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GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier News SUPPLIER NEWS 1 3 Tara Kirch Rejoins Best Cheese Corporation Best Cheese Corporation, importer and dis- tributor of Dutch cheese brands and owner of Artisanal Coach Farm, has announced that Tara Kirch has rejoined the company as Senior Director of Marketing. With Kirch's return, LeeMarie McGuigan as- sumes all supply chain and customer serv- ice responsibility for the total company with the title of Senior Director of Supply Chain & Customer Service. Best Cheese, a full subsidiary of Best Cheese Global Inc. (BCG) based in the Netherlands, markets and sells cheese and dairy products under brand names as Par- rano, Uniekaas, Coach Farm and Melkbus. It is based in Purchase, New York, and op- erates an artisanal goat farm in Hudson Val- ley, New York. Kirch has spent over a decade in adver- tising and marketing on consumer pack- aged goods and specialty food brands. She most recently served as brand manager at Harvest Hill Beverage Company, a Bryn- wood Partners VII L.P. company. Before joining Harvest Hill, Kirch served as brand manager of pladisNA, a subsidiary of pladis global. Prior to three years with pladisNA, Kirch led the marketing for Best Cheese Corporation. "I am excited to rejoin Best Cheese Cor- poration and the dairy industry," Kirch said. "I am looking forward to adding focus and expansion to our current brands and building new brands to deliver on the de- mand of innovative specialty cheeses in the United States." GN Wicked Joe Coffee Company Poised to Meet Growing Demand Wicked Joe's deliciously sustainable roasts are poised to meet growing de- mand. Global coffee consumption is ex- pected to grow 1.2 percent over the next year starting in October, and American consumption is expected to be up 1.5 percent this year alone, reported Bloomberg. Today, Wicked Joe is avail- able in more than 1,800 grocery stores nationwide, and the company expects to roast more than 1 million pounds of or- ganic and fair trade certified coffee. "At Wicked Joe, we maintain the high- est social, environmental, production and quality practices," said Owner Car- men Garver. "We believe that by build- ing a sustainable company and creating exceptional coffees using best practices, we have the greatest lasting impact on our environment and community." Despite its success, Wicked Joe re- mains highly dedicated to quality, com- munity and sustainability. A Certified B Corp., Wicked Joe's products are or- ganic, fair trade and non-GMO verified. All of the company's coffees are certified either organic or fair trade. Wicked Joe Owners Bob and Carmen Garver also elevate social responsibility standards by visiting their global farm partners several times a year to meet with growers, build relationships and understand the company's impact on the community. In 2016 alone, Wicked Joe Coffee contributed an additional $150,000 to partner communities. Wicked Joe Coffee's dedication to sus- tainability is also demonstrated in a re- purposed 25,000 square-foot sustainable roasting facility that's certified organic and fair trade, boasts two different kinds of solar energy collectors as well as a state of the art Loring Coffee Roasters patented technology that eliminates the need for an afterburner, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emis- sions by 80 percent. "This is a very exciting time to be working in coffee. There is a tremen- dous focus on increasing quality at every step of the supply chain," said Bob Garver, Founder of Wicked Joe. "From farm to mill to roastery to coffeehouse, coffee professionals are experimenting with new methods of farming, process- ing, roasting and brewing coffees. We love everything about our lives in coffee, but working closely with our farmer partners at origin who produce our de- licious coffees is absolutely one of the most joyful and meaningful things we do." The company offers single origin cof- fees such as Sumatra and Colombia Tolima as well as bold blends like Big House, Wicked French, Wicked Italian, First Tracks and more. In 2017, the company's retail concept, Bard Coffee, in Portland, Maine, won a Good Food Award. GN Processing Foods Continued from PAGE 1 supports its HPP customers with educa- tion, process fine-tuning, recipe testing and hazard analysis plans. "So many food and beverage companies are getting into the HPP market – it's just exploding," Prchal said. "Consumers are demanding transparent, clean labels. They not only want clean label foods and bever- ages, but they want convenience that fits their lifestyle, and those two things are what HPP brings together." HPP works by destroying pathogens with high pressure. The food is placed in a plastic package – usually either a bottle or pouch – that's flexible enough to with- stand high pressure without breaking and impermeable to air and moisture. Then it's submerged in water, and high pressure is applied – 87,000 pounds per square inch, or six times the pressure in the very deepest part of the ocean. The packaged food is held under that pres- sure for one to three minutes while the germs that could create spoilage are killed. Then the water and the pressure are released, and the food product is ready for distribution. The food products that have been sub- jected to this process keep nutrients that are otherwise damaged by heat, and they also retain their natural color, flavor and texture. "Because of food safety and supe- rior product quality, HPP is a green light for clean label applications, so the technol- ogy is growing rapidly," Prchal said. "Ready-meals, drinkable soups, baby foods, raw foods and functional beverages are product categories that are rapidly adopting this technology. "High pressure processing is currently a $12 billion industry and is expected to double in six years," Prchal said. "The re- ally great thing about HPP is that there are no chemicals used in the process, and it al- lows food companies to remove preserva- tives from their products because they're just no longer needed," she said. "HPP foods retain their nutrients, color, texture and flavor, and that creates premium pric- ing opportunities for grocers. This is be- cause consumers are demanding the benefits that HPP provides." GN Holiday Flavored Snacks from G.H. Cretors Eagle Foods, owner of the G.H. Cretors brand, is launching two new, limited- time-only flavors of G.H. Cretors Popped Corn to spice things up this holiday sea- son. Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn and Salted Caramel Popped Corn with Pret- zels will be available at grocery stores na- tionwide this fall through the end of the year. The Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn in- cludes delicious kernels made with real pumpkin, whole pumpkin seeds and wal- nut pieces. Caramel is hand mixed to en- sure each kernel is properly coated. The Salted Caramel Popped Corn with Pretzels is made with big chunks of salted pretzels. This mix is the perfect blend of a tantaliz- ingly salty and sweet combo. "We are constantly innovating to give our snackers and fans the most appealing and flavorful products, and seeing the pop- ularity of the pumpkin flavor across all cat- egories of food and drink inspired us to create something special," said Corinne Kelly, Vice President of Marketing at Eagle Foods. "Both the Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn and Salted Caramel Popped Corn with Pretzels are flavorful twists on our classic caramel corn and are the perfect snacks for fall." G.H. Cretors Popped Corn is available in an additional nine bold flavors, including The Mix ® , a classic blend of rich, buttery caramel and cheddar cheese, Organic Dill Pickle, Organic Chile Jalapeño White Cheddar and more. Each bag is made with high-quality, real ingredients, like premium aged cheddar cheese, at the Eagle Foods fa- cility just north of Chicago in Waukegan, Illinois. GN

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