Oser Communications Group

NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2017 n GOURMET NEWS N H 8 4 Looking for a Unique Corporate Gift? What to give your top clients this year? That is not an easy question to answer. You want to show your appreciation, tell them the busi- ness partnership is valued, but you also want to give a gift that has personality. Funky Chunky just might be your an- swer. First, many people have not even heard of Funky Chunky – and with a name like that, it has to be fun, full of personal- ity and unique. Second, Funky Chunky of- fers a wide variety and price range of gifts ($15 to $200), with choices of ribbon and bow colors. Top that off with a personal- ized message on its note cards. Lastly, it is an upscale, elegant confectionary gift that will be talked about, and maybe elicit a grateful "thank you" phone call or email from your client. A little more about the product – it's all about the craving! Funky Chunky creates each flavor with natural ingredients, such as creamy real butter, fresh brown sugar, pre- mium nuts like roasted almonds, cashews and pecans, non-GMO popcorn and crunchy, perfectly salted pretzels. Then it adds its sig- nature drizzle with the likes of sea salt caramel, milk chocolate, dark chocolate and/or white chocolate, depending on the va- riety and item. The company's gift sets come in many op- tions. Let's start with the popular Gift Boxes. Funky Chunky Bags, Funky Chunky Canis- ters and Candies (or a combination of all of these) contain a variety of different indulgent flavors placed in an elegant gift box with ribbons and note card. It also has Tins and Pails, per- fect for the group gift, em- ployee appreciation, holiday party, etc. Funky Chunky offers many convenient packaging options, as well. It has stand-up bags in two sizes: a 2-ounce small bag and a 5- ounce large bag. It also has canisters: an 8- ounce mini canister and 19-ounce tall canisters. The company also offers some Limited Time Offer products and varieties – a Sweetheart Mix for Valentines timing and other special occasions. During the fall and Thanksgiving time, it has its new Pumpkin Cream Cheese. During the holi- day season, Funky Chunky offers its popu- lar Peppermint Bark Popcorn with chocolaty drizzle. About Funky Chunky, LLC Funky Chunky specializes in gourmet popcorn and pretzel drizzled gourmet snacks. For more than 20 years, Funky Chunky has been carefully hand-crafted in small batches. The attention to freshness and artisan flavor combinations means it will always be quality and always remembered. Its headquarters and showroom are at 7452 W. 78th St., Edina, Minnesota, 55439. Funky Chunky is available at fine retailers and hundreds of specialty retail shops nationally. For more information, call 952.938.6663 or 888.473.8659 or go to www.funky chunkyinc.com. The Sprouting Bud of Indonesian Specialty Tea In the realm of tea and coffee, Indonesian tea is still on the heels of Indonesian coffee in brand recognition. In the last few decades, Indonesia has established its coffee industry where connoisseurs all over the world seek out Mandheling from Sumatra and Toraja from Sulawesi. Java is even used as a syn- onymous word for coffee, much as Xerox is used for photocopying. At the same time, In- donesian tea remains relatively unknown. Tea was first introduced in Indonesia in the 1600s, and first commercially planted in the 1800s. Over the years, tea cultivation spread across the archipelago and grew to more than 200 thousand hectares just before World War II. Many plantations were de- stroyed during the occupation period, yet today, Indonesia remains one of the top 10 largest tea producing countries together with China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Due to the tea drinking culture in Indone- sia, where tea is often considered as a pedes- trian thirst reliever, most of the teas produced in Indonesia are used for the production of ready to drink teas, instant tea powder and tea flavored drinks for general consumption. In the past decade, Harendong Organic Tea Estate, one of the pioneers in organic, specialty tea plantations in Indonesia envi- sioned raising awareness of Indonesian tea in the national and international market. Backed by internationally recognized or- ganic certification, the pre- mium quality, hand-picked single estate organic loose leaf tea from Harendong Or- ganic Tea Estate has slowly caught the attention of major tea business and distributors in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia. In the last few years, Harendong Or- ganic Tea Estate also introduced its premium Arum Tea line to the market. According to data published by Tea Asso- ciation of the USA, Inc., the U.S. is currently emerging as the second largest tea importer in the world, importing an estimated retail value of $10.8 billion of tea in 2014. Indonesia Trade Promotion Center Los Angeles (ITPC LA) is continuously pursuing opportunities to introduce and educate the U.S. market about remarkable Indonesian tea through food and beverage events and conventions. About Indonesia Trade Promotion Center Los Angeles (ITPC LA) Indonesia