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Restaurant Daily News 6 3 Sunday, May 21, 2017 SKECHERS CATERS TO THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY An interview with Harold Surabian, National Sales Manager for SKECHERS Direct. RDN: How long has SKECHERS been in this business, offering a line of work shoes? HS: Actually, SKECHERS originally started in 1992 as a utility footwear com- pany, so this goes back to our roots from day one. Most people are really surprised to see all the different work shoes we make, but you can see in our booth that we provide a lot of options for foodser- vice employees who want to look good, stay safe from slips and falls and be com- fortable throughout their shifts. RDN: Tell us about the SKECHERS Direct Corporate Shoe Program. Who can join? HS: Our corporate shoe program has been out for about four years now, and this year, it's available to companies with 100 or more employees who are based in the U.S. or Canada (we previously required 250 or more). It's a cost-free program with no minimum purchasing requirements, no set-up fees, no costs whatsoever. Your employees simply buy Direct from SKECHERS and save 30 percent year-round on our ASTM Mark II tested slip-resistant work shoes and cor- porate casual styles. RDN: Our company has uniform requirements that include shoes. Can you accommodate that? HS: Yes. Purchases can be made online at our SKECH- ERS ecommerce site that's custom-built to the uniform needs of your company. If you require black slip-resist- ant shoes, your employees won't see a brown boot on the website, so they can't buy it thinking that it would be okay to wear to work. That's the beauty of our program compared to a lot of others. RDN: How long does it take to get the shoes ordered through the website? HS: Orders usually ship within 48 hours and online orders receive free shipping and free returns. If you have an employ- ee that you hire to start the next day or would simply like to try on their shoes before purchasing, they can also shop at any of our 450+ SKECHERS retail stores nationwide and in Canada. We have a SKECHERS retail store in every major city and this is a huge benefit that none of our competitors can offer. RDN: Are there any other bene- fits? HS: Yes. Our slip-resistant shoes come with a $5,000 slip and fall warranty that helps protect your company from the expensive consequences of slips and falls. Plus, your employees will enjoy our quarterly friends and family day events, which allow them to extend their 30 percent discount and all SKECHERS shoes for the entire family, including kids' shoes, sandals, casual shoes and our performance line of run- ning, walking and golf shoes (over 3,000 styles to choose from). This is another employee benefit that our com- petitors can't offer, as they only make work shoes. For more information, visit SKECHERS in booth #1278 in the South Hall. After the show, call Harold Surabian at 310. 318.3100, ext. 1860 or email haroldsu@skechers.com. AUTHENTIC, RESTAURANT-QUALITY GLOBAL CUISINE CREATED BY CAFÉ SPICE Café Spice, the creator of ready-to-eat prepared foods as fresh and flavorful as those found in a fine Indian restaurant, is excited to introduce its chef driven, restaurant quality product line. With expanded distribution, extending between both coasts, Cafe Spice is poised to spice up the marketplace! The family-owned company is known for its authentic Indian cuisine, created by celebrated Chef Hari Nayak, who studied under Chef Daniel Boulud and has published several authoritative Indian cookbooks over his decades-long career. "Our chef-driven process, emphasiz- ing clean and authentic ingredients, dili- gent care in preparation and high stan- dards, is what makes Café Spice stand out from the others," said Sameer Malhotra, Café Spice's co-Founder and President. "We've built our reputation on restaurant-quality meals with dine-at- home convenience." Entrées, soups, snacks and small plates offered by Café Spice taste fresh and flavorful like dishes stirred up in an Indian kitchen. That's because they start with whole ingredients and spices, fresh- ly ground for each batch, cooked and assembled according to Chef Hari's culi- nary specifications. The Indian dishes created by Café Spice include its signature Chicken Tikka Masala as well as classic vegetarian and vegan entrées, small bites and innovative soups. Spiciness ranges from mild to hot, and many gluten-free options are offered. Last fall, the company launched new Thai meals, again delivering on its mission to prepare fine restaurant quality dishes like Beef Massaman Curry with sautéed tender beef and vegetables, flavored with lemongrass and lime, simmered