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GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Naturally Healthy NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 6 Barney Butter Spreads the Product Line BY LORRIE BAUMANN Barney Butter is a brand of almond butter with a range of products that meet the needs of parents who want to give their children with peanut allergies the same kind of childhood joy that peanut butter provides. "There are a lot of people out there who need that," says Dawn Kelley, who owns the company with her husband Steve Kel- ley. "They want their children to have the experience of having peanut butter, like they did when they were growing up, but they need their children to be safe." The nuts are California grown, and the almond butter is made in Barney Butter's own peanut-free plant in Fresno. "That's very rare in the spread space," Dawn says. "We use all local almonds – all of our grow- ers are within 60 miles of our plant." The Barney Butter product range in- cludes both the smooth and crunchy vari- eties you'd naturally expect, as well as Bare Smooth and Bare Crunchy, which don't in- clude added sugar or salt. There are also va- rieties with tasty additions: Vanilla + Espresso, Honey + Flax, Cocoa + Coconut and Raw + Chia. Many of these varieties are offered in single-serving snack packs as well as in jars. Barney Butter isn't just for spreading on bread, according to Dawn, who says that she makes extensive use of her products. "I use it in everything. Any Asian cooking that has a peanut base to it, I'll substitute almond butter for that, and it's delicious," she says. Even sandwiches don't have to be just almond butter and jelly – she's fond of panini made with brie and pear and al- mond butter. For breakfast, she stirs it into oatmeal. "I even stir it into a cup of coffee," she says. "A teaspoon in coffee instead of almond milk. It's a thicker consistency than using almond milk, and it's really yummy." Dawn got involved with BARNEY, the company behind the brand, at the same time that she met her husband, Steve Kelley. She was President of a California technology company that she was about to sell on behalf of the private equity com- pany that owned it. He was living in Maine, and along with his best friend from college, had just bought a tiny California almond butter company. The two of them were introduced by a mu- tual friend. "I met him, and we fell in love. At one point, he looked at me and said, 'I don't know if I should hire you or marry you,'" she says. "I was in the process of selling the company I was running, and Barney Butter was a natural fit for me … I'd been eating almond butter since the days I was grinding it myself, and it fit the profile of the kind of company I wanted to be a part of. I needed to feel like we were making the world a bet- ter place." Dawn and Steve married six years ago, and have been running the business together ever since. They've now grown the company into the third-largest almond but- ter brand in the country. Despite some curiosity in the marketplace about whether the couple bought the company just to develop and then resell it, their current intentions are to continue to grow the brand with al- mond-only extensions to the product line, Dawn says. "We see a lot of runway left for our brand. There are still a lot of things left that we personally want to accomplish." GN Schuman Cheese Debuts New Cheddar Flavor of Cello Whisps Schuman Cheese has just launched a new flavor of its beloved crisp snack with Ched- dar Cello Whisps, an all-natural, rBST-free, gluten-free, high-protein snack. This fla- vorful, protein-rich snack has just hit gro- cers' shelves nationwide. "As a company, our mission is to en- hance everyday eating experiences with the highest quality cheese. With Cheddar Cello Whisps, we were able to provide con- sumers with a new delicious way to enjoy our hand-crafted artisan cheddar," said Ilana Fischer, Vice President of Innovation and Strategy at Schuman Cheese. "In fact, cheddar cheese ranks as the top flavor re- quested in the U.S., so this innovation made perfect sense. Making Cheddar Cello Whisps was the natural choice for the next flavor in the Whisps portfolio." The newest flavor was called for by Cello Whisps lovers who loved the Parmesan-fla- vor Whisps and wanted another choice. Cello Whisps has already received recogni- tion in the industry with several awards, in- cluding a gold at the 2016 World Cheese Contest. "The space is inundated with fake ingre- dients and unhealthy choices, and Cello Whisps brings a uniquely wholesome and delicious option for those wanting a better- for-you cheese snack," continued Fischer. "What better way than to use our expertise in artisan cheese to bring a pure cheese snack to the market." Cheddar Cello Whisps are a real- cheese snack that won't leave or- ange fingers and regret behind it. They provide consumers with a de- licious, protein-rich treat that does not con- sist of a long list of unfamiliar ingredients. The snack is all-natural, gluten and wheat- free and provides an excellent source of cal- cium with 10 grams of protein and zero percent carbohydrates per serving. It's easy to enjoy them as-is or toss them on a salad or appetizer plate for flavor and crunch. Cello Whisps are available to pur- chase throughout the U.S. in Costco, Publix, Shoprite, Stop & Shop, Amazon.com, and many others. To learn more about Cello Whisps' new product, Cheddar Cello Whisps and Schu- man Cheese, visit www.cellowhisps.com and www.schumancheese.com. GN Hope Foods: Bright Flavors in Bright Packaging BY LORRIE BAUMANN With flavors like Thai Coconut Curry, Spicy Avocado, Jalapeno Cilantro and Dark Chocolate, Hope Foods has taken hummus on beyond bland. "We put our personality in what we make. We think these flavors are the direction people are going. We're really just offer- ing things that we think are good and hope other people enjoy it," said Hope Foods Marketing Di- rector Will Burger, one of the group of friends who started Hope Foods in 2011, as he prom- ised that the company will also be introducing more new flavors at this year's Winter Fancy Food Show. Last year, the company took that same philosophy of pairing flavor adventure with healthy organic snack food and applied it to guacamole. "That was a big win, and very exciting for us, and we're going to con- tinue to push the success of that," Burger said. "I'm not talking fads. I'm talking over- all trends and where they're headed." The company started by selling its Spicy Avo- cado Hummus at farm- ers markets in Boulder, Colorado. "We're all foodies," Burger said. "We all liked gua- camole, and experi- mented with the combination of avocado and hummus. It was a hit at the farmer's mar- ket." The local Whole Foods Market became a fan early on, and from there, Hope Foods started growing in the natural channel, first in Boulder and then regionally and then nationally with Whole Foods and with other independent natural foods grocers. From there, the company has begun expanding its footprint in con- ventional supermarkets, including Publix in the southeast U.S. and West Coast Safe- way stores. "We're in every state in the country. Also in Costco, in and out of the rotation," Burger said. "It's just been a story of growth." All Hope Foods products are strictly or- ganic. "We've never compromised on that. Making an organic product is important to us," Burger said. "We believe strongly in that level of quality assurance for ourselves and our customers." Along the way, the company has faced some technological as well as logistical challenges. While most commercial hum- mus is heat-pasteurized, Hope Foods wanted to avoid that, even though the lack of pasteurization limited the range in which the products could be distributed. In order to expand distribution nationally, it had to find a way to stop pathogen growth without cooking the hummus, and now, all Hope Foods products are pasteurized with high pressure instead of heat. "That has allowed us to continue with bold flavors and bold textures and the nu- trients that come along with it. It's more homemade; it's fresh; it's like you would make it at home," Burger said. High pressure pasteurization has also made possible the company's product line expansion into guacamole, since gua- camole can't be cooked without losing the characteristics that make it real gua- camole. "We had a conundrum on our hands from the very beginning," Burger said. "That was really a driving factor for us as we move forward and has allowed us to have the most flavorful bold product out there. "We like to say 'Hope' because that's who we are, that's what we provide. It's hope for what we're going to continue to provide, which is excellence and creativity," he added. "It transcends the idea of the trans- actional nature of our food. It's a huge part of our human experience." GN

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