Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS JULY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 3 Funky Chunky Debuts Newest Sweet Innovation Funky Chunky ® , LLC, the gourmet snack featuring buttery caramel popcorn drizzled with different types of chocolate with added combinations of pretzels and nuts, has introduced an unexpected yet deli- cious flavor with its Funky Chunky Café Trio. The trio of new products, debuted at this year's Sweets & Snacks Show, offer a flavor best known for being an early morn- ing must-have. Inspired by a local coffee shop and Funky Chunky's coffee loving staff, Caramel Latte begins with the company's traditional decadent caramel popcorn. For this treat, layers of caramel latte white chocolate drizzle, milk chocolate drizzle and chewy caramel are added to the caramel popcorn, then highlighted with dark chocolate cov- ered espresso beans for an explosion of flavors. "Funky Chunky is known for our deli- cious mash-ups of caramel pop- corn and deca- dent drizzles. We combine fan fa- vorites with our popcorn, and coffee is a flavor that is unex- pected yet deli- cious," said Laura Kruse, National Sales Manager. "We expect Funky Chunky Café to become a fast favorite." Vanilla Sweet Crème is similar but with vanilla sweet crème white chocolate, chewy caramel and white chocolate covered espresso beans. Lastly, Dark Chocolate Mocha loads up with dark chocolate mocha drizzle, milk chocolate drizzle, chewy caramel and dark chocolate covered espresso beans. All flavors come in both 5-ounce bags and 19-ounce canisters that work as gifts. Two-ounce will be launched this fall. GN CocoaPlanet's Tasting Room Connects with Consumers Northern California is home to some of the world's finest food and beverage mak- ers across a wide range of products – cheese, produce, beer and wine, just to name a few. Many of these craft producers enhance their brands through retail ven- ues that deepen the consumers' connec- tion to their products. Beyond just selling products, consumers can experience them in full context – where they are made, how they are made and how to enjoy them. Think of a winery tasting room; these venues aren't just about selling bottles. You approach through sloping, sun-drenched vineyards and tranquil garden-like grounds. Winery tours instruct you about the winemaking process. In the tasting room, you can sample a range of wines, learning to compare and contrast varietals, vintages and vineyards. In many, you are invited to pair wines with cheese, charcu- terie or winemaker dinners featuring a multi-course paired menu. These retail venues are not about trans- actions. They touch on all the senses to cre- ate experience and memory. They are about building a lasting connection between con- sumer and brand. CocoaPlanet takes a similar approach to building deep consumer associations with its premium dark chocolate. In the heart of the historic Sonoma sits the new Cocoa- Planet Chocolate Factory and Tasting Room. Visitors are invited to see the gleam- ing craft manufacturing line, sample a flight of chocolates and even enjoy dessert or a full meal in the completely gluten-free French café. The building exterior combines the mod- ern, sleek lines that echo CocoaPlanet's product packaging with materials that evoke the region's agricultural style, includ- ing natural stone and wood with corru- gated metal siding. Inside, you'll find a modern French café featuring blue back- ground lighting, glass table tops and white marble counters. Through glass walls, din- ers can observe the gleaming stainless chocolate molding and packaging machin- ery. In the tasting room, you can sample Co- coaPlanet chocolates, indulge in authentic French fare and gluten-free desserts such as Paris tiramisu, mandarin orange choco- late cake, or enjoy a flight of wine and chocolate pairings. The menu features ap- petizers such as charcuterie and cheese, house-made soups, croque monsieur, cas- soulet and crèpes. Knowledgeable staff guide you through the tastings, highlight- ing product features and suggesting pair- ings. Similar to local wineries, every aspect of the CocoaPlanet Tasting Room invites con- sumers to learn about and enjoy their chocolates in a context that strengthens brand association and builds consumer loy- alty. For more information, go to www.cocoa- planet.com, call 707.721.1275 or email info@cocoaplanet.com. GN Maryland Company Introduces Artisanal Snack Salami BY ROBIN MATHER Meatcrafters, which makes specialty cured meats, debuted its Skinny Salamis at the Summer Fancy Food Show. Skinny Salamis are the only lactic-fermented meat snacks on the market, said Mitch Berliner, one of the company's three Founders and Chief Sampling Officer. "They are cured, uncooked products, made in traditional ways that date back to the Egyp- tians