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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SMORGASBORD SMORGASBORD 2 3 Anderson International Foods 5 www.aifoods.com 973.271.2793 DeBrand Fine Chocolates 24 www.debrand.com 260.969.8343 Franmara 7 www.franmara.com 831.422.4000 Lillie's Q 3 www.lilliesq.com 773.888.1073 Minerva Dairy 7 www.minervadairy.com 330.868.4196 Stonewall Kitchen 4 www.stonewallkitchen.com 888.326.5678 The Sunshine Tomato Company 2 www.thesunshinetomatocompany.com 717.909.0844 Wind & Willow 23 www.windandwillow.com 888.427.3235 CALENDAR January 9-16 The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market Atlanta, Georgia www.americasmart.com January 9-11 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show Orlando, Florida www.kbis.com January 21-23 Winter Fancy Food Show San Francisco, California www.specialtyfood.com January 28-February 1 Las Vegas Market Las Vegas, Nevada www.lasvegasmarket.com January 30- February 1 International Production & Processing Expo Atlanta, Georgia www.ippexpo.com February 3-7 NY NOW New York, New York www.nynow.com February 9-13 Ambiente Frankfurt, Germany ambiente.messefrankfurt.com March 7-11 Natural Products Expo West Anaheim, California www.expowest.com March 10-13 International Home & Housewares Show Chicago, Illinois www.housewares.org March 12-14 SNAXPO 2018 Atlanta, Georgia www.snaxpo.com March 11-13 Seafood Expo North America Boston, Massachusetts www.seafoodexpo.com/north-america March 19-22 International Pizza Expo Las Vegas, Nevada www.pizzaexpo.com March 16-18 CoffeeFest Baltimore Baltimore, Maryland www.coffeefest.com April 29-30 Bakery Showcase Toronto, Canada www.baking.ca ADVERTISER INDEX ADVERTISER PAGE WEBSITE PHONE ADVERTISER INDEX GOURMET MARKETPLACE Welcome springtime with the fresh taste of Wind & Willow's new Jalapeño Peach Cheeseball & Appetizer Mix. e taste of sweet juicy peaches with a happy little kick of jalapenos! Begins shipping January 1, 2018. Wind & Willow Inc. 888.427.3235 www.windandwillow.com A Special Advertising Section 1 Million Bison Continued from PAGE 22 consumer wants to be part of the solution," Ibarra-Howell said. "The fork is one of the greatest tools in transforming agriculture." The Savory program is different from the USDA Organic seal in that it audits for out- comes on the land rather than a checklist of farmers' practices. "It's not practice- based, but it allows us to help the farmer with practices that create the outcomes we are looking for," she said. Ibarra-Howell be- lieves that because holistic management has been shown to increase agricultural productivity while also nurturing the land, the products that earn the Savory Land to Market seal won't cost more than conven- tionally raised premium products. "When you manage holistically, it costs you less money," she said. "At the end of the day, when we sort it all out, there shouldn't be a price impact to consumers." The Market for Bison Meat The bison ranchers who are plotting to in- crease the numbers of bison on the range are also planning to sell a share of these bison to consumers who are looking for a healthy red meat alternative to beef. Increasing the North American bison population to 1 million animals won't do much to increase the food supply or change Amer- icans' dependence on beef, according to National Bison Association Executive Di- rector Dave Carter. The average American currently eats about 50 to 52 pounds of beef a year, compared to 0.08 pound of bison meat. If bison herds were tripled across the U.S. and Canada, then bison consumption could go up to an average of about a quarter of a pound per year, he said. Across the U.S., about 62,000 bison were processed last year in state- and fed- erally-inspected facilities. "That's what the beef industry does before noon on an av- erage day," Carter said. That means that even if the ranchers who produce bison for the meat market are successful in in- creasing their herds to meet this goal, bison meat will remain a niche product, but they hope it will be one that will appeal to Ameri- cans hungry for premium red meat with a healthy fat pro- file, genuine au- thenticity and the taste of ad- venture. A grow- ing number of consumers are a little suspicious of red meat, but they do want healthy protein, high quality and au- thenticity, and bison producers believe that their product aligns well with those desires. "All the consumer trends that are going on – bison is squarely aligned with most of those," said market researcher Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group. Interest in premium products and expe- riences, health and wellness and sustain- ability is growing in the marketplace, and all three of these drivers are strategic plat- forms for bison producers, she said. She noted that premium quality is increasingly characterized by fresh ingredient profiles and specialized, high-quality production and sourcing. This category already repre- sents more than 9 percent of the total retail food and beverage market and is growing at three times the rate of the overall food and beverage market, according to De- meritt. She noted that consumers are upgrading their choices of what they want to eat on a day to day basis – they're not waiting for a special occasion to enjoy a little bit of lux- ury. "Bison fits squarely in that camp," she said. "It's just a little bit better than some of the other options they have on a day-to- day basis.... Bison is absolutely seen as a premium product." Bison is also perceived by consumers as more nutrient dense than some of their other food options, and because it's pas- ture-raised and typically subject to limited processing, bison appeals to those con- cerned about their health and wellness, ac- cording to Demeritt. She noted that the number of Americans who say they're prac- ticing the Paleo diet is increasing and that about 82 percent of consumers buy organic products at least occasionally. "They're looking for things that are grown natu- rally," she said. "What they continue to look for are products they see as fresh and as minimally processed as possible." Bison is also an attractive choice for those who are concerned about the pres- ence of antibiotics or growth hormones in their food, according to Demeritt. "Meat is the very top of the list for things we'll con- sider for organic and natural," she said. "This idea of avoidance of certain things, especially when it comes to their kids, is very important to consumers.... Protein can do no wrong." GN

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