non-GMO Ingredient Options and Clear-Labels Commitment New yogurts with non-GMO ingredients are now available for the first time from Dannon. Both Dannon ® and Oikos ® branded products now contain more natural and non-GMO ingredients. This is the beginning of the transformation of the company's Danimals, Oikos and Dannon brands, which over time will evolve to contain non-GMO ingredients to add more choices to the most diverse range of yogurts available in the U.S. Additionally, expected to be completed within several months, all Dannon products in the U.S. that have GMO ingredients will be clearly labeled as such, independent of actions taken by the federal government. Starting in 2017 and completing the transformation by the end of 2018, Dannon will go one step further to ensure that the cows that supply Dannon's milk for these three flagship brands will be fed non- GMO feed, a first for a leading non-organic yogurt maker. This will involve the conversion of an estimated 80,000 acres of farmland to produce non-GMO crops in order to provide non-GMO feed for the milk used to make Dannon, Oikos and Danimals ® brand products. New Macadamia Nut Butter and Spread from Royal Hawaiian Orchards Royal Hawaiian Orchards All-Natural Creamy Macadamia Butter and Royal Hawaiian Orchards Dark Chocolate Macadamia Spread are crafted with the brand's signature macadamias locally grown and cultivated in the volcanic soil of Hilo, Hawaii. The lineup combines indulgent flavor with a smooth buttery consistency. A fresh take on traditional nut butters, the new products are available nationwide at select conventional grocers and natural food stores. A better-for-you nut butter, the All-Natural Creamy Macadamia Butter contains roasted macadamias without added salt or oil and with no dairy, soy, lactose, cholesterol, gluten, or wheat. The Dark Chocolate Macadamia Spread combines the bold taste of dark chocolate with the buttery taste of real macadamias as a sweet indulgence ideal for eating straight from the jar or atop fruit or baked foods. Both specialty products are Non-GMO Project Verified and OU Kosher, with a retail price of $17.50 per 12-ounce glass jar. KIND Healthy Snacks recently published the added sugar content of the 60+ snacks across its portfolio, furthering its commit- ment to transparency surrounding its prod- ucts and their nutritionals. The announcement came two years in advance of the deadline recently set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food companies to break out the added sugar content in their products. "Our approach at KIND is to provide consumers with straightforward informa- tion about what they're putting into their bodies, so for us, publishing the added sugar content in our snacks is a natural next step in our ongoing commitment to transparency," said Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO of KIND. KIND shared the information on its newly launched web page, KIND Promises, which for the first time, publicly outlines the overarching health and nutrition prin- ciples that guide the company's innovation. "Always using a nutrient-dense food like nuts, whole grains or fruit as our first in- gredient and striving to make products that are low glycemic are among the standards that guide our product innovation," said Stephanie Perruzza, MS, RD, CDN and Health and Wellness Specialist at KIND. "As we look to the future, we'll continue to stand by these principles when creating new snacks made with wholesome, recog- nizable ingredients." Over the years, the company has taken significant steps to use as little sugar as possible in its snacks without compromis- ing taste or adding artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. These include reducing the sugar in seven of its Fruit & Nut bars to contain between 14 and 56 percent less added sugar compared to prior recipes. The rollout of the new bars, which began earlier this year, will be completed next year. Made with only fruit and chia or fruit and vegetables, KIND's newly launched Pressed by KIND™ bars contain no added sugar and provide two full servings of fruit, equivalent to one cup. The U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines suggests an intake of one to two cups of fruit per day. And, with 5g of sugar or less, all of the bars in KIND's best-selling Nuts & Spices line contain 50 to 60 percent less total sugar compared to the average nutri- tion bar. GN KIND Publishes Added Sugar Content Across Its Portfolio

• Cover