and early Romans," he said. "They are high in protein, low in calories, have no sugar or carbs and are gluten-free. They're made from antibiotic- and hormone-free meats." Skinny Salamis are unique for several reasons, according to Berliner. "We were just at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago," Berliner said. "All the other meat snacks we saw were cooked, whether dehy- drated like jerky, or extruded and cooked like the familiar meat sticks." Meatcrafters is among the few companies in the US, and the only one in Maryland, to have gained U.S. Department of Agricul- ture approval to produce such products, Berliner said. "We don't outsource our pro- duction," he said. "We do everything our- selves, from sourcing the meat from local farmers to grinding our own spices to pro- ducing and packaging the salamis." Skinny Salamis are designed to be a portable snack that fits easily into a pocket or purse. The snack salamis are available in three flavors: Original Black Angus Beef, Truffle (pork) and Street Cart Schwarma (lamb). Three more flavors will be available later this year: Merguez (lamb), Spicy Argen- tinean Chorizo (pork) and Casbah (pork), flavored with North African spices. The salamis come four to a package, and sug- gested retail is $6.79 to $7.95. Berliner said the company trialed its products at farmers markets and was selling more than 300 salamis a week from very early on. "And then a wine distributor tried them and said, 'If you put this in grown-up packaging, I'll buy it for distribution.' So we went to work on grown-up packaging." The company's designed-from-the- ground-up packaging recently won awards for its graphic design, Berliner said. Chefs visiting the market also liked Meatcrafters' salamis, and they now appear on menus at restaurants in Maryland and Virginia, including Patrick O'Connell's much-lauded Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia. "We like to help local farmers," Berliner said, noting that the company works with local producers of Black Angus beef, her- itage breed Duroc pork and all-natural lamb. "In addition to our own products, we make specialty sausages with our farmers' meats so they can offer their own cus- tomers salami made from only their meat. We also make specialty sausages for brew pubs using their beers, and for local vineyards using their wines." Meatcrafters has been in business since 2009, producing duck breast prosciutto as well as a variety of spe- cialty salamis. They include Chajari, an Ar- gentinian-style salami flavored with garlic, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and whole pep- percorns; Chorizo de Pamplona, an aged Spanish-style classic with cayenne and Span- ish smoked paprika; Chesapeake, seasoned with Maryland crab seasoning; Cacciatore, a traditional Italian hunter's sausage of Duroc pork flavored with sea salt, pepper and gar- lic; Truffle Mania and Porcini Salami, two fungi-forward flavors that capture the best of the much-loved ingredients; Cinta, an- other Duroc pork salami flavored with long pepper, lemon zest and mace; Ararat, a Duroc pork salami seasoned with smoked paprika, fenugreek and the Turkish pepper called urfa biber; a wild fennel pollen Duroc pork sausage called One Wild Fennel; a tra- ditional Spanish salami called Fuet, simply seasoned with salt and pepper to showcase the flavors of the Duroc pork and the lactic fermentation; and Dillio, made with dill pollen, garlic and red wine. All are available wholesale or retail through the company's website, MeatCrafters.com. Skinny Salamis has its own website at SkinnySalamis.com. The Landover, Maryland, company, founded in 2009 by Berliner, his wife, Debra Moser, and their friend Stan Feder draws on decades of experience in charcu- terie and the food business that the three share. Berliner, who's been in the food busi- ness for more than 50 years, started as a food distributor. Moser brings a diverse background in food and business experi- ence. Feder, who's studied with charcuterie experts in Spain, Italy and the US, has a lifelong passion for salumi. "We're Baby Boomers who failed at retire- ment," quipped Berliner. "We pulled money out of our retirement funds to start this company, and have never taken loans or in- vestments from anyone else to keep going." The founders were inspired to start the company when they realized that "We had visited Italy many times and we didn't know why there wasn't more good Ameri- can salami. So we were an upscale charcu- terie and then, a little over three years ago, we thought, 'Why don't we take our salamis and put them in a meat snack product?' " The "failing at retirement" thing seems to be working for the company's founders. "We just knocked out a wall to expand our space," Berliner said. GN

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