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OCG Show Daily 5 9 Monday, June 5, 2017 JARLSBERG ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST BELOVED CHEESE BRANDS Jarlsberg ® General Marketing Manager Debbie Seife gives a peek into the hottest, newest products from 2017. OSD: What are some new Jarlsberg Cheese products? DS: Jarlsberg Cheese debuts Jarlsberg Cheese Snacks. We took the same deli- cious, characteristic mild, mellow and nutty taste and created the perfect portable snack with only 70 calories and 5 grams of protein per snack. Each Jarlsberg Cheese Snack is individually wrapped, and offers the perfect on-the-go wholesome option. Back by popular demand, Jarlsberg Cheese Fondue will be available for the upcoming 2017 holiday season. An already pre-made fondue in a terracotta ceramic dish, ready for use – just heat in microwave or oven. Another exciting new product is Jarlsberg Cheese Crisps. These incredi- ble savory, crunchy baked crackers are handcrafted in small batches, and made with freshly shredded Jarlsberg Cheese that is put on top of the crunchy crackers just prior to being baked. They are avail- able in four flavors: Chipotle, Rosemary & Olive Oil, Garlic & Herb and Mediterranean Sea Salt. OSD: Any new Jarlsberg cheese digital promotions? DS: We host promotions and giveaways ongoing on social media. This past month we ran a contest inspired by Norway Day, May 17. Fans posted to our contest via social media and one lucky winner received a trip for two to Norway! Kicking off this summer, we are launching our new promotion – Jarlsberg Cheese Summer Grilling Giveaway Series on www.jarlsber- gusa.com. Enter to win weekly prizes and grand prizes throughout the entire summer season. OSD: Norway is home to so many wonderful Norwegian specialty products. Can you discuss the Brunost Collection and Snofrisk products? DS: The story of a Norwegian delicacy and Norway's "national" cheese, Brunost has a special place in every Norwegian's heart. With hundreds of years of heritage and traditions that span the generations, it is crafted from the finest Norwegian dairy with a rich, smooth, caramel taste. Made from whey rather than curd, the natural sugars within the milk and cream are caramelized – giving the Brunost a special taste and color. Over the last 150 years, other brunosts made from a perfect blend of cow and goat's milk, as well as cow's cream, are a part of the Norwegian heritage. Now avail- able in the U.S., Ekte Geitost (100 percent goat's milk and cream), Ski Queen and Caramore (both a blend of goat and cow's milk & cream) are available in 250- gram/8.8-ounce blocks. Snofrisk is a fresh spread- able cheese that is a collection of Norwegian cheeses with goat's milk as its main base plus 20 percent cow's milk cream. Snofrisk has no artifi- cial additives, preservatives or colorants. Its creamy consistency makes it perfect for use on a cracker, bread or as a snack with fresh cut vegetables, nuts or honey. Snofrisk is perfect in cooking, with a pure taste for you to enjoy! They are available in Original, Dill, Ramson Garlic, Red Onion & Thyme and Horseradish in 4.4-ounce cups. For more information, visit www.norse land.com or stop by booth #3263. READY. CHEF. GO! PACKAGING FOR YOUR PREPARED MEAL OPTIONS Ready. Chef. Go! ® cooking bags from Elkay ® Plastics make it easy for grocers to capitalize on growing consumer demand for fresh, healthy, convenient and minimally-processed meals. Pre- packaged Ready. Chef. Go! meals enable customers to quickly cook tasty, healthy meals for their entire family with zero food preparation and minimal clean up. Grocers, in turn, can experience a signif- icant lift in sales of perishable products and an opportunity to further differentiate themselves in the marketplace. The Ready. Chef. Go! program has two different steam cooking bags – one for oven and microwave use, and the other for grill and oven use that grocers can use to create pre-packaged meals that feature fresh, raw ingredients that customers can cook themselves at home in as little as three minutes. "Both products provide a high level of convenience to consumers," said Matthew Banghart, Director of the Ready. Chef. Go! brand. This year at Dairy-Deli-Bakery, Elkay Plastics is introducing two new exciting bags to the Ready. Chef. Go!. First, a two compartment bag that allows for proteins and produce or other meal components to be separated within the same bag. "The dual compartment bag will allow grocers to provide con- sumers a more visually attractive prod- uct that will enhance its merchandising capabilities as well as alleviate any cross contamination concerns," Banghart said. The other new bag features a laser-perf film which provides extended shelf life for meals. "The