Trade Promotion Center Los Angeles (ITPC LA) is an Indonesian gov- ernment trade development agency with a mission to advance Indone- sia's international trade by educating and promoting remarkable Indonesia products to the U.S. market. Led by its knowledgeable, devoted and passionate directors and staff members, ITPC LA tirelessly works with both Indonesian and U.S. businesses to bridge and facilitate the establishment of long-term trade relationships. ITPC LA is continually building its cache of marketing opportunities to create a larger presence and brand awareness of remarkable Indonesia in trade shows and promotional events. Just Jan's Receives Silver sofi for Original Tangerine Sriracha By Kris Mason, Director of Brand Innova- tion, Just Jan's 2016 was an exciting year for Just Jan's. We introduced two new products and won our first major food award. The path to this award began in 2015, when I got in the kitchen and combined Jan's Tangerine Mar- malade with sriracha. This combination alone would have made a great sauce, but I took it one step further and made my own sriracha from scratch. Once the formulation was done and we were ready to go into production, we hit a hurdle; there were no red jalapeños available. As it turns out, many jalapeño peppers are har- vested green before they reach maturity and turn red. A special crop was ordered and grown expressly for use in this sauce. In the end, it was worth the wait. The result is a sriracha with the tangy sweetness of tangerine, matched with brightness of vine- gar, the savory flavor of garlic, the heat of red jalapeños and a smooth finish with a hint of co- riander. We brought a pilot batch with us to the Winter Fancy Food show. It wasn't the perfect version we were looking for, but it was good enough to garner some very strong, positive reactions from every- one who tasted it. With that in mind, we felt really good about entering it for a sofi. We received notice that the Original Tangerine Sriracha was a fi- nalist in the 2016 Best New Product Category. Jan and I could not have been more excited and thrilled to re- ceive this recognition. We really strive to make the best tasting, high- est quality products that we can, so recognition like this has meant the world to us. We cannot wait to continue experiment- ing and creating new flavors. Newly Proposed Dietary Guidelines Outing Sugar The U.S. Department of Agriculture has for the first time set daily recommended limits on the amount of sugar consumers should in- gest. This health emphasis on sugar reduc- tion has spurred development of sugar alternatives to combat America's growing di- abetes and obesity crises. The new guidelines advise Americans to consume no more than 10 percent of calories from sugars, less than 50 grams a day, a di- rection that should limit the consumption of staples like candy, soda and other heavily sweetened beverages like coffees and teas. Even many yogurt products, which are viewed as healthier, often fall outside of the 10 percent rule. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines are released jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Serv- ices (HHS) and revised every five years. Ultimately, the government decided it could no longer ignore a public health crisis. The recommendation to limit sugar intake comes at a time when nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population is diabetic and an addi- tional 80 million Americans are classified as pre-diabetic. Over the past five years, a growing body of evidence has linked high levels of sugar consumption to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, even among Americans who are not over- weight or obese. Since 2008, Pyure Brands has been educat- ing consumers, retailers and brands that its plant- based stevia sweetener, the first organic, non- GMO stevia on the mar- ket, is the ideal sugar reduction solution. Today, Pyure has helped lower the amount of added sugar in hundreds of products by 30 to 50 percent without a loss of taste or mouthfeel. Simply by substituting Pyure's tabletop stevia for sugar in morning beverages like coffee or tea, consumers can sharply reduce their sugar intake. For example, an average American drinks three cups of coffee each day, sweetened by two teaspoons of sugar. Just by switching to stevia, an average coffee drinker can cut out 24 grams of sugar, or al- most half of the recommended daily al- lowance of 50 grams (or just 12.5 teaspoons). Pyure's tabletop ste- via products received national distribution with Whole Foods Mar- ket in 2010 and Walmart in 2014. With a three-year growth rate of 348 percent, the company is now one of the largest suppliers of stevia in the country. The government's announcement is a har- binger of good things to come for Pyure. "The new dietary guidelines are great from a business perspective," explains Pyure Brands' Founder and Chief Executive Offi- cer, Benjamin Fleischer. "More importantly, our products are a solution to a serious health problem. We know we are helping people." For more information, visit www.pyuresweet.com.

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