Oser Communications Group

BY LORRIE BAUMANN A new study highlights the cost for American cheesemakers and the entire dairy industry if Euro- pean rules restricting the use of the "feta" and "parmesan" names were to be enforced in the United States as well. The only real good news in the report is that al- though small and medium-sized firms would be significantly pres- sured by lower cheese prices, they might be able to survive by marketing their niche and spe- cialty cheeses. The report was funded by the Consortium for Common Food Names, a dairy industry group. According to Informa Eco- BY LORRIE BAUMANN As both a retailer and a wholesale meat processor, Rastelli Foods Group is in prime position to ob- serve how the American grocery landscape is evolving. Rastelli Foods Group supplies meat in the wholesale market to grocers and meal kit delivery services up and down the East Coast of the U.S., provides meat for U.S. mili- tary installations overseas, ships directly to consumers across the U.S. and operates two New Jersey specialty grocery stores, a 6,000- square foot store originally opened in Deptford as Rastelli's Meat Stop and then remodeled Rastelli Foods Group Caters to Both Consumers and Other Retailers Continued on PAGE 8 Continued on PAGE 8 Continued on PAGE 8 and reopened five years ago as Rastelli Market Fresh and a new 40,000 square-foot specialty gro- cer in Marlton. Ray Rastelli, III is the com- pany's Vice President and son of the Founder who started Rastelli Meat Stop about 40 years ago and grew it into one of the premier meat suppliers on the East Coast. His father, also Ray Rastelli, is still very active in the business and likely to be recognized by the QVC shoppers who see him pitching fresh and frozen meats four to six times a week on their televisions. The QVC sales are part of a direct-to-consumer mail- order operation that delivers 50,000 to 60,000 packages, mainly fresh and frozen meat and seafood products, both to those QVC shoppers and to customers who come directly to the com- pany's website. "We started our e- commerce platform in 2009," Rastelli says. "For the first few years, we sold a few thousand packages a month. Over the past 18 months, we've seen a signifi- cant, significant increase." From this vantage point, Ray Rastelli, 33, is seeing a trend that's corroborated by marketing researchers. U.S. government figures document that about half of Americans' food dollars are now spend on food prepared in restaurants, and even when Americans eat at home, that doesn't necessarily mean they're doing the same kind of cooking that their grandmothers did. "The biggest thing I see that's re- ally changing in the past two years is the evolution of the at- home delivery companies," Rastelli said. "Some of the retail- ers we work with are trying to come out with their own version of that – meal kits right at the front of the store. Those compa- Wandering the Human Zoo with a Market Researcher New Study Assesses Potential Impacts of Geographical Indications for Cheeses nomics IEG, a market research firm specializing in the agricul- ture industry, the adoption of rules prohibiting American com- panies from using the "feta" and "parmesan" names would dimin- ish demand for American-made cheeses now sold under those names, and the negative impacts could also affect American-made cheeses labeled Asiago, Gor- gonzola, Romano, Havarti, Neufchatel, Fontina and Muen- ster. Eventually, those restrictions could also affect Brie, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Camembert, Gouda, Raclette, Edam, Provolone, Bur- rata, Emmentaler and even Ched- dar cheeses. Under European Union regu- lations, only cheesemakers in the specific geographic area in which certain cheeses originated are allowed to use names that have been ruled as geographic indicators. At present, there are 250 cheeses that have been granted such protection in the EU or are in the process of ac- quiring it. If U.S. cheese manu- facturers were forced to adhere to these regulations, they'd likely be required to suspend use of names that have commonly been used in the U.S. for decades. The report suggests that the only BY LORRIE BAUMANN Terra's Kitchen is one of those meal kit delivery services that have been springing up all over the country, and while it's only just over a year old, it's taking off nationally by offering conven- ience, freshness and flexibility to busy individuals with a wide range of dietary requirements and concerns about the environ- mental sustainability of their choices. "We know that there are many different ways to eat in a Continued on PAGE 9 Meal Delivery Service Caters to Health-Conscious But Busy Consumers healthy manner," said Michael McDevitt, the company's CEO. "We're meeting the needs of many different types of con- sumers." McDevitt started the business just 19 months ago. "I got the news that I was becoming a fa- ther, and I wanted to do every- thing I could do to reinvent the childhood I had growing up around the table, which seemed to have fallen off," he said. "Peo- ple are just so busy today." "We exist to connect family and friends back around the din- ner table. That's why we are here," he continued. The company has four pillars to its brand: health, talk, balance and convenience. Recipes for the meals are developed as a cooperation be- tween the company's Creative Culinary Director, Libbie Sum- mers, and its Director of Nutrition, Dr. Lisa Davis, PhD, PA-C, CNS, to BY LORRIE BAUMANN Around 52 million American con- sumers are people that market re- searcher Maryellen Molyneaux says are among those motivated by health and sustainability. This population, which she calls LOHAS consumers, is particularly important to retailers because they're well-educated, they're well-off, and they tend to put their money where their values are. To understand this better, let's think first about what market re- searchers actually do for us. If you picture your municipal zoo, but then imagine that the various en- closures are populated with human consumers rather than other kinds of exotic animals, the market researchers are like tour guides. When you come into the zoo as an interested but casual ob- server, these tour guides meet you at the gate and explore the zoo with you. Many of today's market researchers would draw your at- tention to enclosures with signs that label them as creatures like "Baby Boomers" or "Millennials." They'll say things that sound like this: "Notice that the Millennials are young adults. You'll see that some of them are carrying their VOLUME 81, NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2016 n $7.00 NEWS & NOTES n Former FDA Director Discusses Need for Foreign Supplier Verification Plan PAGE 6 RETAILER NEWS n Whole Foods Market Appoints John Mackey Sole CEO PAGE 10 SUPPLIER NEWS n Davidson's Organics Refreshes the Cup that Cheers PAGE 12 NATURALLY HEALTHY n Pure Spoon: Fresh, Organic Options for Conscientious Parents PAGE 14 YEAR IN REVIEW n A Last Look Back at 2016 PAGE 16 News ..............................................6 Ad Index .......................................23 Calendar.......................................23 www.gourmetnews.com SPECIAL: Year in Review SEE PAGE 16 RING IN THE NEW YEAR: 2017 Buyers Guide SEE INSERT PUBLISHER'S PICKS: Virginia Diner SEE PAGE 15 G OURMET N EWS T H E B U S I N E S S N E W S P A P E R F O R T H E G O U R M E T I N D U S T R Y ®

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