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GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SMORGASBORD SMORGASBORD 2 2 Frontier Soups 18 www.frontiersoups.com 800.300.7687 Gourmet International Foods 19 www.gourmetint.com 800.875.5557 Jasper Specialty Foods 21 www.stewartandjasper.com 209.862.9600 Jelly Belly 8 www.jellybelly.com 800.323.9380 Media Brokers International 17 www.marukan-usa.com 562.630.6060 Paris Gourmet 9 www.parisgourmet.com 800.727.8791 PLMA 23 www.plma.com 212.972.3131 Rigoni di Asiago 3 www.rigonidiasiago-usa.com Robert Rothschild Farm 24 www.robertrothschild.com 800.356.8933 Stonewall Kitchen 2 www.stonewallkitchen.com 888.326.5678 Table Check 7 www.tablecheck.com 800.522.1347 The French Farm 19 www.thefrenchfarm.com 713.660.0577 Wild Forest Products 19 www.mardonaspecialtyfoods.com 855.645.7772 Wind & Willow 22 www.windandwillow.com 888.427.3235 CALENDAR June 4-6 Dairy-Deli-Bake Anaheim, California www.iddba.org June 25-27 Summer Fancy Food Show New York, New York www.specialtyfood.com September 13-16 Natural Products Expo East Baltimore, Maryland www.expoeast.com September 24-25 SIAL Gourmet Food & Wine Selection Paris, France www.salon-gourmet-selection.com ADVERTISER INDEX ADVERTISER PAGE WEBSITE PHONE ADVERTISER INDEX BY LORRIE BAUMANN In its launch year, VegFest Expo is drawing sizable audiences of consumers who are cu- rious about the vegan lifestyle. VegFest Expo debuted in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in De- cember, 2016, and the next iteration of the event will be held this June in the New Jer- sey Convention & Exposition Center. The events are produced by Kyle Michaud, the founder of Experience Expos, a 26-year- old entrepreneur who's also affectionately known as "Captain Planet." He started his exposition business with The Yoga Expo, which has been held in various cities around the country for the past three years. "In 2016 I produced 12 events, with the smallest of them attracting 10,000 atten- dees," he said. "They're all vegan brands, both VegFest and The Yoga Expo." The events drew a total of more than 860 ex- hibitors in 2016 alone, according to Michaud, who started VegFest as a spin-off of The Yoga Expo after he noticed that many of the vendors who were exhibiting at The Yoga Expo were offering vegan food. "We just saw a huge demand from vegan brands as well as the other things that came with the yoga lifestyle," Michaud said. He attributes the immediate success of VegFest to the growing market strength of the vegan objection to animal cruelty. A survey of attendees at the South Florida VegFest indicated that about two thirds of the attendees described themselves more as "wannabes" than as confirmed vegans, Michaud said. "It shows that a lot of people are interested in the vegan, cruelty-free lifestyle," he said. "People are starting to re- alize that when you go to a nice restaurant, the food you're getting might not be healthy for you. They might be using awful ingredients.... People want to know what the ingredients are and whether those are questionable. They're looking for a more simplified approach to consuming food and beverages." The VegFest Expo offers consumers who attend, paying $15 for tickets to the one- day event, a chance to sample vegan foods, enjoy live music and yoga sessions and to purchase food items to take home with them. It's a family-friendly event, with chil- dren under 12 admitted free, and about 80 percent of the adults who attend are women. "We encourage the kids to come out," Michaud said. "We look to inspire and educate our future generations." Based on ticket sales to date, tickets for the New Jersey event are expected to sell out within the last few weeks before the show, according to Michaud. He noted that he has representatives from four different animal sanctuaries coming to offer education, and that the event will include many national food brands as well as local and regional vegan food vendors. "It's an opportunity for people to come out and live the cruelty-free lifestyle for an afternoon," he said. The Tri-State VegFest will be held June 17 at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey. For more in- formation, visit www.vegfestexpos.com. GN VegFest Expos Grow on Interest in Plant-Based Lifestyle The Green House project, implemented in Ghana by VIS (International Volunteer Service for Development), is a nonprofit that's trying to stop human trafficking. Nico Lotta, President of VIS, explained at the annual Macfrut produce show how the organization is training Ghanian people in eco-sustainable agriculture as a feasible al- ternative in order to discourage migrants from leaving on boats and therefore to help stop human trafficking. "We appeal to young people, potential migrants or return- ing migrants because we want them to un- derstand that there are opportunities in their countries, in particular involving land and agriculture," he said. "... We want to make sure these youngsters have the op- portunity to choose." GN Macfrut Takes on Human Trafficking GOURMET MARKETPLACE Stock up for Christmas with White Chocolate Peppermint Cheeseball & Dessert Mix. Creamy white chocolate combined with the distinct holiday flavor of peppermint, this Cheeseball & Dessert Mix looks and tastes like the holidays! This top seller is easy to sample and was the top re-order item for 2017. Available for a limited time July 1 - December 1, 2017 or while supplies last. Wind & Willow 888.427.3235 www.windandwillow.com A Special Advertising Section IDDBA Continued from PAGE 1 personal interaction with the experts. This show also includes merchandising displays that provide examples of some of the best ideas in the industry – ideas that are designed for attendees to take home and replicate easily in their own stores. The concepts that will be demonstrated on the show floor this year include a breakfast bakery bar, a cheese pub with cheese pair- ings and tapas ideas, an in-store foodser- vice program and a cake design display intended to provide attendees with an en- gaging experience of creative and unique cake ideas for entertaining occasions. And that's not all – in keeping with this show's focus on providing retailer atten- dees with real solutions to enhance prof- itability, IDDBA will offer its Expert Neighborhood for the first time this year. This is an area on the show floor where at- tendees can meet one-on-one with experts to discuss questions, industry challenges and business problems. The association has an absolutely phenomenal line-up of industry stars who are prepared to discuss issues like engaging customers and em- ployees, complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act and the evolving rules about product and menu labeling, and dealing with food waste, enhancing inno- vation and product profitability. Twenty- five minute appointments with these experts can be booked at the show starting on June 3. GN

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