in a coconut milk Massaman Curry Sauce flavored with tamarind and aromatic spices. The Yellow Tofu Curry combines tofu in a fragrantly spiced coconut milk sauce simmered with potatoes and onions. It has such a satisfyingly filling taste, it's hard to believe this curry is vegan. Red Chicken Curry rounds out the line with tender chicken bites simmered with onions, bamboo shoots and carrots in a spiced coconut milk broth. All of the entrées are accompanied by fried rice with vegetables and authentic Thai spices. "Global cuisine has become a regu- lar selection in the modern shopping cart," said Malhotra. "But it is usually relegated to the frozen food section of markets. We bring freshness, clean ingredients and gourmet quality to global prepared foods, and as such, we are pioneering a niche that has growing consumer demand," he added. With a growing distribution net- work, Café Spice products are available in the deli or prepared foods sections of markets such as Whole Foods Market, Fresh Thyme, Harris Teeter and HEB as well as natural food and specialty stores and co-ops. Based in the Hudson Valley area of New York State, the company is active in local job development and inter- national economic development initia- tives through the Whole Planet Foundation. For more information, go to www .cafespice.com. ASSURE CUSTOMERS YOU UNDERSTAND THEIR GLUTEN-FREE CONCERNS Consumers have demonstrated a growing interest in gluten-free food products over the past decade, and this trend is far from waning. The gluten-free food category grew 136 percent from 2013 to 2015, reaching $11.6 billion, according to mar- ket intelligence agency Mintel. Extending well beyond the approximate- ly one percent of the population that has celiac disease, the appeal of gluten-free products likely plays into the overall growing interest in ingredient disclosure and "free-from" labeling, as well as gen- eral interest in eating foods that con- sumers perceive to be more healthy. There is an obvious interest among food product marketers to tap into this trend by claiming their products are gluten-free. However, this raises the risk of confusion among consumers over what such claims mean. This potential for confusion led the FDA in 2013 to issue a rule that any product labeled "gluten-free" must contain a gluten limit of less than 20ppm (parts per million). While the FDA rule improved clari- ty in the marketplace concerning the meaning of gluten-free (GF) claims, the FDA does not actively police whether food manufacturers follow adequate safeguards to ensure that their GF claims are accurate. Establishing sufficient pro- duction procedures, appropriate testing methods and other safeguards are respon- sibilities left to food manufacturers them- selves. Mistakes in labeling foods as GF can be costly to manufacturers and the retail- ers stocking their products, as well as potentially dangerous for consumers. Brand reputation and the potential for litigation are at risk should a consumer get sick or even be misled because of a product misla- beled as gluten free. Most retailers have little control over the internal practices and safeguards of the food manufacturers providing them with products, or the level of trans- parency of those manufacturers con- cerning their operations. However, retailers can gain important reassurance about a manufacturer's GF claims if those claims are certified by a reputable third-party certification program, such as Gluten Intolerance Group's (GIG's) Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). GFCO defines minimum product, equipment and raw material testing requirements for the manufacturer. To receive GFCO's GF certification, there must be no more than 10ppm of gluten present in a food product receiving certi- fication. This standard is higher than the FDA's mandated 20ppm. Moreover, GFCO con- forms with ISO 17065, which means its certification relates to the management system and the products of the company receiving certification, as opposed to being limited to a certification pertaining to the certified company's management sys- tem, as is the case with other third party certification programs adhering to ISO 17021. In other words, a certification organization conforming to ISO 17065 specifies the ppm standard to which products must conform to be certified, giving retailers additional reassurance about what they are putting on their shelves. Retailers of premium food products want to do everything they can to ensure the quality and integrity of the items they sell. Choosing products with GFCO's GF certification is an excellent way to show consumers interested in GF foods that you understand their concerns and are looking out for them.