extended shelf life bags will offer both retailers and processors with a product that will reduce spoilage and provide greater product appearance adding to the convenience brought by Ready. Chef. Go! bags." This product line also offers grocers the opportunity to differentiate them- selves from competitors through enhanced merchandising, and that's going to produce results in higher sales volume and profit margins for meat, seafood and produce departments. "With our vast experience in implementing suc- cessful Ready. Chef. Go! programs, we can deliver solutions to customers that will increase their sales and profit mar- gins while reducing their total procure- ment costs," Banghart said. Elkay Plastics is a leading U.S. supplier of flexible packaging for the foodservice, healthcare and industrial markets. Founded in 1968 and head- quartered in Los Angeles, California, Elkay Plastics has eight strategi- cally-located divisions that stock almost 3,000 items. Elkay Plastics sells primarily through wholesale distributors and offers the broadest line of flexible pack- aging solutions available any- where. "Our goal is to help our distrib- utor customers deliver the best possible solutions to the end user. We are able to achieve this by utilizing one of the industry's few direct sales teams that are continually trained and educated on technical and industry issues," Banghart said. "Our innovation stems from the solutions we develop directly through our continuous interaction with our customers." For more information about Ready. Chef. Go! cooking bags or any of your packag- ing needs, visit Elkay Plastics in booth #2721. After the show, call 810.772.9488 or visit www.elkayplastics.com or www.readychefgobags.com to learn more. COUNTRY MAID LAUNCHES A VARIETY OF DELICIOUS NEW PRODUCTS An interview with Kathy Fritz, Regional Sales Manager and Heath Schecter, Corporate Executive Chef of Country Maid, Inc. OSD: Tell us a little about Country Maid. KF & HS: Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Country Maid has been manufacturing high quality, fully pre- pared deli salads, dips and desserts since 1962 (55 years). We are small enough to accommodate special requests, yet big enough to accommodate larger scale customers. Our products are produced the old-fashioned way, with care and attention to every batch, from the potato cooking to the final packaging. Customer attention is at the forefront. We want customers to always remember the excellent experience that is custom- ary when doing business with Country Maid. We offer products that taste just like homemade from Gramma's kitchen. Whether new products are ours, devel- oped from scratch or products are pro- duced from customers' recipes, the process is always achieved through our attention to detail. Country Maid's prod- ucts taste wonderful from the first taste to the last spoonful. OSD: What do you expect to gain by attending the Show? KF: Our goal at the Show is to find new markets and expand our business while maintaining a dynamic communication with our customer base as we launch new services and products. OSD: What are you most proud of about Country Maid? KF: We're very proud of our Customer Service. Country Maid always goes the extra mile to accom- modate our cus- tomers, whether the customer simply needs a last minute order or needs us to create new salads specifically for them. Chef Heath is really on top of creating new items that will satisfy our traditional customer base, yet bring in new cus- tomers with "on trend" offerings. OSD: Are you launching any new prod- ucts this year? HS: We are launching several new prod- ucts, including: Brussel Sprout Salad with Bacon, which has apples, walnuts, bacon and more in an apple dressing with a hint of caraway; Mediterranean Salad, which contains a variety of vegetables and kale in a tangy dressing; Ancient Grain Salad with Beets, which contains farro, quinoa and chia with fresh golden beets and broccoli, dried cranberries and mandarin oranges in a citrus vinaigrette; a tangy Red Potato Salad with bacon – a creamy potato salad with pops of flavor from whole mustard seeds and plenty of thick slices of unskinned red pota- toes; and Chocolate Mousse as a new dessert offering. OSD: Who are your target customers? KF: We work with retail grocery delis, C-stores, colleges, healthcare, B & I and club stores. OSD: How do your products or services help your customers compete in their marketplace? KF: By creating "on trend" offerings, our customers have an opportunity to serve something new to their own cus- tomers. Country Maid is a USDA, FDA- inspected facility with a SQF level II cer- tification. For more information, stop by booth #2308, go to www.countrymaid.com or call either 414.383.3970 or 800.628.4354.